# QYLD ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What QYLD holds, its 0.6% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Global X (Mirae Asset). This fund owns the Nasdaq-100 stocks and sells call options on that index every month to earn extra income. It charges 0.6% a year. From December 2013 to October 2026 it returned about 8.5% a year, and its worst drop was −24.8%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.6% a year (about $60 on $10,000).
- Started trading on December 11, 2013.
- Last close: $18.32 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 20.1%.
- Worst drop since 2013: −24.8%.
- No Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has QYLD done since 2013?

From December 2013 to October 2026, QYLD returned about 8.5% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 13.9% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $28,650 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | QYLD | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | 1.1% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | 4.7% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | 10.1% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 13.4% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 20.1% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 15.2% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 8.4% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 9.8% | 15.4% |
| Since 2013, per year | 8.5% | 13.9% |

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

## QYLD returns by month and year

QYLD rose in 110 of its 155 months (71%). Its best month was November 2020, at 10.0%. Its worst was March 2020, at −9.0%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 1.7% | −0.1% | −1.5% | 5.9% | 1.6% | 3.0% | −2.8% | 4.1% | 2.5% | −1.2% |  |  | 13.4% |
| 2025 | 2.4% | −2.0% | −6.4% | −1.0% | 1.5% | 3.2% | 1.2% | 0.3% | 3.3% | 3.5% | 1.2% | 2.2% | 9.3% |
| 2024 | 2.6% | 2.4% | 1.3% | −1.8% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 0.4% | 2.9% | 1.9% | 0.6% | 2.4% | 1.8% | 19.4% |
| 2023 | 7.2% | −1.9% | 5.6% | 1.8% | 3.0% | 1.6% | 2.6% | −2.1% | −3.0% | 0.1% | 3.6% | 2.7% | 22.8% |
| 2022 | −5.5% | −2.1% | 5.3% | −6.8% | −5.9% | −2.1% | 6.5% | −6.5% | −7.3% | 4.1% | 3.8% | −3.0% | −19.1% |
| 2021 | 1.1% | −0.9% | 1.8% | 1.1% | −0.7% | 1.9% | 1.3% | 3.2% | −3.4% | 4.3% | −0.4% | 0.8% | 10.4% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | −8.1% | −9.0% | 5.2% | 4.0% | 2.7% | 3.8% | 3.6% | −1.6% | −3.1% | 10.0% | 2.2% | 8.7% |
| 2019 | 4.6% | 2.4% | 2.2% | 1.7% | −4.4% | 6.1% | 2.5% | −1.3% | 0.5% | 3.1% | 2.0% | 1.7% | 22.7% |
| 2018 | 2.4% | 1.2% | −3.5% | 1.7% | 3.5% | −1.4% | 2.8% | 3.5% | 0.7% | −5.4% | 0.2% | −7.9% | −3.1% |
| 2017 | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 0.5% | 1.4% | 1.3% | 0.5% | 1.9% | 0.7% | 1.6% | 18.1% |
| 2016 | −7.3% | 2.2% | 2.0% | −2.9% | 1.7% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 0.6% | 2.1% | 0.6% | 1.5% | 0.8% | 3.0% |
| 2015 | −1.8% | 1.6% | −0.3% | 1.0% | 1.0% | −1.2% | 3.3% | −6.8% | 2.0% | 7.1% | 0.7% | 0.2% | 6.5% |
| 2014 | −0.6% | 3.4% | −1.6% | −0.7% | 2.3% | 1.2% | 0.1% | 2.3% | −1.2% | −2.0% | −1.0% | 1.4% | 3.4% |
| 2013 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2.0% | 2.0% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is QYLD compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 0.76.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, QYLD tended to move about 0.76%.
- **Correlation 0.88.** QYLD mostly moved with the S&P 500.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, QYLD rose 62% as much on average. In months it fell, QYLD fell 58% as much.

| Measure | QYLD | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 8.3% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 15.0% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −24.6% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.61 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.86 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.34 | 0.52 |

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

## Is QYLD above its 200-day average?

QYLD closed 6.5% above its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds QYLD only above that average would hold it today.

- Its 50-day average is 6.1% above its 200-day average.
- It closed 2.2% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for QYLD](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was QYLD's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. QYLD's worst fall was −24.8%, from February 20, 2020 to March 16, 2020. It got back to that high on November 5, 2020. On October 16, 2026 it was 2.2% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −24.8% | Feb 20, 2020 | Mar 16, 2020 | Nov 5, 2020 | 25 days | 8 months |
| −24.6% | Dec 8, 2021 | Oct 14, 2022 | Jan 19, 2024 | 10 months | 15 months |
| −19.1% | Feb 20, 2025 | Apr 8, 2025 | Oct 20, 2025 | 2 months | 6 months |
| −19.0% | Oct 3, 2018 | Dec 24, 2018 | Jul 10, 2019 | 3 months | 7 months |
| −12.1% | Dec 29, 2015 | Feb 8, 2016 | Oct 10, 2016 | 41 days | 8 months |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does QYLD hold?

This fund owns the Nasdaq-100 stocks and sells call options on that index every month to earn extra income. In return, it gives up much of the gains when stocks rise. It can still lose value when stocks fall.

It tracks the Cboe NASDAQ-100 BuyWrite V2 Index. It had 102 holdings as of October 16, 2026, according to Global X (Mirae Asset).

| Fact | QYLD |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF |
| Issuer | Global X (Mirae Asset) |
| Expense ratio | 0.6% a year |
| Started trading | December 11, 2013 |
| Tracks | Cboe NASDAQ-100 BuyWrite V2 Index |
| Type | US stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 102 holdings as of October 16, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 17, 2026 on the [Global X (Mirae Asset) fund page](https://www.globalxetfs.com/funds/qyld/) |

## What is the QYLD expense ratio?

QYLD charges 0.6% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.6% fee comes to about $60 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 7% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold QYLD?

No classic strategy holds QYLD yet. You can add it to your own rules in the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and see how they would have done.

## How does QYLD compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for QYLD:

- [GPIX](https://tactfolio.com/etf/GPIX.md): Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF, 0.29% a year
- [JEPI](https://tactfolio.com/etf/JEPI.md): JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF, 0.35% a year
- [JEPQ](https://tactfolio.com/etf/JEPQ.md): JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF, 0.35% a year
- [DIVO](https://tactfolio.com/etf/DIVO.md): Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF, 0.56% a year

See [all 8 QYLD alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/QYLD.md), compared on the same dates as QYLD.

## Test QYLD in your own rules

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add QYLD, and see how a rule such as "hold it only above its 200-day average" would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

## The details

Prices come from Tactfolio's stored daily prices for QYLD and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from Global X (Mirae Asset). We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [S&P 500 index](https://tactfolio.com/learn/sp500-index): The S&P 500 tracks about 500 large US companies. Learn how stocks get in, how the index is weighted, how to invest in it, and how far it has fallen before.
- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of QYLD?

QYLD charges 0.6% a year, according to Global X (Mirae Asset) as of October 17, 2026. That is about $60 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did QYLD start trading?

QYLD started trading on December 11, 2013. It is run by Global X (Mirae Asset).

### What does QYLD track?

QYLD tracks the Cboe NASDAQ-100 BuyWrite V2 Index. This fund owns the Nasdaq-100 stocks and sells call options on that index every month to earn extra income.

### How much has QYLD returned per year?

From December 2013 to October 2026, QYLD returned about 8.5% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −24.8%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is QYLD above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, QYLD closed 6.5% above its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use QYLD?

None of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold QYLD yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

## Sources

- [Global X (Mirae Asset): Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF fund page](https://www.globalxetfs.com/funds/qyld/)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.