ISPY vs SPYI: Which Covered Call ETF Is Better?

ISPY and SPYI are both covered call ETFs tracking the same benchmark, but with different approaches. ISPY offers a 5.26% yield, while SPYI provides a 11.92% yield. Compare their scores, yields, and performance metrics to find the best fit for your portfolio.

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Compare covered call ETFs with the same benchmark side by side

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ISPY

ProShares S&P 500 High Income ETF

S&P 500Inception: Mar 22, 2023

5.61

Overall Score

SPYI

NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF

S&P 500Inception: Aug 30, 2022

7.23

Overall Score

CriteriaISPYSPYI
Overall Score
5.61
7.23
Total Return (25%)
7.63
7.34
Downside Protection (25%)
—
5.75
Upside Participation (25%)
8.95
7.54
Consistency (15%)
6.00
10.00
Expense Ratio (5%)
5.62
4.00
Liquidity (5%)
5.74
7.40
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Since Inception

3 Years

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Key Metrics

MetricISPYSPYI
Expense Ratio0.550%0.680%
Inception DateMar 22, 2023Aug 30, 2022
IssuerProSharesNEOS
Distribution FrequencyMonthlyMonthly
Maturity Rating2/5 stars3/5 stars

Verdicts

ISPY

Daily calls leave 89% of S&P 500 upside but 111% of the downside, for a 5.3% yield.

Investor Profile:

ISPY holds 514 S&P 500 stocks and describes its approach as a covered call strategy using daily options. It aims for monthly income and long-term returns in line with the S&P 500, and its page compares it with the S&P 500 Daily Covered Call Index. The page does not say whether the options are on an index or an ETF, or how much of the portfolio is covered.

SPYI

Pays 11.9%, 3.7 points more than GPIX, at a fee 2.3 times higher (0.68% vs 0.29%).

Investor Profile:

SPYI is an actively managed NEOS fund that holds S&P 500 stocks, 511 positions, and uses a call spread approach on SPX index option futures. The options qualify as Section 1256 contracts, taxed at the 60/40 rate. NEOS aims for high monthly income in a tax-efficient way, and distributions are partly return of capital. It pays monthly.

Full scores for these funds

See where these rank against every SPY fund

Both funds are scored on total return, downside protection, upside participation, distribution consistency, cost and liquidity, against the same benchmark and the same window.

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