Loading live data for both funds…
Yields are each fund's last 12 months of real payments divided by today's price — computed live, not quoted from a fact sheet.
Both funds bought with $50 every month over the identical period (starting when the younger fund, SPYI, launched in late 2022), every payout reinvested, before taxes. Past performance doesn't predict the future — but this is the honest, like-for-like comparison.
| Year | SPYI / share | JEPI / share |
|---|
Per-share dollars aren't directly comparable between two different funds — what matters is each fund's own trend line. Full payment-by-payment charts: SPYI history · JEPI history.
| SPYI | JEPI | |
|---|---|---|
| Built on | S&P 500 | Large US stocks (S&P 500-style, low-volatility tilt) |
| Run by | NEOS | JPMorgan |
| Typical yield | ~12% | ~7–8% |
| How the income is made | Index call options, actively managed and tax-optimized | Options via equity-linked notes on a conservative stock basket |
| Payout behavior | Remarkably steady | Varies with market volatility (record year: 2022) |
| Tax character | Largely return of capital — tax deferred in taxable accounts | Mostly ordinary income |
| Expense ratio | ~0.68% | ~0.35% |
| Paying since | 2022 | 2020 |
The Short Answer
SPYI and JEPI are the S&P 500's two most popular paychecks, and they split the same trade differently. JEPI is the giant — conservative stock basket, moderate option overlay, ~7–8% income, and a share price that holds up unusually well for an income fund. SPYI is the maximizer — heavier option selling, ~12% income, remarkably steady monthly checks, and a clever tax structure that makes those checks gentler in a taxable account. Same index, different priorities.
The Yield Gap, Explained Honestly
SPYI pays roughly four to five points more per year. That money isn't conjured — it's traded: SPYI sells call options against more of its portfolio, so when the S&P 500 surges, more of the gain belongs to option buyers instead of shareholders. JEPI leaves more upside intact and takes a smaller premium harvest. Which trade wins depends on the market you get — the $50-a-month race above settles it with real prices over the funds' shared lifetime rather than with adjectives.
Taxes: SPYI's Quiet Advantage
SPYI's distributions are largely return of capital by design — its index options get favorable treatment, and ROC defers your tax bill by reducing cost basis instead of stacking onto this year's income. JEPI's checks are mostly ordinary income, taxed annually at your full bracket. In a taxable account, that can be the difference of a percentage point or more of after-tax yield; in retirement accounts it's moot. Details in How Are Dividends Taxed? and Return of Capital & NAV Erosion.
Which One Fits You?
Choose JEPI for the steadiest ride: near-retirees and cautious income investors get a dependable check, gentler drawdowns, a 0.35% fee, and JPMorgan scale. Choose SPYI to maximize monthly cash flow — especially in a taxable account, where its ROC treatment keeps more of each check working. Blend them if you want a yield between the two with JEPI as ballast. Full payment records: SPYI history · JEPI history; mechanics in What Are JEPI and JEPQ? and the NEOS guide.
Model Either Fund With Your Numbers
Take the live yields above into the full calculator — taxes, reinvestment toggles, and the year-by-year snowball chart.
Use the Free Dividend CalculatorMore head-to-heads: JEPI vs JEPQ · QQQI vs JEPQ · SCHD vs JEPI — or see every fund on the dividend history hub.