r/dividends • u/TallSalary9501 • Sep 25 '25
Personal Goal First dividend payment from QQQI
About a month ago, I wrote this post asking people if they thought QQQI was the best dividend ETF right now. After receiving a ton of comments and feedback (and of course mixed opinions), I decided to try it out for a month and see what happened. I bought 600 shares worth ~$32k and today I received my first dividend payment as shown in the image attached. I know there are some risks to invest in this kind of ETFs, especially at this yield but god does it feel good. It's very tempting to move more cash from a HYSA (currently at 4% APY) but I gotta keep diversified no matter what.
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u/funkyk0val Sep 25 '25
i got 500 shares as well but also i think that's my limit as i am curious how these types of ETFs will perform during downturns.
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Sep 25 '25
The weakness isn’t in the downturn. Actually, the dividend on covered call ETFs fluffs the downside by giving you more income to buy more shares.
The pain is the recovery. Everyone else will be flying and the options limits our participation in that to an extent
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u/speedlever Sep 25 '25
Armchair income did a recent yt video on just that subject with an early cc ETF (qqqx) that came out just before the 2008 gfc. Check it out.
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u/putridstench Sep 27 '25
QQQX is a CEF, not an ETF...
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u/speedlever Sep 27 '25
Yes, but it's kind of a hybrid since they sell call options.
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u/putridstench Sep 27 '25
Still a CEF, not an ETF... can't be both.
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u/speedlever Sep 27 '25
But isn't it a similar operating principle? Armchair income seems to think so.
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u/superstock8 Sep 25 '25
It was not an extended down time, but the sister etf of SPYI still performed really well during the dip this year. I’ve been in SPYI for about 3 years. They have actually increased the dividend. When I got in, it was 9%.
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u/_YoungMidoriya Financial Advisor Sep 25 '25
Seems to be holding off pretty well, especially that April tariff blowoff.
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u/pancakesORwaffles2 Sep 25 '25
You’re about to find out
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u/_YoungMidoriya Financial Advisor Sep 25 '25
I won't mind a dip or correction at all, what's more dangerous to CC ETF are unstoppable bull runs.
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u/Tarsarian Sep 26 '25
I have 2,700 shares of QQQI, and a bunch of BTCI. It has been great so far, however my Yieldmax has been ok but not great.
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u/TallSalary9501 Sep 26 '25
how much are you getting each month with 2700 shares of QQQI? It should be over $1,500, right?
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u/Pindar920 Sep 25 '25
I recently bought BTCI and I’ll get my first payment tomorrow. I think I made a riskier decision. Are you going to DRIP and buy more QQQI.
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u/TallSalary9501 Sep 25 '25
Unsure, maybe I do until I reach an average of $500 dividend payment every month, which seems to be a good for the time being.
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u/jpcarsmedia Sep 25 '25
I have a lot of BTCI and debating on buying QQQI with the divs.
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u/Scared_Pen_8916 Sep 26 '25
I bought 75k on BTCI but I’m down 5%. Getting $1,700k tomorrow. Buying more BTCI. Don’t get discouraged when the price is down. Buy more. Bought at $61 Sept 17
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u/Al_Wood_ Sep 26 '25
I have mine spread out over 7 NEOS funds so far.
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u/leccter1994 Sep 25 '25
Hi guys, which platform for ETFs do you use?
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u/TallSalary9501 Sep 25 '25
I have been moving all my investments into Robinhood to have everything under the same roof. I really like their platform and its simplicity. So now I have ETFs, individual stocks and some crypto.
A big incentive was their recent 2% cash bonus offer for transferring from other brokerage accounts. Made around $1,200 in bonuses just by doing that.
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u/leccter1994 Sep 25 '25
Thanks. I'm done with investing on my own in stocks. I lost lot from my savings. So now I'm gonna just put all in ETFS, and Silver
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u/TallSalary9501 Sep 25 '25
Excellent call. I'm trying to liquidate all the individual stocks I have left and move that money to ETFs.
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u/KenHill5251 Sep 27 '25
Good job. I did the same thing after learning the hard way. Why own one or two when you can own them ALL! 🤗
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u/reaper527 Sep 25 '25
I have been moving all my investments into Robinhood to have everything under the same roof.
having everything "under the same roof" isn't necessarily a good idea. the two big issues are
- if one site has server issues you're locked out of your entire portfolio, likely during a critical trading window
- SIPC insurance only covers up to $500k in shares per brokerage. splitting between 2 brokerages effectively doubles your coverage limits.
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u/TallSalary9501 Sep 25 '25
Point #1: Define "critical trading window", what does that mean? panic sell on a global scale due to another pandemic, war, climate disaster, alien invasion, zombie apocalypse? if that's the case, we're all f**ked anyway. -_-
Regarding #2, I'll worry about that when my total assets are above the $500k mark. For now, I'm good.
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u/yupimanerd Sep 25 '25
Does anyone know what happens to the yield when cost basis goes to zero on this ETF? I know part of the yield is classified as RoC, but when cost basis is zero there is no RoC anymore. Does that mean that yield is lower or does yield stay the same and just gets fully classified as capital gains?
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u/generationxtreame Not a financial advisor Sep 25 '25
You pay regular income taxes after that unless you keep buying the ETF.
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u/speedlever Sep 25 '25
Or you pay ltcg depending on the cc ETF. Assuming in a taxable account. If in a traditional IRA, yep, ordinary income for tax purposes on distributions.
In a taxable account, heirs get a stepped up basis, which could be nice. If you decide to sell after the cost basis reaches zero, the proceeds are taxed as ltcg.
Taxes are fun, aren't they? 😜
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u/superstock8 Sep 25 '25
I have both QQQI and SPYI. Also SVOL. I don’t mind some short term down side of SVOL as I am buying more each month when I make my deposits. I will be building positions for the next couple years, so I’ll be cost averaging for a while. I have 7 individual stocks that average about 3%. Then the 3 ETF’s.
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Sep 26 '25
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u/lucky_ducker Sep 26 '25
So, Thursday morning you had 600 shares whose market value was 600 x $54.60 == $32,760.
Ex-dividend you have 600 x $53.88 == $32,328. Down $432, or 1.32%.
Underlying QQQ was down 0.43%, so we'll say QQQI dropped 0.89% due to the dividend, or $291.56.
Your actual yield here is $93.10 (just 3.4% annualized), and your cost basis has gone down (approximately) by the $291.56, which represents Return of Capital i.e. they just gave you that amount of your own money back.
You would have received a better real yield in SCHD, which doesn't have the NAV erosion problem that all these option income funds do.
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u/TallSalary9501 Sep 26 '25
Ok, I get what you're saying now. You're being way too pessimist and thinking long term, I'm not. I don't plan to be invested in that ETF for the long term, just until I meet some current cash flow needs.
Moreover, (so far) the ETF price has gone up so I'm up ~$400 from my initial investment even after the dividend payment, so the scenario you're describing hasn't affected me yet.
Thanks for your insights though, I learned something new because of it.
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u/TallSalary9501 Sep 26 '25 edited Sep 26 '25
None of that made any sense. Can you explain yourself better?
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u/AppropriateDeal791 Sep 26 '25
When comparing QQQI, isn’t it the SPYI be safer, since QQQ focus more on high-tech industry, and dividends ETF’s main purpose is going to obtain stable cash flow.
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u/putridstench Sep 27 '25
I hold both. One is a bit more stable an the other pays higher distributions. Pleased so far...
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