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Dapper Dividends

Dapper Dividends

#310~ I Tested 69 Covered Call ETFs. Only 4 Passed.

Aug 9, 2026 · 15 min · 10 segments

I tested 69 covered call and options-income ETFs against the assets they're built on — every fund from its own inception date through August 7, 2026, total return with all distributions reinvested…

I tested 69 covered call and options-income ETFs against the assets they're built on — every fund from its own inception date through August 7, 2026, total return with all distributions reinvested. Only 4 beat their benchmark, and every one of those four had a flat or falling underlying, used leverage, or wasn't actually a covered call fund. Not one beat its benchmark by writing calls on an asset that was going up. This video explains why covered call ETFs like GOOY, QYLD, JEPI, TSLY, SPYI, and QQQI underperform buy-and-hold, what a covered call actually trades away, why a "distribution" is not a dividend, and how return of capital can hand you back your own money while the share price sinks. The full spreadsheet with every fund, inception date, and total return number is linked below so you can check the work yourself. 📊 [Full spreadsheet](//docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/122igz1tMUeLu7JesOLNVqceFUdqZczbXRegseoOXjSM/edit?%20gid=638816075#gid=638816075) 🔢 Run your own comparison: DividendChannel.com Special Offer - One FREE Month of Simply Safe Dividends... no credit card required! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click HERE!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ 📊 Track these picks and all ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dapper Dividends recommendations in the spreadsheet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out my current portfolio on 📱→Blossom: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://getblossom.onelink.me/SOfu/russ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠(affiliate) Email Russ: 👉 Russ@DapperDividends.com 🔔 Follow along with my dividend journey: → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Blossom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out my portfolios and FREE Weekly Newsletter signup: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://dapperdividends.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠](www.dapperdividends.com) [⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠FREE eBook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠](tiny.cc/DapperBook) on Life, Love, and Investing. Thanks for stopping by, and remember: a single income stream is risky, and seeking multiple passive income streams would be wise! This video is for entertainment and educational purposes only. I am not a financial advisor. Please do your own research before making any investment decisions.

I tested 69 covered call and options-income ETFs against the assets they're built on — every fund from its own inception date through August 7, 2026, total return with all distributions reinvested…

Spotify Apple Podcasts YouTube Website

Speakers: RussHost

Top entities: Alphabet Inc.×9 S&P 500×11 Spreadsheet×2 Tesla×5 Exchange-traded fund

Show signals: SuitabilitySafeBiasNot politicalAudience≈14k followers

How the Fund Comparison Works1:50 – 3:01

R

RussHost

1:50

Now some of you pedantic nitpickers might say that I'm cherry picking by using the fund's inception date.

R

RussHost

1:56

But that's the only date I actually didn't get to choose which is the very first day it started trading.

R

RussHost

2:03

And honestly using any other date is cherry picking because you're picking the starting date.

R

RussHost

2:08

So this is the covered call comparison sheet that we used.

R

RussHost

2:11

Feel free to check it out for yourself.

R

RussHost

2:13

Got things like the issuer in there, the inception date.

R

RussHost

2:16

This column is the funds total return since inception and then the reference asset.

R

RussHost

2:22

Some of them, as you'll see, didn't have an exact reference asset.

R

RussHost

2:26

So we got close.

R

RussHost

2:27

And then the difference in simple percentage points between the two.

R

RussHost

2:31

And then we gave a quick note here on the strategy in pretty much as plain language as we could.

R

RussHost

2:37

And then another very important one here is the net expense ratio, as we'll talk about in a minute.

R

RussHost

2:42

So out of all these funds, we had 69 of them and only four outperformed the reference or the proxy asset, the underlying, right? And 65 did not.

R

RussHost

2:54

So instead of going through line by line and trying to be a cure for insomnia, we'll let you dig deeper.

R

RussHost

2:59

But there's a few things I want to point out.

Alphabet Inc.CompanyCompany
98%9 mentions
S&P 500EntityStock market index
93%11 mentions
SpreadsheetEntityFile format genre
89%2 mentions
TeslaCompanyAutomotive company
84%5 mentions
Exchange-traded fundEntity
80%1 mention
Warren BuffettPersonAmerican investor and former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
75%3 mentions
CalculatorEntity
70%1 mention
Affiliate marketingEntity
66%1 mention
NvidiaCompanyCompany
61%1 mention
YouTubeWebsiteYouTube channel
57%2 mentions
InvestmentEntity
52%1 mention
IndeedWebsiteWebsite
48%3 mentions
TreasuryEntity
43%1 mention
AccentureCompanyIT company
39%4 mentions
PayPalCompanyFinancial technology company
34%2 mentions
Berkshire HathawayCompanyHolding company
30%15 mentions
NASDAQ:TSLAEntity
25%1 mention
American ExpressCompanyBanking company
16%1 mention
AppleCompanyTechnology company
16%1 mention
The Coca-Cola CompanyCompanyDrink company
16%1 mention
Roth IRAEntity
7%1 mention
GoogleCompanyTechnology corporation
2%3 mentions

Performance AnalysisFinance > Investments > Funds > Covered Call Funds
Impact on ReturnsFinance > Investment Management > Fees > Expense Ratios
Investment ChoicesFinance > Personal Finance > Retirement Accounts
Income vs. GrowthFinance > Personal Finance > Retirement Accounts > Investment Choices
InvestmentsFinance
Personal FinanceFinance
Investment ManagementFinance
Investment StrategiesFinance
Historical PerformanceFinance > Market Analysis > Stock Market
FeesFinance > Investment Management
FundsFinance > Investments
Options TradingFinance > Investment Strategies
Covered CallsFinance > Investment Strategies > Options Trading
Market AnalysisFinance
Covered Call FundsFinance > Investments > Funds
Market TrendsFinance > Investment Strategies > Options Trading > Covered Calls
Stock MarketFinance > Market Analysis
Retirement AccountsFinance > Personal Finance
Expense RatiosFinance > Investment Management > Fees
Investment ReturnsFinance > Market Analysis > Stock Market > Historical Performance
Finance

How the Fund Comparison Works1:50 – 3:01

R

RussHost

1:50

Now some of you pedantic nitpickers might say that I'm cherry picking by using the fund's inception date.

R

RussHost

1:56

But that's the only date I actually didn't get to choose which is the very first day it started trading.

R

RussHost

2:03

And honestly using any other date is cherry picking because you're picking the starting date.

R

RussHost

2:08

So this is the covered call comparison sheet that we used.

R

RussHost

2:11

Feel free to check it out for yourself.

R

RussHost

2:13

Got things like the issuer in there, the inception date.

R

RussHost

2:16

This column is the funds total return since inception and then the reference asset.

R

RussHost

2:22

Some of them, as you'll see, didn't have an exact reference asset.

R

RussHost

2:26

So we got close.

R

RussHost

2:27

And then the difference in simple percentage points between the two.

R

RussHost

2:31

And then we gave a quick note here on the strategy in pretty much as plain language as we could.

R

RussHost

2:37

And then another very important one here is the net expense ratio, as we'll talk about in a minute.

R

RussHost

2:42

So out of all these funds, we had 69 of them and only four outperformed the reference or the proxy asset, the underlying, right? And 65 did not.

R

RussHost

2:54

So instead of going through line by line and trying to be a cure for insomnia, we'll let you dig deeper.

R

RussHost

2:59

But there's a few things I want to point out.

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