The Nasdaq 100 index comprises 100 large-cap stocks of innovative companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The index is widely viewed as a proxy for investment in large tech companies. The Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) tracks the Nasdaq-100 index and is widely used as a proxy for the index.
In the growing universe of covered-call/option-strategy ETFs, QQQ is a very popular underlying asset. My high-yield ETF database currently includes 18 ETFs that use QQQ in some manner as their underlying asset.
What I call straight covered call ETFs use QQQ as the underlying asset and sell options or option spreads on QQQ or Nasdaq-100 futures. Another group of ETFs selectively picks stocks from the Index and then writes call options on those stocks. A third group employs a zero days to expiration (0DTE) strategy to generate income by selling same-day-expiration options on the QQQ.
On Memorial Day, with time on my hands, I used YCharts to find and compare year-to-date and trailing 12-month returns to rank the ETFs. Sixteen of the funds have a year-to-date track record, and 14 have existed for at least a year.
Let’s start with some broad results before I highlight a few standout ETFs and a couple of dogs.
Year-to-date, a half dozen ETFs were bunched together, with returns ranging from 14.8% to 16.0%. Standing out from the pack is the Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightingSpread Income ETF (QLDY). QLDY launched in September 2025, so it does not yet have a one-year track record.
Three ETFs with year-to-date returns of less than 10% are at the bottom of the pack. Of note is the NEOS Nasdaq-100 Hedged Equity Income ETF (QQQH) at the bottom for both time frames, returning 6.13% year to date and 20.33% for the past 12 months.
For the one-year results, again, six ETFs stood out, with returns ranging from 36.5% to 44.5%. That is a bit of a range, but any investor should be happy with returns within it. Of note is the 0DTE ETF, the Roundhill N-100 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF (QDTE), which posted a right-in-the-middle 12.84% year-to-date return but sits in second for one year, returning 40.48%.
Looking at the big picture, all QQQ-based ETFs posted positive returns. The worst one-year return was still more than 20%. However, it does pay to regularly compare results to ensure the better-performing ETFs are in your portfolio.
One ETF stood out above the others. The Kurv Technology Titans Select ETF (KQQQ) uses active portfolio management to focus on high-momentum stocks from the Nasdaq-100. KQQQ is up 16.06% year to date and had the best one-year return of 44.48%.
I recommended KQQQ to my subscribers soon after it launched in late 2024.
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