Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (XYLD)
$41.80−0.48%close of Oct 16, 2026
Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (XYLD) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Global X (Mirae Asset). This fund owns the S&P 500 stocks and sells call options on that index to earn extra income. It charges 0.6% a year. From June 2013 to October 2026 it returned about 8.5% a year, and its worst drop was −33.5%.
Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.
- Yearly fee
- 0.6%
- about $60 on $10,000
- 1-year return
- 17.9%
- to Oct 16, 2026
- Return per year
- 8.5%
- since June 2013
- Worst drop
- −33.5%
- since 2013
- Below its high
- −0.5%
- now
- Volatility
- 13.5%
- yearly swings
- Issuer
- Global X (Mirae Asset)
- Tracks
- Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index
- Started trading
- June 21, 2013
- Type
- US stocks, ETF
- Holdings
- 505 holdings as of October 16, 2026
- Expense ratio
- 0.6% a year
How has XYLD done since 2013?#
From June 2013 to October 2026, XYLD returned about 8.5% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 14.5% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $29,435 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.
| Period | XYLD | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 2.1% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | 3.8% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | 10.1% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 11.3% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 17.9% | 16.8% |
| 3 years per year | 13.5% | 22.0% |
| 5 years per year | 7.6% | 12.8% |
| 10 years per year | 8.6% | 15.4% |
| Since 2013 per year | 8.5% | 14.5% |
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.
XYLD returns by month and year#
XYLD rose in 115 of its 161 months (71%). Its best month was October 2015, at 9.1%. Its worst was March 2020, at −16.3%.
| Year | Total | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11.3% | 1.2 | 0.8 | −3.0 | 3.9 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.7 | ||
| 2025 | 8.0% | 2.0 | −0.6 | −4.6 | −1.9 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| 2024 | 19.5% | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.3 | −1.3 | 1.1 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 1.3 | −0.6 | 4.0 | 2.3 |
| 2023 | 11.1% | 4.4 | −0.3 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 1.4 | −1.6 | −2.7 | −0.8 | 2.8 | 2.0 |
| 2022 | −12.0% | −2.3 | −0.7 | 4.2 | −4.9 | −3.7 | −2.9 | 3.9 | −5.1 | −6.6 | 6.0 | 2.1 | −1.6 |
| 2021 | 19.6% | 0.4 | 0.8 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 2.6 | −1.8 | 4.6 | −1.7 | 3.6 |
| 2020 | −0.6% | −0.2 | −8.3 | −16.3 | 7.8 | 3.4 | 1.3 | 3.9 | 3.3 | 0.3 | −3.0 | 8.6 | 1.6 |
| 2019 | 21.4% | 4.9 | 2.1 | 2.2 | 3.0 | −5.5 | 6.7 | 2.1 | −1.8 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| 2018 | −6.1% | 2.6 | −2.3 | −3.1 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 3.3 | 2.5 | −0.2 | −4.1 | −0.4 | −9.2 |
| 2017 | 16.5% | 1.8 | 2.8 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.3 |
| 2016 | 7.6% | −7.6 | 2.9 | 4.6 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | −1.2 | 2.2 | 1.6 |
| 2015 | 0.6% | −2.4 | 4.1 | −1.6 | 1.0 | 0.9 | −1.6 | 1.8 | −5.8 | −3.7 | 9.1 | 0.2 | −0.6 |
| 2014 | 7.6% | −2.8 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 1.4 | −1.2 | 3.1 | −0.8 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 0.0 |
| 2013 | 14.0% | 1.8 | 3.8 | −2.9 | 2.4 | 4.1 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.
How risky is XYLD compared with the S&P 500?#
Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.
- Beta 0.57. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, XYLD tended to move about 0.57%.
- Correlation 0.88. XYLD mostly moved with the S&P 500.
- Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, XYLD rose 53% as much on average. In months it fell, XYLD fell 49% as much.
| Measure | XYLD | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| Return per year | 7.5% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 11.2% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −18.7% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.70 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.99 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.40 | 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 XYLD above its 200-day average?#
XYLD closed 6.3% above its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds XYLD only above that average would hold it today.
- vs 200-day average
- +6.3%
- above it
- 50-day vs 200-day
- +5.3%
- trend rising
- vs 52-week high
- −0.5%
- high of $42.00
A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for XYLD and backtest it in a minute.
What was XYLD’s worst drop?#
A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. XYLD’s worst fall was −33.5%, from February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on March 15, 2021. On October 16, 2026 it was 0.5% below its highest close.
| Drop | From the high | To the bottom | Back to the high |
|---|---|---|---|
| −33.5% | Feb 19, 2020 | Mar 23, 202033 days | Mar 15, 202112 months |
| −18.7% | Apr 13, 2022 | Sep 30, 20226 months | Mar 12, 202417 months |
| −18.1% | Sep 20, 2018 | Dec 24, 20183 months | Jul 12, 20197 months |
| −15.5% | Feb 20, 2025 | Apr 8, 20252 months | Oct 20, 20256 months |
| −12.1% | Jun 22, 2015 | Feb 11, 20168 months | Jun 23, 20164 months |
Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.
What does XYLD hold?#
This fund owns the S&P 500 stocks and sells call options on that index 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 S&P 500 BuyWrite Index. It had 505 holdings as of October 16, 2026, according to Global X (Mirae Asset).
What is the XYLD expense ratio?#
XYLD 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 XYLD?#
No classic strategy holds XYLD yet. You can add it to your own rules in the builder and see how they would have done.
How does XYLD compare with similar ETFs?#
Funds that can stand in for XYLD:
- GPIX: Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF, 0.29% a year
- JEPI: JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF, 0.35% a year
- JEPQ: JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF, 0.35% a year
- DIVO: Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF, 0.56% a year
See all 8 XYLD alternatives, compared on the same dates as XYLD.
Test XYLD 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, add XYLD, 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 XYLD 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 and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.
Common questions#
What is the expense ratio of XYLD?#
XYLD 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 XYLD start trading?#
XYLD started trading on June 21, 2013. It is run by Global X (Mirae Asset).
What does XYLD track?#
XYLD tracks the Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index. This fund owns the S&P 500 stocks and sells call options on that index to earn extra income.
How much has XYLD returned per year?#
From June 2013 to October 2026, XYLD returned about 8.5% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −33.5%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.
Is XYLD above its 200-day moving average?#
On October 16, 2026, XYLD closed 6.3% above its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.
Which strategies use XYLD?#
None of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold XYLD yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.