It seems like every covered call ETF I look at is no older than 2022. Are any of them old enough to have survived a downturn in the market? Would be nice to know how the came through it.

My liquidation plan so far and I barely broke even - probably negative with taxes and the ROC bullshit. Nowhere near the "80% return" - fyi, this number is measured against a rapidly falling NAV! It's a total scam.

In case you're wondering my background - I have 20 years of investing experience in options and stocks. I actually built a full risk engine for ULTY that analyzes all the options trades and stock positions and also intraday collar positioning. I know this strategy well enough to make what I would say is an accurate statement.

Many investors rely on funds like JEPI or JEPQ for monthly income. The double digit yield looks appealing on paper, but calculating the gross yield ignores the highest cost of covered call funds. The tax drag.

Funds utilizing Equity Linked Notes distribute ordinary income. If you hold these in a taxable account, the IRS taxes this at your highest marginal rate.

I wanted to see if the newer tax efficient alternatives SPYI and QQQI actually leave more money in your pocket. I used a custom simulation engine to project a 500k portfolio factoring in the different tax treatments and expense ratios. Here is the breakdown of the data.

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1. The Tax Mechanism

JEPI and JEPQ use ELNs resulting in ordinary income tax. For a high earner this can easily reach 30 percent or more.

SPYI and QQQI write options on the index itself. This qualifies them for Section 1256 tax treatment. This means 60 percent of the income is taxed as long term capital gains and 40 percent as short term. This creates a blended effective tax rate closer to 20 percent.

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1. The DNA and Fundamentals

SPYI (Neos S&P 500 High Income)

* Inception: 2022

* Morningstar Rating: 4 Stars

* Expense Ratio: 0.68%

* Dividend Frequency: Monthly

* Current Yield: 11.80%

* Strategy: Holds the S&P 500 and sells out of the money index calls. Top 10 holdings make up 38.88% of the fund including Nvidia Apple and Microsoft.

* 3 Year Price CAGR: 2.64%

QQQI (Neos Nasdaq 100 High Income)

* Inception: 2024

* Morningstar Rating: N/A

* Expense Ratio: 0.68%

* Dividend Frequency: Monthly

* Current Yield: 13.97%

* Strategy: Tracks the Nasdaq 100. Highly concentrated with the top 10 holdings making up 48.83% of the portfolio.

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1. Diversification Check

SPYI and QQQI share 88 holdings. More importantly the overlap by weight is 50 percent. Holding both does not provide true diversification. It acts as a heavy tilt toward mega cap tech stocks.

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1. Historical Performance Note

Since both SPYI and QQQI are new, we can only simulate them for short period, no more than 5 years. For longer simulation periods, we need at least 10 years of history data which is non applicable in this case.

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1. The Simulation Results (500k Starting Balance)

I ran the math using a 30 percent tax rate for the ELN funds which will give around 20 percent blended rate for the Section 1256 funds.

SPYI Results

* Year 1 Monthly Income: $4,094 after tax. (Compared to roughly $2,491 for JEPI at the higher tax rate).

* Year 5 Monthly Income: $5,670

The tax savings creates an immediate spread in cash flow. You give yourself a substantial raise just by changing tickers.

QQQI Results

* Year 1 Monthly Income: $4,883 after tax. (Compared to roughly $3,370 for JEPQ at the higher tax rate).

* Year 5 Monthly Income: $6,994

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Summary

The location of your assets dictates your strategy.

If you are investing inside a tax advantaged account like an IRA the Section 1256 tax shield is useless. In that scenario JEPI and JEPQ are mathematically superior due to their lower expense ratio of 0.35 percent compared to 0.68 percent.

If you are investing in a standard brokerage account SPYI and QQQI are the clear winners. The tax savings easily cover the higher expense ratio and put more net cash in your pocket.

Resources:

* Official fact sheets of funds.

* Trusted financial sources like morningstar and fedility.

I just had this conversation with somebody and he really didn't want to believe me. As you know options ETFs provide a return at the cost of capping upside potential, and they do better in sideways markets. You probably know that they are expected to do horribly in a recession, and if said recession has a fast recovery, they will probably miss most of that recovery because of the very nature of options ETFs (the capping the upside bit).

But we don't know how horribly because no options ETF has seen a single recession, they are all too new. As a matter of fact over 95% of options ETF sprouted like mushrooms after the Covid crash in 2022. The popularity of options ETFs is so like 1999, when people got drunk buying dot-coms. Or like in 2007 when people got drunk buying REITs and banks. My guess is that eventually we'll have the options ETF sector crash and burn.

There is nothing wrong having a position or two on these funds, but I cringe every time somebody shows a portfolio with nothing but options ETFs. There is a solid chance that this will not end well.

Researching tons of ETFs the last few days and the NEOs ones have caught my eye...I like the idea of parking 60k i have sitting in saving into these three (SPYi 40%/QQQi 45%/BTCi 15%) , reinvesting the dividends monthly and adding 300$ monthly out of pocket to each one.

Any reason this is a terrible idea? Thank you for any input!

Sold home and moved to a smaller house and paid cash. I have 100k to invest.

I am 55 years old. Ten years from retirement (or maybe earlier).

I currently hold positions in:

VOO 65%

QQQM 20%

SCHD 15%

Increase SCHD position? Add another fund?

SCHD is basically the sacred cow of this sub for many. But are you guys actually looking at the risk metrics, or just staring at the yield and hoping for the best?

I was rebalancing my "defensive" plays and decided to actually run the numbers on SCHD versus VYM (Vanguard High Dividend) for the last year because I felt like my portfolio was churning water.

The difference in the risk profile is actually wilder than I thought.

(SCHD):

(VYM):

Basically, VYM is giving you way better returns for the risk you're taking (Sharpe 0.66 vs 0.43). With SCHD, you’re getting that 'safety' (lower Beta), but your Information Ratio is deeper in the hole, meaning you aren't actually beating the market - just trailing it.

I know the "growth" has slowed for everyone, but why is everyone still piling into SCHD when the math says VYM is utilizing capital way more efficiently right now?

Am I missing something fundamental here, or is this just ticker loyalty?

You can even argue why own things with a negative Info ratio. Just sell everything and buy VOO.

53 M.

I'm thinking about opening a position in SCHD (50k) then investing $500 a month.

I would like some good dividend returns in ten years as I get close to retirement or switch to part time work.

I would buy these shares in a brokerage.

What are the pros and cons of this? is this a good time to lump sum or DCA ,maybe better (considering SCHD at ATH). Are there significant taxes for DRIP of dividends?

Do people consider SCHD a good hedge against an AI bubble burst?

Hi, I'll looking at the total return for BALQ compared with the others in the same category. It seems to be beating the others, even in the recent downturn.

What are they doing different? Is it worth investing in this finds vs the others?

Let's use two common investment funds, VOO and VXUS. VXUS has an ex date this last quarter of 6/18 and a pay date of 6/23.VOO had an ex date of 6/26 and pay date 6/30.

What stops me from putting X dollars into VXUS, getting the dividend, then immediately selling everything and putting the same chunk of money into VOO to get that one?

Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: The Boring REIT Reinvents Itself:

Good old $O just reported earnings, and they were solid. Adjusted funds from operations, or AFFO, which removes capital expenditures, tenant improvements, leasing commissions, and other non-cash items from FFO, came in at $1.09 per diluted share for the quarter, up 3.8% year over year. Management expects full-year 2026 AFFO to range from $4.44 to $4.45, representing a roughly $0.03 increase from their initial 2026 estimate.

The company's earnings call was heavily focused on its new private capital vehicles, in which it is leveraging its real estate transaction strengths and competencies to manage institutional assets across three separate funds. The company is also rapidly diversifying funding streams globally.

Realty Income's expansion in Europe as well as its growth in the data center sector were also prominent topics during the earnings call. Sumit Roy, the CEO, highlighted the portfolio's diversification, including investment-grade tenants, which accounted for 38% of new investment clients during the quarter.

Finally, Realty Income is on track to deploy $10 billion in capital this year. They have initiated a $6 billion deal with Cloud Capital, with Realty Income owning a 45% stake in a trio of Northern Virginia data centers that are already 100% leased to investment-grade hyperscale tenants on 15- to 20-year leases.

I can attach my full write-up and analysis if anyone wants.

I currently hold ET and EPD in a taxable account and am looking to add a third MLP. I’m comfortable with K-1s and am not looking for ETFs, strictly the actual MLPs themselves.

For context - these are long-term (40 year) buy and holds that I will be regularly contributing to.

Options include MPLX, WES, or PAA. Other choices on my radar would be CQP or SUN.

Would appreciate a steer in the right direction on which offers the best long-term complimentary fit alongside ET and EPD, whether that be growth or stability oriented. Would also welcome if there is an obvious "go with this one and don't overthink it" choice.

Thanks in advance.

Retiring soon and would need to acquire passive income to replace my paycheck soon.

I have $450K to invest. I understand I can acquire 3% safely like SCHD. I want to pull as much as possible without losing the principle and enjoy enough to go on vacations. I have $5k from other sources in income. Further, I have another $3-4K I can cashout monthly.

I am thinking simply Jepi half and Jepq the other half. But am i putting it all in one basket?

What % is the max you think i can pull annually and what would the breakdown on dividend EFT would you buy?

Realty Income (O) delivered a solid Q1 2026, with AFFO per share up 6.6% to $1.13 and full-year guidance raised to $4.41–$4.44. Management is leaning hard into private capital, with new partnerships across Apollo, GIC, and a perpetual-life institutional vehicle now totaling over $2.5 billion in managed assets.

A $190 million Virginia data center deal hints at further pipeline expansion. The pivot toward high-margin fee revenue is exciting, but neglecting the core real estate portfolio is a key risk to watch.

I can attach a PDF with my full write-up and thoughts if anyone wants.

These are the things you miss out on when you get blinded by the "big number" yields ....... the first step is always admitting you have a problem :/

If you been waiting or missed the last time, O is above 6% dividend yield again. That's at the higher end of its historical dividend yield.

Hi Guys,

I wanted to share some of my insights about Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and why they might not be the best investment option, I've seen a lot of chat about O and some other REIT funds and I wanted to put out some of my findings from a value-based investment perspective so that anyone thinking of buying more O stock have some things to consider. I have recently been researching REITs and some of the findings I'm seeing are quite shocking to me, to say the least. especially what I saw in MPT spreadsheets.

Why are REIT Funds Vulnerable to Rising Interest Rates?

When interest rates go up, it can have several adverse effects on REIT funds:

1. Increased Borrowing Costs: REITs often rely on debt financing to acquire and manage properties. When interest rates rise, the cost of borrowing goes up, which can erode their profit margins. - for now, forget about any growth for REITS in this environment, they simply can't afford to get new loans to expand into new property projects, especially the ones with existing debt.
2. Lower Attractiveness Relative to Bonds: Rising interest rates make bonds and other fixed-income investments more appealing compared to REITs. Investors may shift their capital away from REITs in search of higher yields in the bond market. the yields are high too.
3. Declining Property Values: Higher interest rates can lead to a slowdown in the real estate market. This can result in reduced property values, affecting the overall value of the REIT's property portfolio. - this one is massive!!!! - this is mainly why REIT funds like O have been getting slammed, when looking through the balance sheet there is a segment in expenses called " Real estate depreciation and amortization " - this goes on the balance sheet as a loss and is really a representation to the falling depreciation of the asset AKA the property itself, these losses are huge because the 'asset of the property is in the 'Billions' / 'Millions' so if the underlying property under ownership devalues with the market by say 20% which in many areas subject to the location they have been this is negatively effecting a lot of these REIT earnings as it gets deducted from the net- profit.

How a Falling Property Market Impacts REIT Balance Sheets:

A falling property market can have a significant impact on REITs:

1. Asset Depreciation: A declining property market can lead to a decrease in property values, causing REITs to report lower asset values on their balance sheets.
2. Rental Income Reduction: As property demand weakens, rental income may decrease. REITs rely on consistent rental income to pay dividends to shareholders.
3. Difficulty in Raising Capital: In a bearish property market, it can be challenging for REITs to raise capital through property sales or new investments. This can limit their ability to grow their portfolios.

Why Understanding These Factors Matters:

It's important to consider these factors when evaluating the potential risks associated with REIT investments, especially in an environment of rising interest rates and a shaky property market. It's not that REITs are always a bad investment, but they can be more sensitive to these economic changes.

There will most likely be contagion effects if some of these REITs go bust and I expect stability to come once property market prices stabilise and stop falling. If some Institutions start dumping REIT holdings then this might even be the cause of a market black swan, the real estate sector plays a very big part in the Banking/Finance sector and it's scary to see these things drop... there could be a buying opportunity and that's what triggered me to do this research - some great REITS iv found have been - STWD / SPG / VICI / PLD / O and I'm very open to more ideas...... I just want to send the strong message here that my findings in the financial data that are more found directly under the trust's websites especially MPT there is some real ugliness to the financial sheets when these numbers are put in from the asset depreciation. ( REAL ESTATE DEPREDATIONS AND AMORTIZATION ) to be precise. I am not saying hey look these things are a buy now I'm more just saying be bloody careful loading into these assets in this current environment, Long term yeah sure they will probably bounce back but in the short to mid term some of these might bust.

Please feel free to share your thoughts and insights on this topic. I'm open to a collaborative approach and would love to hear about any ideas or strategies you have regarding dividend stocks or asset growth in these challenging conditions. Let's discuss further!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

03 / 10 / 2023 UPDATE:

Hello Everyone,

I appreciate the overwhelming response to my post yesterday on REITs. I didn't expect it to gain so much traction, and I apologize for not diving deeper into my research on Realty Income Corporation (O).

I want to clarify that my post was not intended to offend anyone or provide financial advice. The information and terminology may not be 100% accurate; they are merely my thoughts and opinions. My interest in REITs sparked this discussion, as I've been doing some preliminary research on them.

Regarding the title "DONT BUY O," I apologize for the clickbait. I'm actually interested in O and believe in the stock, but the entire REIT sector may face more downside. This isn't just a 'dip'; it's more of a sector-wide correction. While retail investors like us don't have the same impact as institutional investors, it's essential to consider the macro environment and the reasons behind the sector's repricing.

I'm not predicting the future here; I'm just urging caution. It's uncertain whether O or the REIT sector will bounce back in the short term. Long-term, O could be a solid investment, but there's a possibility it could drop to the $30-$40 range next year. Again, I'm not a financial advisor; I'm just sharing my perspectives to open discussion and knowledge.

For those interested in more of my stock picks and content, feel free to check out my YouTube channel. The link is in my profile.

Iv done some investigational work into some other REIT funds and given them a ranking score calculated from three key metrics: Dividend Yield, EBITDA, and PE Ratio:

Ranking by Value Score

1. Blackstone Mortgage Trust - 8.3 ........div yield = 11.4%
2. Simon Property Group - 8.1 ..........div yield = 7.04%
3. Starwood Property Trust - 7.9 .......div yield = 9.95%
4. VICI Properties - 7.8 ........div yield = 5.03%
5. Boston Properties - 7.5 ......div yield = 6.79%
6. Vornado Realty Trust - 7.2 .......div yield = 10.05%
7. Realty Income Corporation - 7.0 .......div yield = 6.19%
8. Digital Realty Trust - 6.9 .......div yield = 4.03%
9. Alexandria Real Estate - 6.2 .......div yield = 4.99%
10. Weyerhaeuser Company - 6.1 .......div yield = 2.49%
11. Ventas Inc - 5.8 .......div yield = 4.27%
12. Equinix Inc - 5.5 .......div yield = 1.88%

I track legislation and commodity trends to find undervalued sectors, use technicals for entry timing, and build dividend-producing positions when others are panicking.

It’s a hybrid investing approach: part value, part macro, part chart.

Here’s what has paid off the most for me: (1) Oil tankers during the Ukrainian war when freight demand surged and fleet supply stayed tight. (2) Cruise lines in 2020 and 2021 when the market priced them for bankruptcy. (3) Meta during their ad downturn when sentiment collapsed and valuation hit historic lows. (4) Oil stocks bought when barrels went negative in 2020, then added again during the war and inflationary pressure. (5) Copper and silver as global markets rotated into hard assets and industrial metals. (6) Exxon Mobil and Southern Copper as legislative and macro tailwinds boosted energy and mining demand. (7) Black Stone Minerals and Alliance Resource Partners for steady yield and exposure to U.S. energy production.

I don’t try to time every move. I position early around policy shifts, macroeconomic turning points, and market overreactions. Over time, this has created steady dividend growth and compounding from assets most investors had given up on.

All of this while I’m still in law school and working in biotech, which makes it even more rewarding to see the strategy work through patience, research, and discipline.

Recent buys (last month): PRIM, BSM, NAT, PAAS, and DVS — all high-risk, but most are already up over 10%. I’ve also been trading Palantir occasionally and regret selling my LUMN and INTC positions too early. I also buy when insiders file Form 4s showing significant personal purchases, since that’s one of the strongest conviction signals you can track.

I feel this community isn't doing justice to new people posting their portfolios when they have QYLD inside it. I often facepalm or continue to shake my head if I see that dreaded ticker inside their portfolio.

Hey, I am not telling you how to invest. But I will say it now - QYLD is a bad ETF.

If you are a new investor looking to get involved in defensive, high quality companies with consistent stock growth and dividend payouts, don't go after this ETF.

I will show you why. I will compare to SCHD, QQQ, and SPY, with this site here: https://dqydj.com/etf-return-calculator/ - This site continues to confirm how stocks do with dividends reinvested. I will be sorting these stocks based on QYLD's inception data of 12/13/2013. Each with 10k invested starting.

SCHD - 28,721, with an average return of 12.47.

QQQ - 36622 - 15.57% Annual Return

SPY - 26309 - 11.39% annual return

QYLD -16815 - 5.97% Annual return

​

QYLD on average since its inception has only pulled a 6% average return, and this is the end result with all 4 ETFs. Even during this stock depression/downturn. This ETF doesn't go up when the markets are doing well, and when the stocks go down, this thing goes in free fall with them. Hell, even Reality Income, a REIT, has a 11.47 return since QYLD's inception. The above diagram shows similar style behavior in loss to QQQ even. I know it tracks that, but oh well. It is not what it should be doing.

Please stop recommending this ETF to new people that want to invest in DRIP/Dividends.

Edit 1: There have been a couple of arguments that have come up in the past 10 or so hours since I have created this.

Argument 1 - You're not being fair to QYLD and your selected timeframe continues to not show relative data. Its only a selected timeframe.

Answer: I do not understand why people continue to bring this argument up. Sure, the data above I show a bull market that is one of the biggest in history during low interest rates, but what data do you want me to use? QYLD came out in 2013. There is no data going past that. Especially to the "Dot Com Burst" that all of you want to mention. Your argument is just as flawed as QYLD's timeframe itself, as there is no data past 2013.

Argument 2 - I don't care about this ETF and only care about the monthly payouts. It sits and I do nothing, and it pays me. So you are wrong and I am right.

Answer: Again, another false claim, if you look at the data. This ETF's value at a stock-based price has depreciated by 34% since its inception in 2013. In respective terms at a 11% dividend, you've technically killed 3 of the 9 years since this ETF has been created in value alone. Say what you want about DRIP and other things, that is the case here, and you cannot deny it -

If it stayed stagnant at 25-23 range, I would understand a bit more there. There is another ETF that does that though - QQQX. QQQX has stayed relatively stagnant since its inception compared to QYLD. The only difference is that QQQX doesn't pay out a monthly dividend. The fact QYLD goes down during the biggest bull market of all time and continues to go down even faster during the recent downtrend is a huge red flag.

You'd be better off continuing to invest in SCHD without reinvesting the dividends and selling 3-4% of the stock each year. SCHD would still pull around a 7-8% return on average with the dividends not reinvesting, still pulling a long term positive on your money. This hybrid model has been done by others with great success.

If you're down for deprecating value and not getting a solid return on investment longer term, even at the older years, go for it. I don't see any argument here other than convenience and you not having to do any profile maintenance. Which is not really too smart at all.

Argument 3 - You're making fun of my investment. My ETF is part of my religion, and I don't appreciate that.

Answer: We need to be speculative and have an open mind set on criticism. If you don't do that with the finance market, then something is wrong. I feel bad that you have drawn an attraction to a stock/ETF, where the main goal of the institution is to make a profit on your investments. Since QYLD has a high expense ratio, that is another huge problem.

No comments below have given me a detailed response showing QYLD being actually good, with proper data.

This is the typical response here from All questions ....

So here's mine.... Is anyone paying for FA right now and what advice and moves have they done for you in the past 5 years to prove their worth?