KYLD · Kurv High Income ETF
Over the past year KYLD paid 20.1% in cash and still finished 11.9 points behind SPY.
What a holder got
Over the year to Sep 4, 2026, KYLD returned +2.0% with distributions reinvested and S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +13.9%, so a holder came out behind it by 11.9 points. The lighter segment is the 20.1% that arrived as cash rather than as price.
Period by period
| Window | Cash paid | Price | Total return | SPY | Ahead or behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | 6.1% | −4.0% | +2.0% | +4.7% | −2.7 pts |
| 6 months | 13.3% | +5.4% | +19.3% | +15.2% | +4.2 pts |
| Since launch | 20.1% | −19.7% | +2.0% | +13.9% | −11.9 pts |
In plain words
With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +2.0%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +13.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.9 pts. At its price on Sep 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualises to 25.3%, paid weekly. Kurv estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 3, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterisation rather than a measure of erosion).
| Strategy | covered call |
|---|---|
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy (proxy) |
| Pays | weekly |
| Net assets (SEC filing, whole fund, as filed for May 31, 2026) | $41m |
| Latest payout, annualised (ETFIQ) | 25.3% |
| Expense ratio (prospectus XBRL) | not published |
| Cash paid, trailing 12 months (ETFIQ) | 25.1% |
| Launched | Oct 31, 2025 |
| Return of capital, latest distribution (Kurv 19a-1 estimate) | 100.0% |
Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation from exchange prices and cash distributions (Tiingo end-of-day), total return with distributions reinvested. Return of capital is the issuer’s estimate. How this desk computes every figure
Questions people ask
- How much has KYLD paid over the last year?
- Over the period from its launch on Oct 31, 2025 to Sep 4, 2026, KYLD paid 20.1% of its starting price in cash distributions, while the price fell 19.7%.
- Is KYLD ahead of SPY?
- Over the period from its launch on Oct 31, 2025 to Sep 4, 2026, with every distribution reinvested, KYLD returned +2.0% against +13.9% for S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy, so a holder was behind it by 11.9 points.
- How often does KYLD pay, and how much?
- KYLD pays weekly. The latest distribution annualises to 25.3% at its price on Sep 4, 2026, which is not a promise; the next one can differ.
- Is the KYLD distribution return of capital?
- Kurv estimates 100% of the distribution paid Sep 3, 2026 was return of capital. That is a tax characterisation from the fund's own 19a-1 notice, not a measure of erosion.
The words on this page
- Total return
- What a holder actually ended up with: price change plus every distribution, reinvested. The only figure that answers whether you came out ahead.
- Cash paid
- Distributions over the window as a share of what the fund cost at the start. A measure of cash delivered, not of return: a fund can pay a great deal and still lose money.
- Ahead or behind
- The fund’s total return minus the benchmark’s over exactly the same days, in percentage points. Both sides reinvest.
- Return of capital
- The issuer’s own estimate, in a Rule 19a-1 notice, of how much of a distribution was your own money returned. An estimate and a tax characterisation, not a measure of erosion.
- Covered call
- Selling call options on shares the fund holds. It collects a premium and gives up the gains above the strike, which is why these funds pay well and lag a rising market.
Every term this desk uses, defined in full on the income desk vocabulary page.
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Funds near this one
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Cite this page. ETFIQ, KYLD on the income desk, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/KYLD.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.