The independent scoring standard
Comprehensive analysis and transparent rankings to help you find the best equity covered call ETFs for your portfolio.
CoveredRank scores 28 US-listed equity covered call ETFs every month on six weighted criteria, measured since each fund inception and compared only against funds writing on the same underlying index.
The purpose is not to rank funds by yield, recent performance, or headline distribution. It is to identify which strategies have demonstrated the characteristics that matter over a full market cycle: preserving capital while distributing income, participating in rallies without giving away the full upside, and maintaining a consistent payout.
A fund that pays 20% while eroding its NAV is not the same as a fund that pays 10% while preserving capital. The score separates the two.
| Rank | Ticker | Name | Benchmark | Score | Maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IDVO | Amplify CWP International Enhanced Dividend Income ETF | EFA | 8.64 | |
| 2 | QQA | Invesco Nasdaq-100 Income Advantage ETF | QQQ | 8.04 | |
| 3 | QDVO | Amplify CWP Growth & Income ETF | QQQ | 7.68 | |
| 4 | GPIX | Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF | SPY | 7.60 | |
| 5 | GPIQ | Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF | QQQ | 7.57 |
Each fund is scored on six weighted criteria. The weights reflect what matters most to an income investor over a full cycle.
Performance since inception against the fund own benchmark. The bottom line: did the strategy actually make money after accounting for the option overlay?
Down-capture ratio, measured on the months where the benchmark fell. The less the fund falls, the higher the score.
Up-capture ratio. How much of the rally the fund kept after selling its calls. Higher is better, but only when the fund also protects on the downside.
Measured on the fund real distribution history. Any payment below 85% of the previous payment counts as a cut. Only months with an actual distribution enter the comparison.
Inversely proportional to management fees. A lower expense ratio produces a higher score, all else equal.
Assets under management on a log scale. Larger funds trade tighter and carry lower closure risk.
Each criterion produces a score from 0 to 10. The six scores are then combined using the weights above to produce a single composite score, also on a 0 to 10 scale. A fund that leads on one criterion but lags on another ends up with a middling composite.
The weights reflect what matters most to an income investor over a full cycle. Return, downside protection, and upside participation each count for a quarter of the total, because the three are inseparable: a fund that captures all the upside but falls hard when markets drop is not the same as one that gives up a little upside in exchange for capital preservation.
Consistency, expenses, and liquidity carry the remaining weight. They matter, but they are secondary to the core trade-off between income, capital, and participation.
An equity covered call ETF holds a portfolio of equities and sells call options against it. The premium collected from options adds to the dividends from the underlying stocks, producing a higher distribution yield than the equity alone. The trade-off is that the fund caps its participation in strong rallies.
Each fund is scored on six weighted criteria: total return versus benchmark (25%), downside protection (25%), upside participation (25%), distribution consistency (15%), expense ratio (5%), and liquidity (5%). All criteria are measured since inception and against the fund own benchmark.
No. The universe is limited to diversified equity covered call ETFs listed in the United States. Bond covered call ETFs, treasury covered call ETFs, single-stock covered call funds, and crypto or commodity covered call strategies are excluded because their underlying risk profiles are not comparable to equity covered call strategies.
The rankings are recalculated every month on the first of the month, using the latest available month-end data. Historical months are preserved so scores can be compared over time.
A high distribution yield can be funded by returning capital rather than earnings. When that happens, the fund NAV erodes over time and the investor is partly receiving their own money back. The score penalizes funds that erode NAV to fund their distributions, even when the headline yield is high.
28 covered call ETFs, rescored every month on total return, downside protection and NAV stability. One email a month, no promotions.
We store your email to send the monthly ranking. Unsubscribe any time by replying to any email. We never share or sell it.
Choose the plan that fits your needs
Get started with basic access
For serious investors
For financial advisors