When YieldMax launched the YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF (ULTY) at the end of February 2024, investors got very excited about the 50%-plus (currently 60.16%) distribution yield. Over the last two years, realized total returns have disappointed. But now that there are a couple of newer competitors, let’s compare recent results.
The investment thesis for these funds is to hold portfolios of highly volatile stocks. High volatility means higher relative options prices. Selling high-priced options generates the cash flow to pay the very large dividends resulting in the eye-popping distribution yields.
The challenge for these funds is that high-volatility stocks can drop quickly in price, and selling calls limits the potential price recovery. As a result, the share prices of this type of ETF can fall faster than dividends can accumulate.
Let’s take a look at the three funds in the category and how they have performed.
ULTY was the first of these launched. According to the YieldMax website, the fund has generated an 8.6% total return from the February 28, 2024 launch through May 31, 2026. I like to look at returns from the bottom of the 2025 bear market, which occurred in early April last year.
You can see that ULTY did well during the recovery through the end of October, but has struggled as the market turned flat. The year-to-date total return is 11.45%.
The REX IncomeMax Option Strategy ETF (ULTI) launched on October 31, 2025. ULTI has a current distribution rate of 72.63%. Here is the return chart since the IPO. The timing of the inception date was not good, as the major market indices peaked at the end of October.
Year-to-date, ULTI has returned 27.74% (share price is down 9.29%). So ULTI has handily outperformed ULTY in 2026.
Kurv launched the Kurv High Income ETF (KYLD) on October 30, 2025 (one day before ULTI) to offer a high-yield ETF while avoiding the share price erosion seen in the other two ETFs discussed here.
Kurv is willing to forgo some yield to help preserve the share price. KYLD currently yields 23.7%. Here is the since-inception return chart for KYLD:
A little math shows that KYLD has outperformed by 28% since it and ULTI launched. Based on the price charts above, I recommend adding shares on dips—it will pay off with very attractive returns.
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