
QYLD and the 8% Dividend Trap: What Five Years of Total Return Data Actually Shows
QYLD delivered ~21% total return (2020–2024) vs. SPY's ~96% — a 75-point gap the 10%+ yield never bridges.Covered call distributions tax as ordinary income; at the 22% federal bracket, after-tax yield on QYLD falls to ~8% before NAV erosion.JEPI (0.35% ER) posted ~55% total return since May 2020 inception vs. QYLD's ~21%, with partial qualified-dividend treatment.Account placement dominates ticker selection: QYLD inside a Roth IRA eliminates the ordinary-income drag entirely.Disconfirming scenario: sustained VIX above 25 expands covered call premiums and improves QYLD's yield-vs-NAV trade-off materially....
