What FYEE Is, and the Question Here
Covered-call ETFs own a basket of stocks and sell call options on them. A call option is a contract that gives the buyer the right to buy at a set price, so the seller collects cash up front and gives up some of the gain if prices rise past that level. Newer funds in this group pitch something more ambitious than the original version: keep most of the market's gain and still pay a large distribution.
Fidelity says its Yield Enhanced Equity ETF (FYEE) keeps roughly 80–85% of the S&P 500's return with about 15% less volatility. JPMorgan's Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) and NEOS's S&P 500 High Income ETF (SPYI) make similar income-plus-upside promises. So which one actually kept the most on the same dates?
FYEE at a Glance
FYEE trades at $29.82, within a 52-week range of $26.29–$30.52. Its latest distribution was $0.555 per share (ex-dividend Sep 18, 2026). It pays quarterly, not monthly. Over the trailing 12 months it paid $2.73 per share, a 9.16% TTM distribution yield. The latest quarter alone works out to an annualized rate of 7.4%. Distributions vary from quarter to quarter, as covered below.
Performance and yield figures are historical and may change. Total return includes price movement and distributions where available. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Yield is not the same as total return.
Same Window, Four Funds
All figures cover FYEE's first trading day, Apr 11, 2024, through the Oct 26, 2026 close, about 2.5 years. Total returns assume distributions were reinvested. SPY, the plain S&P 500 fund with no options, is the yardstick.
| Fund | Total return | Per year | Share of SPY's total return | Price change | Cash paid (% of starting price) | Expense ratio |
| SPY (S&P 500, no options) | +52.1% | 18.0% | 100% | +47.8% | 3.5% | 0.09% |
| FYEE (Fidelity Yield Enhanced Equity) | +46.6% | 16.2% | 89% | +19.5% | 22.4% | 0.28% |
| SPYI (NEOS S&P 500 High Income) | +44.6% | 15.6% | 86% | +5.8% | 32.0% | 0.68% |
| JEPI (JPMorgan Equity Premium Income) | +22.7% | 8.4% | 43% | +0.5% | 20.1% | 0.35% |
These are strategy profiles, not recommendations. Suitability depends on individual objectives, risk tolerance, tax situation, time horizon, and broader portfolio construction.
Most of the difference shows up in the price column. SPYI paid out the most cash, but its share price rose only 5.8%. FYEE paid out less and kept more of its gain in the share price.
In the chart, FYEE and SPYI run almost on top of each other in total return. The gap between them shows up in the price column, not in the total-return line.
A Hypothetical $100,000, Two Ways
Hypothetical single-fund example: $100,000 put into each fund on Apr 11, 2024 and held through Oct 26, 2026. One column reinvests every payout. The other spends every payout and adds up the ending share value plus the cash collected.
| Fund | Reinvest every payout | Spend every payout (ending shares + cash collected) |
| SPY | $152,110 | $147,750 + $3,540 = $151,290 |
| FYEE | $146,580 | $119,500 + $22,430 = $141,930 |
| SPYI | $144,610 | $105,830 + $32,040 = $137,870 |
| JEPI | $122,650 | $100,480 + $20,080 = $120,560 |
