Monthly Dividend Paying ETFs

[ahambric87]

I’ve been testing about 5% of my total investments with a NEOs/KURV high dividend income portfolio in a taxable account since about the start of the 2026 calendar year. The portfolio is distributing roughly 16% blended yield so far. Didn’t go all-in on either sector but slightly overweighted QQQI, SPYI, IWMI, and NIHI at about 10-12% allocation each, then for diversification and some yield boost about 7% weights each for BTCI, NEHI, IAUI, IYRI, MLPI, and KSLV. I added in some KQQQ, AMZP, and MSFY also when they were down and got decent initial entry on those ones. Overall the port is flat but with some positions in red, mainly the silver, gold, and btc/eth funds but I am generally satisfied with how these NEOs/KURV ETFs are perform considering the recent geopolitical turmoil. Upside is capped when compared to the underlying but that’s okay. Yields seem consistent so far. While I don’t want to see another great financial crisis, these funds haven’t been truly tested yet until they experience a larger drawdown, but seemed to have held well during recent ones.

I’m treading carefully but they show some promise for a scenario where I could live off dividends in retirement but I think you’ll definitely need to actively manage and reinvest a portion of the distributions back into the port to keep increasing your monthly paycheck so you keep with inflation and/or prevent principal erosion. They also seem to be very tax efficient so optimal in a taxable brokerage.

[Bubba]

I’ve been testing about 5% of my total investments with a NEOs/KURV high dividend income portfolio in a taxable account since about the start of the 2026 calendar year. The portfolio is distributing roughly 16% blended yield so far. Didn’t go all-in on either sector but slightly overweighted QQQI, SPYI, IWMI, and NIHI at about 10-12% allocation each, then for diversification and some yield boost about 7% weights each for BTCI, NEHI, IAUI, IYRI, MLPI, and KSLV. I added in some KQQQ, AMZP, and MSFY also when they were down and got decent initial entry on those ones. Overall the port is flat but with some positions in red, mainly the silver, gold, and btc/eth funds but I am generally satisfied with how these NEOs/KURV ETFs are perform considering the recent geopolitical turmoil. Upside is capped when compared to the underlying but that’s okay. Yields seem consistent so far. While I don’t want to see another great financial crisis, these funds haven’t been truly tested yet until they experience a larger drawdown, but seemed to have held well during recent ones.

I’m treading carefully but they show some promise for a scenario where I could live off dividends in retirement but I think you’ll definitely need to actively manage and reinvest a portion of the distributions back into the port to keep increasing your monthly paycheck so you keep with inflation and/or prevent principal erosion. They also seem to be very tax efficient so optimal in a taxable brokerage.

Thanks for posting. I had never heard of KURV ETfs. I'm wondering if KURV and NEOS will be in the $100 category to trade with Fidelity. I'm not retiring any time soon, so this'll be something for me to watch (in the background). For those curious to the difference between KURV and NEOS, I played with AI to get a nice summary (note, I didn't clean up the AI too much, so there might be some references that I didn't remove):

NEOS and KURV ETFs are high-yield, actively managed funds that both use options-based strategies to generate monthly income while maintaining exposure to underlying assets like broad market indices, single stocks, or commodities. Notably, as of late 2024, the two firms have moved toward a structural integration, with plans to reorganize NEOS ETFs into the Kurv ETF Trust.

Key Similarities
Income Strategy: Both use covered call strategies (selling call options) to generate high monthly distributions from premiums.
Tax Efficiency: Both prioritize tax efficiency, often utilizing Section 1256 contracts (which are taxed at 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gains rates) to enhance after-tax returns.
Active Management: Both suites are actively managed by investment professionals who adjust option strikes and expirations based on market conditions rather than following a fixed index.
Upside Participation: Unlike many "yield trap" funds that cap all gains, both NEOS and KURV often write options on only a portion of their portfolio or buy out-of-the-money (OTM) calls to capture some market upside.

Key Differences
Feature NEOS ETFs KURV ETFs
Core Focus Broad market indices (S&P 500, Nasdaq-100) and diverse alternatives (Bitcoin, Gold, Real Estate). Heavy emphasis on Single Stock Enhanced Income (e.g., TSLA, AMZN, MSFT) and metals.
Leverage Options Offers a "Boosted" suite (e.g., XSPI) providing up to 150% notional exposure. Does not typically offer high-leverage "boosted" versions of its standard strategy.
Yield & Volatility Generally aims for a more stable NAV with slightly lower, more consistent yields (e.g., 10–15%). Can experience higher volatility and yield variance, especially in their single-stock funds.
Option Specifics Often uses index options (SPX/NDX) for better tax treatment and liquidity. Mixes single-stock options with underlying equity and derivatives to track specific brand performance.

Comparison Summary
NEOS (e.g., SPYI, QQQI) is often viewed as a core portfolio building block for broad, tax-efficient income.
KURV (e.g., TSLP, AMZP) acts more as a satellite holding, allowing investors to target specific high-growth stocks or commodities for enhanced yield

[Sig]

Here is the dividend income ETFS, TSLY, MSTY, MARO, CRSH and CONY generated for the month of April. One thousand shares of each of those ETFs bought in July 2025 were about $63,000.00 for all five.
YIELDMAX converted all ETFs as of October 16th to weekly dividends.

Dividend Income for April 2026.

Totals for all dividends.
April Total $1,392.93
July Through April $26,645.04

Totals for all dividends reinvested.
April Dividend Reinvested Total $2,502.40
July Thru April Reinvested Total $38,017.46

[evilanne]

https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/optio ... 30699.html

These 4 High-Yield ETFs Promise Big Payouts, but Only 1 Looks Truly Safe

[crondanet5]

I am using cony, msty, crco and ulty. Very interesting concept to have weekly dividends.

[evilanne]

Hi Crondanet, it's been awhile since I've seen you post. Hope you are doing well!

[Sig]

I went to the ETF Screener at StockAnalysis.com, set Popular Screens to Monthly Dividends and Dividend Payout Frequency to Weekly then sorted on Last Div. highest to lowest.

I copied the page into Excel and calculated percent dividend return per week. Here are the top eight returning at least 2% per week and the monthly return would be about 8 to 9 percent.

Symbol Ex-Div Date Freq. Div. Price %/Week
MSTY 14-May-26 Weekly 0.54 $23.57 2.29%
CVNY 14-May-26 Weekly 0.51 $22.32 2.28%
CRCO 14-May-26 Weekly 0.53 $23.42 2.26%
SEMY 15-May-26 Weekly 0.36 $16.30 2.21%
AMDY 14-May-26 Weekly 1.09 $49.59 2.20%
CONY 14-May-26 Weekly 0.56 $25.89 2.16%
MUYY 15-May-26 Weekly 0.51 $24.93 2.05%
AMDW 18-May-26 Weekly 1.73 $85.37 2.03%

I own SEMY and SEMY gave me a $3,700.00 dividend today.

[Sig]

Here is the dividend income ETFS, TSLY, MSTY, MARO, CRSH and CONY generated for the month of May. One thousand shares of each of those ETFs bought in July 2025 were about $63,000.00 for all five.
YIELDMAX converted all ETFs as of October 16th to weekly dividends.

Dividend Income for May 2026.

Totals for all dividends.
May Total $1,214.44
July Through May $27,859.48

Totals for all dividends reinvested.
May Dividend Reinvested Total $2,315.41
July Thru May Reinvested Total $40,332.87

[Scarfinger]

Google says: "Furthermore, in exchange for the high dividend payouts, investors often experience severe erosion of their original principal (Net Asset Value or NAV). These are highly speculative investments generally reserved for risk-tolerant, income-focused portfolios rather than long-term capital growth."

Coming up on one year. Curious how these have performed? Accordingly? How is the principal erosion + yield?

Are you Losing? breaking even? coming out ahead?

What have you learned?

[Aitrus]

Agreed - this has been an interesting experiment. I've enjoyed watching it play out in real time, and I'm looking forward to seeing the 1-year data for it.

[Bubba]

Agreed - this has been an interesting experiment. I've enjoyed watching it play out in real time, and I'm looking forward to seeing the 1-year data for it.

I'm also somewhat curious, but I'm not impressed with the Yieldmax suite. I'm a bit more curious to the NEOS suite only because there is no NAV creep. I've been playing with the idea of throwing most of my cash in my ROTH IRA into SPYI or QQQI to get the growth paired with the cash. I've played a bit with AI and found that to be an improved strategy as opposed to pulling cash out of my Roth while remaining in the C or S funds.

[Scarfinger]

This guy has a pretty negative view on YieldMax and he seems pretty knowledgeable. At least more than me.

I don't remember if we are allowed to post links but here it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBUoHKf1JkM&t=61s