# What is a synthetic covered call ETF?

> A fund that sells call options on something it does not own, holding Treasuries and options to stand in for the shares. ETFIQ measures 91 of them.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

Answered from ETFIQ data as of Oct 28, 2026 .

## What is a synthetic covered call ETF?

A fund that sells call options on something it does not own, holding Treasuries and options to stand in for the shares. ETFIQ measures 91 of them. The typical one advertises a distribution rate of 40% and the highest here is 113%, and of the 63 with a full year behind them, 38 finished behind their benchmark once the cash is counted back in.

A plain covered call fund owns the shares and sells calls against them. A synthetic one holds cash equivalents plus a long call and a short put to reproduce the exposure, then sells calls on top. The premium is real money. It arrives monthly or weekly, and the headline rate describes it.

A distribution rate is not a return. It annualizes the latest payment against the current price, so a fund whose price has fallen shows a higher rate for that reason alone. A payment can also come out of the fund’s own assets. What a holder ended up with is total return: the cash plus whatever the price did. Both are on every fund page here, next to what the fund writes on.

The structure caps the upside by design. In a quarter when the underlying runs, the calls are exercised against the fund and the holder keeps the premium instead of the move. That is the trade being made. It is not the same trade as owning the stock.

### On ETFIQ today

| Ticker | Fund | Distribution rate | Cash paid, 1Y | Total return, 1Y | Writes on | Against it | Pays |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MRNY | YieldMax MRNA Option Income Strate | 113.0% | 115.6% | +498.7% | MRNA | −246.1 pts | weekly |
| MAAY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST MARA ETF | 95.6% | too new | too new | MARA | too new | weekly |
| RTYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST RIOT ETF | 92.3% | too new | too new | RIOT | too new | weekly |
| CRY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST CRCL ETF | 87.1% | too new | too new | CRCL | too new | weekly |
| CWY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST CRWV ETF | 82.2% | too new | too new | CRWV | too new | weekly |
| GMEY | YieldMax GME Option Income Strateg | 80.4% | 37.4% | −18.9% | GME | −19.0 pts | weekly |
| HOYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST HOOD ETF | 79.7% | 44.9% | −48.6% | HOOD | −11.1 pts | weekly |
| HMYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST HIMS ETF | 77.6% | too new | too new | HIMS | too new | weekly |
| CRCO | YieldMax CRCL Option Income Strate | 74.5% | 40.9% | −34.0% | CRCL | +6.0 pts | weekly |
| QBY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST QBTS ETF | 74.3% | too new | too new | QBTS | too new | weekly |
| SMYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST SMCI ETF | 72.4% | 50.3% | −29.5% | SMCI | +2.1 pts | weekly |
| RDYY | YieldMax RDDT Option Income Strate | 69.2% | 46.0% | −31.9% | RDDT | +4.9 pts | weekly |
| COYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST COIN ETF | 69.1% | 42.5% | −57.0% | COIN | −2.7 pts | weekly |
| RGYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST RGTI ETF | 68.4% | too new | too new | RGTI | too new | weekly |
| AMYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST AMD ETF | 67.7% | 58.3% | +14.1% | AMD | −110.1 pts | weekly |
| MARO | YieldMax MARA Option Income Strate | 66.6% | 35.3% | −64.3% | MARA | −3.2 pts | weekly |
| HIYY | YieldMax HIMS Option Income Strate | 66.1% | 38.8% | −32.6% | HIMS | +5.2 pts | weekly |
| IOYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST IONQ ETF | 65.7% | too new | too new | IONQ | too new | weekly |
| SEMY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST Semicondu | 65.7% | too new | too new | SOXX | too new | weekly |
| HOOY | YieldMax HOOD Option Income Strate | 62.1% | 38.7% | −33.5% | HOOD | +4.0 pts | weekly |

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Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.
Cite: ETFIQ, What is a synthetic covered call ETF?, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/questions/what-is-a-synthetic-covered-call-etf
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