What These Funds Are
Covered-call funds like QQQI and TDAQ sell options on the Nasdaq-100 and pay the option premium out as a large monthly check. The known cost is that selling calls caps the upside, so these funds lag QQQ in rallies.
A popular idea this month is to add some leverage to buy that upside back. Two funds are built around it, and they get their leverage in different ways:
- XQQI (NEOS) holds the Nasdaq-100 stocks and uses longer-dated index options, buying calls and selling puts, to reach up to about 150% exposure, with its own call-writing overlay for income. It is built on QQQI's framework but does not hold QQQI, and it does not reset daily.
- TDAX (TappAlpha) seeks 130% of TDAQ's daily return and sells no options of its own. It gets its exposure through a swap on TDAQ, holds Treasury bills and cash as collateral, and resets daily.
TDAX/TDAQ is a true levered pair. XQQI/QQQI is a sibling strategy on the same index from the same issuer, so the 1.5x relationship between them is a measured result, not the stated design. Both pairs are measured against QQQ. For how XQQI's structure works, see our earlier piece, XQQI vs. QQQI: How Leverage Boosts the Payout — and the Risk. This follow-up covers what the leverage has actually produced so far.
The short version: since the March 30 low, XQQI kept 87% of QQQ's net gain and QQQI kept 69%, and that net figure already includes the fall from the October 6 peak. Counted from XQQI's first trade on February 3, the order flips: 47% for XQQI versus 56% for QQQI. Which result you see depends on the date you start counting.
The Framework: Four Steps for Judging a Levered Income Fund
The real question is not which fund is best. It is what each one is designed to do, and what tradeoffs come with that design. These four steps put numbers on those tradeoffs:
- Step 1: Check how much leverage the fund actually delivered.
- Step 2: Measure both legs of the market, the rally and the drop.
- Step 3: Look at the full record since launch, not only the stretch with the strongest numbers.
- Step 4: Count the costs, and separate the payout from the return.
The Four Funds at a Glance
| Fund | Strategy Profile | Launched | Expense Ratio (issuer) | Distribution Rate (issuer) | 30-Day SEC Yield (issuer) |
| QQQI | Nasdaq-100 stocks plus index call writing | Jan 29, 2024 | 0.68% | 14.09% | -0.05% |
| XQQI | Nasdaq-100 stocks, plus index calls bought and puts sold for up to ~150% exposure, plus call writing | Feb 2, 2026 (first trade Feb 3) | 0.98% | 20.65% (as of 10/31) | -0.38% |
| TDAQ | Nasdaq-100 exposure plus same-day call writing | Sep 4, 2025 | 0.68% | 17.59% | -0.22% |
| TDAX | 130% of TDAQ's daily return, reset daily | Jan 7, 2026 | 0.98% plus financing costs of the leverage | 23.87% (as of 11/4) | n/m* |
| QQQ | Nasdaq-100 index, no options, no leverage | — | 0.17% | — | — |
Issuer figures as of Nov 6, 2026, unless noted. XQQI's 20.65% rate is based on its October payment of $0.8823; its November payment (ex-date Nov 4) was $0.7548. *TappAlpha's fund page prints a 10.63% 30-day SEC yield for TDAX (as of 10/31). TDAX holds a swap and Treasury bills rather than stocks, so that figure is not comparable to the other funds' SEC yields, and we show it as not meaningful here. Expense ratios and yields change over time, so check the issuer's page for current figures.
These are strategy profiles, not recommendations. Suitability depends on individual objectives, risk tolerance, tax situation, time horizon, and broader portfolio construction.
XQQI has about nine months of live history and TDAX about ten. That limited track record makes them harder to judge across a full market cycle, and neither has been through a full bear market. Every levered-fund number below is a result so far.
Step 1: How Much Leverage Did the Fund Actually Deliver?
The first check is daily beta against QQQ, measured since February 3, 2026. QQQI came in at 0.84 and XQQI at 1.24, so in practice XQQI moved about 1.5x as much as QQQI. TDAQ came in at 0.95 and TDAX at 1.24, so TDAX moved about 1.3x as much as TDAQ, in line with its stated 130% daily target.
