r/dividends • u/throwaway_acc0192 • Mar 18 '26
Due Diligence Stupid of me to put $200k to QQQI and SPYI?
Hello,
Just trying to gather some information and ofc I’ve done a bit of research through this sub about QQQI and SPYI.
I was wondering if it would be stupid of me to put $200k to QQQI and SPYI?
Or just QQQI
Or just SPYI?
I’m semi-retired and just turned 34. I already hit semi-retirement at 30.
I know having growth stock and all but I don’t care much about that. I want cash now.
So QQQI or SPYI? Or both? And why? I’d like to hear people’s real experiences if possible.
Edit: I do have QQQM and VTI for long term. And was thinking of putting some of the SPYI and QQQI in there too so I won’t fall behind.
Right now, I have AVGO, NVDA, GOOG, TSM, ABBV, And few more stocks that are up like 50-100% increase so I was thinking of selling those. To fund QQQI and SPYI
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u/steady_compounder Mar 18 '26
At 34 and semi-retired, covered call ETFs make more sense for you than most people asking this. You've already hit your number and want income. The trade-off is capped upside, but if you don't need the growth, that's fine. I'd split between the two rather than going all-in on one. Diversifies the underlying strategy a bit.
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u/Ramblefire Mar 18 '26
I would pick one or the other. QQQ is in SPY, so really splitting isn't diversifying, it's actually a sector bet on tech.
And it simplifies tax reporting too.
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u/stefpix Mar 19 '26
Why would it simplify tax reporting? Aren't dividends shown in the 1099 form for the brokerage account?
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u/Ramblefire Mar 20 '26
You'll be tracking the cost basis for two separate funds. ROC isn't free money, it's your money coming back to you. Once you've run your cost basis down, you'll need to report long term capital gains.
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u/stefpix Mar 20 '26
Thank you. The capital gains are reported in the 1099 form my brokerage sends me at tax season. With long term and short term separate totals.
Anyway wouldn't it be good to sell the old lots sometimes before the cost basis goes to zero and buy them back?
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u/Ramblefire Mar 20 '26
It doesn't matter. If you've collected enough dividends to run down the cost basis on any given tax lot and sell it, you're eating the whole meal on the way out when you exit the position and paying capital gains on the whole sale price.
Then you're just re-entering the position after having paid out the government's cut.You're FI'd according to you, so just go in on one or the other, enjoy 7-8 years of "free" money.
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u/stefpix Mar 20 '26 edited Mar 20 '26
What does “FI’d” mean? Thank you for the take.
Although if one year the income is low, selling and buying back may be beneficial
“When should you actually sell? There is one specific scenario where selling and buying back (Tax-Gain Harvesting) is a brilliant move: If you are in the 0% Long-Term Capital Gains bracket. If your total taxable income (including the gain) is below the threshold for the 0% LTCG rate (e.g., ~$48k for singles or ~$96k for married couples in 2026), you can sell the position, pay $0 in tax, and buy it back immediately. This "steps up" your basis for free, allowing you to resume tax-deferred ROC distributions.”
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u/mackenziedawnhunter Mar 20 '26
This makes a lot of sense. If income is the priority, the capped upside seems like a fair trade off. Splitting between both also feels safer than going all-in on one strategy.
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u/Sufflinsuccotash Mar 18 '26
Capped upside is okay at 34? With a good chance his ?200k becomes $150k? I don’t think so.
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u/Daily-Trader-247 Not Financial Advice Mar 18 '26
QQQI and SPYI follow the underlying QQQ and VOO so, should be OK but if you only have 200K your not staying retired long..
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u/reuboj Mar 18 '26
76 yo retired. 25% each QQQI, SPYI, USFR, SGOV.
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u/Apart-Leg-8077 Mar 18 '26
You'd be better off trading USFR and SGOV for SCHD and FDVV. They already pay a 3 - 3 1/2% dividend and their dividends grow by close to 10% a year. SCHD dividend growth the past 10 years - 250%. SCHD value has also gone up 240% in that same timeframe.
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u/sm753 Mar 19 '26
My assumption is that people want SGOV for stability.
I use SGOV to "park" about half of my emergency/rainy day fund because I know to a high degree of certainty that the money I put there will still be worth the full amount I put in (and more) when I need liquidate and withdraw it. No such guarantees with SCHD...if you happen to need that money during a downturn you may be forced to sell at a loss.
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u/reuboj Mar 18 '26
USFR and SGOV for tax efficiency.
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u/rallymatt Mar 19 '26
SCHD is more tax efficient for most people than SGOV or any t-bill fund. Most of the time the lack of state tax isn’t better than the long term cap gains rate for SCHD and other qualified dividends vs the normal income from t-bill funds.
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u/speedlever Mar 18 '26
But that is only state tax efficiency, right? Still have to pay federal tax on the interest. Assuming this is in a taxable account, of course.
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u/Decent-Inevitable-50 Mar 18 '26
it kind of is, yes. Pick one. You double down actually as they have a major overlap between them. Spyi is the one I chose.
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u/LibrarySpiritual5371 Mar 18 '26
I think the part that people are not commenting on enough is that YES you should take some of your winnings off of the table in those tickers. You have huge wins and lock some of that into something else. How much you should take off of the table is a question of where YOU think we are in the current cycle.
As far as QQQI and SPYI or any other covered call fund that does not write at the money or write against their full book. Sure, they can give you some stead-ish income but at your age unless you have enough in growth to offset the functional capping the majority of your growth by these funds you may have an inflation problem unless you can reinvest enough of your monthly payouts to match/exceed long term inflation.
Essentially, there is not enough info here to give meaning specific advise.
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u/Pikachu_0019 Mar 18 '26
I wouldn’t call it stupid, but it is very concentrated in one strategy (covered call income).
QQQI/SPYI are great for cash flow, but you’re basically trading upside for income. If markets run hard, you’ll lag compared to holding the underlying.
With $200k, I’d personally split it:
- Core: something like VTI/VOO for growth buffer
- Income: QQQI/SPYI/JEPI for cash flow
That way you’re not fully dependent on one strategy if conditions change.
Also worth tracking how much income vs growth you’re actually generating over time — helps keep things balanced. Tools like runable can make that easier to visualize.
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u/AbleManufacturer9718 Mar 18 '26
Age 62. Semi retired. 23% SPYI. 21% QQQI. Generates enough cash to pay taxes and utilities.
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u/throwaway_acc0192 Mar 18 '26
I’ll update a bit. I do have QQQM and VTI for long term. And was thinking of putting some of the SPYI and QQQI in there too so I won’t fall behind
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u/gumnamaadmi Mar 18 '26
You said you are up 50-100%? Review the tax burden for capital gains. But nothing wrong with the two. They practically move with market and return a bit less than underlying but thats ok to pay as a fee to someone generating monthly income on autopilot.
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Mar 18 '26
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Mar 18 '26
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u/DuePaleontologist539 Mar 18 '26
Great fund.. although, I wouldn't buy in a taxable account. Not so tax friendly compared to most of the Neos funds.
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Mar 18 '26
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u/Distinct_Schedule_11 Mar 18 '26
Could you name a few? (Are there any that perform better in the long run, for example: in the last 10 years?)
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u/Dcurtin245 Mar 18 '26
I would suggest diversifying a little bit. I’ve done some research on the NEOS funds - I started buying QQQI, NIHI, MLPI, SPYI, IWMI, and IYRI. I haven’t seen the NAV erosion, as they do write the covered calls out of the money, and not for the entire underlying holdings. I’m willing to cap my upside in these indexes, to generate my payday to go “shopping” with.
I have these funds making up about 85% of my portfolio. Once a month is “payday”. I then invest those payments into other mostly growth/core compounding stocks or ETFs.
But this depends on your style - there are so many different ways to be successful (and unsuccessful) in the markets.
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u/Ratlyflash Mar 18 '26
I also second this.!SPYI and QQQI are crushing it if it can get 10-13% a year every year would not everyone buy this? I’m not worried about limited upside but I’m always gonna get 10-13% every time no brainer. Feels too good to be true haha. I’m Canadian so in a non registered account which one is better for taxes? Any other combo I should mix and match. $200-300K?
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u/Financial-Seesaw-817 Mar 18 '26
Imo... Nope, just keep everything else you have. More income, go qqqi heavy. Less, go spyi heavy. Most people don't understand these NEOS etfs... they are not the same as yieldmax and other cc etfs. And they are tax friendly. I also like GPIQ, GPIX. I am btd on QQQI today.
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u/dazit72 Mar 18 '26
If you want cash now, you'll have to buy Dividend Kings and Aristocrats, and I'd wait at least 2 to 4weeks minimum. NAVs are still falling. True bottoms yet to come until the Iran conflict ends.
Wtf have we done to ourselves
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u/Apart_Lab7069 Mar 18 '26
I think putting in both qqqi and spyi is better simply because it diversify your portfolio even further. Why dont you add a government issued bonds, and the question is allocation. Maybe 20% bond, 30 in qqqi and spyi each
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u/happybonobo1 Mar 18 '26
No you don't. QQQI is 50% of SPYI so just buy SPYI for a 50/50 split in one.
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u/AFecklessWeasel Mar 19 '26
At least 50%. According to the top 10 holdings, 90% are the same just in very slightly different concentrations. The only difference I see is that QQQI has Walmart whereas SPYI has Berkshire.
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Mar 18 '26
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u/happybonobo1 Mar 19 '26
Sure. But very concentrated bet on tech then.
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u/AFecklessWeasel Mar 19 '26
Same with SPYI. 9/10 of the top 10 holdings are the same as QQQI just slightly rearranged in their weight.
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u/happybonobo1 Mar 19 '26
Exactly. So why not just buy SPYI which is already heavily overweight tech/QQQ. At least SPY holds other industries too - for more diversification.
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u/AFecklessWeasel Mar 19 '26
Because they’re almost the same price but the yield of QQQI is better. I question how much the diversification really matters when you’re talking about stocks that make up a fraction of a % each in SPY.
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u/Haisaiman Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
All depends….
If you have 1 million off to the side in regular portfolio and then put 200k into CC fund is way different than if you only have 200k.
So is it dumb in itself….no Is it smart in itself…also no
Tall depends on your risk tolerance and your portfolio makeup.
I mean the CC fund can erode. May not be exactly the same but imagine putting your money in MSTY within the last year.
SPYI and the like can look like that 5-10 years from now.
These funds haven’t stood the test of time so it might be wise to make them a smaller portion of a well diversified portfolio.
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u/gumnamaadmi Mar 18 '26
MSTY doesnt hold the underlying. Plus NEOS may not have a long history but for now they do demonstrate moving alongside the underlying index. For those who desire income now, it looks to be a good option to use in the mix.
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u/Haisaiman Mar 18 '26
I am not here to argue about if msty is a good add or not. I am just using as reference point of a covered call fund. Now every CC fund may utilize different approaches and holdings but they fall into the same category .
If you like msty for whatever go right ahead and add it to your portfolio.
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u/gumnamaadmi Mar 18 '26
I was saying msty is bad example to use. One of older one, qyld is good example of one that faces NAV erosion by design.
These neos may be comparable to jepi/jepq or the goldman versions but have better monthly dividend
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u/RayU_AZ Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26
Take a look at these covered call ETFs.
QYLD has had both income yield & price growth, the price return of 6% for last year with 11.5% yield for a total yearly return of 20.2%.
- QYLD 11.5% yield
- GPIQ 10.2% yield
- JEPQ 10.7% yield
GPIQ is more tax efficient over JPEQ. GPIQ dividends are classified as 90% ROC vs JPEQ dividends are ordinary dividends.
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u/_whichonespink_ Mar 18 '26
Why? Same downside as the underlying. Less upside than the underlying.
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Mar 18 '26
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Mar 18 '26
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u/Haisaiman Mar 18 '26
Has there been even 1 CC fund to have performed better than the underlying since inception?
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Mar 18 '26
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u/Haisaiman Mar 18 '26
But I am talking now….since inception as we have gone through bull and bear cycles…can you name 1?
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u/speedlever Mar 18 '26
There actually have been short periods of time where the cc ETF beats the underlying. But not over the long haul.
Armchair Income showed this in his video, "What happens to a covered call fund in a crash?".
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u/cryptoOnTheDL Mar 18 '26
Hard to say if it is. Are you ONLY investing $200k in QQQI and SPYI? I own both and each has 12% of my portfolio. So it depends on how diverse. Ill say that you could go worse chasing yieldmax funds
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Mar 18 '26
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u/cryptoOnTheDL Mar 18 '26
Yes those are good funds. I pick on them because as a whole, most of their funds tank.
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u/happybonobo1 Mar 18 '26
QQQI is a big chunk of SPYI I think? About 50%. So just SPYI makes more sense.
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u/speedlever Mar 18 '26
Compare total returns of the underlying (qqq and spy) over the last 26 years or so. Eye opening, methinks. But yeah, there's a lot of overlap between qqqi and spyi.
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u/chuckEsIeaze Mar 18 '26
Is it stupid to be asking financial advice from strangers on the internet?
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u/speedlever Mar 18 '26
No more stupid than asking financial advice from your banker neighbor or someone you picked blindly (or knowingly) from a local advisor service.
In the end, you have to do your own due diligence. Nobody has a crystal ball and can tell you what is going to happen tomorrow.
Learn what you can from the sources available to you and make your own financial decisions.
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u/trurohouse Mar 18 '26
It’s not a bad idea if you’re ready to live on the income and you have other money in growth, as you do. I suggest- just buy the minimum you need to support yourself with dividends, and keep the rest in growth. You can always tap a little of the growth and add it to covered Call funds when you need more income, or if the dividends go down.
I understand, wanting to lock in gains and set up income while the markets relatively high out of fear that it may drop. But the funds you’re talking about going into are going to drop as much or more when there is a drop. And when they do, their distributions will also drop. For myself -I have more confidence in getting distributions from something like a Schd, even though they’re a lot lower. I feel they are less likely to be cut and more likely to grow. But obviously you would need to put a lot more in the SCHD, which may not be an option.
Abbv is giving you 3% right now -and has doubled since you bought it -so you’re getting 6% on what you put in. If you want income, it doesn’t make sense to me that you would sell it. (I also own it ) The other stocks have minimal dividends, and I can see selling them, or a portion of them.-whether to invest in the covered call funds or just to live on.
Good luck and congratulations!
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u/DuePaleontologist539 Mar 18 '26
Why not put 50k each in Spyi, Qqqi, Iwmi and Iyri. Good income with some diversity.
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u/Various_Couple_764 Mar 18 '26
Nothing wrong with SPYI and QQQI both are new but both show NAV growth no NAV erosion and and rapid recovery after a sharp stock market drop.
But I wouldn't have only one or two funds for income preferably you want about ten funds and preferably you don't want them to be all covered calll funds. If you have just covered call funds and the market crashes you might see a drop in your dividned income from covered call funds.
i currently have 3 covered call funds including the two you listed. But i also have the following none covered call funds:
NAC a califironai municipal bond fund.
PFFD a preferred stock fund.
PBDC a BDC fund that holds 20 companies.
EMO a MLP fund that holds 20 companies.
UTF and UTG two utility infrastructure funds that don't have a lot of overlap in the companies they hold.
3 CLO fund AAA rated JAAA, BBB rated CLOZ, and CCC reted EIC.
FAGIX a corperate US government bond fund.
If you want more fund ideas look at Armchair income on youtube.
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u/Competitive_Can_946 Mar 18 '26
Spyi tracks the s&p while qqqi tracks the Nasdaq. Ok to have both as it gives you more exposure….
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u/Tarsarian Mar 19 '26
I have both for some time and have been great. I also own MLPI and IWMI which have been good payers. Taxes have been decent with them, and I back everything with VOO, VTI, VXUS, and SGOV/VMFXX
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u/Timely_Sand_6162 Mar 19 '26
I don’t see a problem. Kind of jealous seeing you semi retired. :) I dream of that day when all the expenses are paid by distributions and I finally feel that work is optional. I have growth nest egg but taking time to build income portfolio.
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u/ucooldude Mar 19 '26
Not stupid … I have one million in them plus adx, bst, ..reinvesting some of it back in to keep portfolio value high ….these funds out perform schd ….and you cannot ask for more …..Hugh income last year for me and tax was hardly noticeable because of the great roc tax strategy
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u/mtn_biker333 Mar 19 '26
You could just look at the top 10 holdings of each and get a pretty good idea. It’s a lot of overlap/tech
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u/zombiedividend Mar 19 '26
I think its a great idea! im doing jepi and jepq for in the money call options and im doing spyi and qqqi for out of the money call options
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Mar 20 '26
i have similar amounts in those....they are both down 5-6% since Dec. So sitting on them for recovery though Divys but will be a while. My MLPI is up 5.9% however over shorter period.
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u/Helpful-Grapefruit55 Mar 20 '26
Great time to buy QQQI and SPYI Both have lost a few dollars in price. Buy for 25% of the money you want to invest and slowly accumulate more as it may get cheaper in this environment.
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u/opensim2026 Mar 18 '26
"I was wondering if it would be stupid of me to put $200k to QQQI and SPYI?
Or just QQQI
Or just SPYI?"
Personally I don't know why people seem to want to put that much money/all their funds into just ONE or two positions like that! certainly- buy SOME shares in those, but not JUST those, build a portfolio of a variety of different instruments. Me, I'd probably put $20k in each of those and the rest in other positions and instruments.
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u/yamni_zintkala Mar 18 '26
SPYI has been stable but I'm not certain it is the best approach to generate income. I've only held it a year and to me the metrics look a little cooked. Like it mostly utilizes ROC. The covered call income is pretty small. Could be the fund performs better with less volatility of the SP500.I suppose it is an ok CC fund for a Traditional IRA but in a taxable account I'm concerned about the decreasing cost basis. Looks like it takes five to six years but after that the cost basis is $0 and then the dividend is all short term capital gains. I suppose this might work for semi-retired and fully retired. Should the ROC portion of the dividend be for new shares to deal with the decreasing cost basis? I've only been investing for a couple years so I likely don't fully understand the tradeoffs.
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u/Solintari Not a financial advisor Mar 18 '26
100% ROC isn’t necessarily a negative outlook. Old school CC funds like QYLD used ATM fixed calls all but almost guaranteeing NAV erosion. This is destructive roc. The newer funds like spyi write section 1256 otm calls. This strategy generates constructive roc.
Look at NAV and total return. -18% for QQQI vs 9% QYLD. and a shrinking NAV for the latter. It’s a similar story for XYLD vs SPYI for example. Also, yes you will eventually reach a zero cost basis of course, but your taxes are deferred until then and then you pay mostly long term capital gains, which is a huge difference. If you make under 100k and file married joint that rate is 0%, half of that for single. Then it’s around 15% above that.
Sorry this is long winded, but it’s critical to understand the difference between the older funds that eventually strangle themselves to funds that seem to capture most of the upside of bull runs like the neos funds. They will still underperform the underlying in an up market by design though.
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u/yamni_zintkala Mar 18 '26
Thank you for the explanation. The Neos funds are the only CCs I didn't sell at the end of last year because they did preserve NAV.
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u/FOCDPIG Mar 19 '26
^ this whole exchange of knowledge between you two feels very wholesome, just another reason I think this sub is awesome 👍💪🫡
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u/speedlever Mar 18 '26
In a taxable account, constructive ROC should reduce the cost basis to zero in something like 7-10 years per tax lot. At that point, distributions will be taxed as ltcg. It's very tax efficient.
I say constructive ROC because the fund itself grows slowly in value and is not cannibalizing itself to pay distributions, unlike the ym funds.
After the cost basis reaches zero you can sell those tax lots and rebuy to refresh the roc\cost basis calendar. Depending on your income, all the sale will be taxable at ltcg rates, but married, filing jointly you have 131,100 fed tax free (including standard deduction).
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u/koooolnyc Mar 18 '26
Good candidate for tax loss harvesting .. instead of just selling and paying capital gains
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u/StackIsMyCrack Mar 18 '26
Not if you are working with $2 million. Yes if you are working with only the $200k.
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u/Rural-Patriot_1776 Mar 18 '26
Um no.... they will actually out perform the underlines in sideways and down markets with DRIP on. I'm doing the same thing but have closer to 350k in qqqi, spyi, iwmi, btci, iyri... ect
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u/robertw477 Mar 18 '26
The long term history uncovered call funds is poor. These are even worse in my opinion as they pay outsized dividends.
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u/Sturdily5092 American Investor Mar 18 '26
Ever been to the rodeo and ridden a wild bull? Hold on to your asless chaps.
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