MSTYYieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETFOption-income ETF
Distribution rate
~100%
Annualized — swings weekly
Return of capital
~95%
Of recent payouts (19a est.)
Price return, 1 yr
−77%
Price only, split-adjusted
Expense ratio
1.03%
Highest in the library
House verdict
Yield trap — income is principal erosion. MSTY writes call options on Strategy (MSTR) and pays the proceeds out weekly — currently about $0.25 a share. There is no underlying business earning that payout: the fund's own distribution notices classify roughly 95% of recent payouts as return of capital, which is your own money handed back. The share price tells the rest — down ~77% in a year on a price-only basis, even after a 1-for-5 reverse split in December 2025 — and the 1.03% expense ratio, the highest on any card here, is charged on the capital being returned to you.
- ✗Coverage check: There are no earnings to cover this payout — the fund holds MSTR options and Treasuries, not an operating business. When option premium falls short of the distribution, the difference comes out of the fund's own assets, and the NAV steps down.
- ✗Trap check — distribution vs. total return: The scoreboard that convicts it: trailing 12-month total return is about −48% with every distribution counted, and from inception (Feb 2024) through May 2026 MSTY returned roughly +95% against +227% for simply holding MSTR. The payout isn't on top of the return — it's carved out of it.
- ✗Return-of-capital check: Fund 19a notices estimate ~95% of recent distributions as return of capital — principal handed back, not income earned. Each ROC dollar also reduces your cost basis, so the 'income' quietly converts into a future capital-gains bill.