GDXY vs MSTY: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk

GDXY and MSTY are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. GDXY is YieldMax Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF, while MSTY is YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF. MSTY is broader by holdings count, with 24 positions versus 13 for GDXY. GDXY has the lower expense ratio. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has GDXY ahead on AIQ Score, 42 versus 33.

Market data as of Oct 21, 2026 market close· Fund characteristics as of Oct 21, 2026
GDXY
YieldMax
vs
MSTY
YieldMax
GDXY
YieldMax Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF
Issuer
YieldMax
Inception
2024-05-20
MSTY
YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF
Issuer
YieldMax
Inception
2024-02-21
Expense ratio
GDXY
1%
MSTY
1.03%
Lower annual fund costGDXY
Holdings
GDXY
13
MSTY
24
Broader reported basketMSTY
1Y return
GDXY
-45.6%
MSTY
-75.4%
Trailing performanceGDXY
Annualized volatility
GDXY
42.2%
MSTY
71.1%
Lower realized volatilityGDXY
MetricGDXYMSTY
Fund
Expense ratio1%1.03%
Holdings1324
Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months75.39%141.1%
Average volume719,1951,967,123
Performance
1Y return-45.6%-75.4%
YTD return-39.1%-51.4%
Risk
Annualized volatility42.2%71.1%
Max drawdown (1Y)-50%-81.3%
Beta1.612.81
Sharpe ratio-1.18-1.70
Sortino ratio-1.53-2.98
AlgovestIQ
AIQ Score42/10033/100
AIQ Edge Score2/101/10
Momentum35/10029/100
Risk Resilience27/1000/100

AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison

YieldMax Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF vs YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF

Data as of Oct 21, 2026· market close· Coverage 62/66 fields· High confidence
AIQ VerdictFragileAIQ Comparison Conviction 5/10

GDXY leads

GDXY leads by 9 AIQ points, primarily on Risk Resilience and Momentum, having only recently taken the lead back from MSTY.

Fragile: 2 of 3 evidence groups support GDXY, the lead recently changed hands, and its current signal state is conflicted.

Evidence agreement: 2 of 3Comparison trend: Reversed
GDXY

YieldMax Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF

Leads
AIQ Score
42/100
AIQ Edge Score
2/10
MSTY

YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF

AIQ Score
33/100
AIQ Edge Score
1/10

The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors GDXY over MSTY, 42 versus 33 as of Oct 21, 2026. GDXY's advantage is driven primarily by stronger risk resilience and momentum. GDXY also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 2 of 3 covered evidence groups favor GDXY today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the lead has already changed hands inside the comparison window. GDXY lead: Reversed — MSTY led by 6 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; GDXY now leads by 9.

Compare YieldMax Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF and YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.

GDXY vs MSTY: which fits what

Each row is settled by a single measure. Where the gap is too small to matter it reads Similar, and no row decides the comparison as a whole.

If you wantGDXYMSTYFits
Lower costExpense ratio1%1.03%GDXY
Broader diversificationNumber of holdings1324MSTY
Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield75.39%141.1%MSTY
Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 1 year-50%-81.3%GDXY
Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year42.2%71.1%GDXY

Similar means the gap is within 0.01 percentage points of expense ratio, 25% more holdings, 3 points of top-10 weight, 0.2 points of yield, 2 points of drawdown or 1 point of volatility. Past drawdowns and volatility describe the funds’ history, not their future.

Currently unavailable

Performance over time

Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.

GDXY
+56.3%
MSTY
-13.5%

Total return comparison

Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested

GDXY $15,627 · MSTY $8,649

Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.

Compare GDXY and MSTY against another ticker

Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.

Basic: 2 symbols·Explorer: 3 symbols·Pro and Premium: 5 symbols·Your limit: 2

AIQ Factor Divergence

Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.

GDXY advantage
0
MSTY advantage
  • Risk Resilience27 vs 0
    GDXY +27
  • Momentum35 vs 29
    GDXY +6
  • Quality56 vs 54
    Even

2 of 3 evidence groups favor GDXY. GDXY’s edge is concentrated in risk resilience and momentum.

What changed since the last close

Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.

GDXY0 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum +1, not enough on its own to move the overall score.

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 4 active signals are unchanged.

MSTY+1 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum +5

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 5 active signals are unchanged.

GDXY's lead narrowed by 1 AIQ point in the latest session.

Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — GDXY and MSTY both carry a full feed there.

The central trade-off

GDXY (YieldMax Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by risk resilience and momentum.

MSTY (YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF): the counter-case, on technicals — but at materially higher volatility, 51.7% against 33.4%.

Fund facts, side by side

Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.

MeasureGDXYMSTYWhy it matters
Expense ratio1%1.03%Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold.
Holdings1324More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns.
Average volume719,1951,967,123Liquidity — matters most if you trade size.
Annualized volatility42.2%71.1%Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure.
Max drawdown (1Y)-50%-81.3%The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year.
Sharpe ratio-1.18-1.70Return per unit of risk. Higher is better.
Beta1.612.81Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio.

Where the exposure actually sits

Sector exposure for each fund, ordered by the size of the difference.

Cash & Others100.0% vs 100.0%
GDXYMSTY

AIQ Agreement Matrix

2 of 3 covered evidence groups favor GDXY. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.

Evidence groupFavorsReading
AIQ ScoreGDXY42 vs 33
FundamentalsNot coveredNot covered
ValuationNot coveredNot covered
TechnicalsMSTYPrice vs 50-day -9% vs 1.5%; vs 200-day -24.1% vs -27.6%
Risk ResilienceGDXYRisk Resilience 27 vs 0
Analyst expectationsNot coveredNot covered

✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of GDXY and MSTY and are excluded from the count.

AIQ Decision Stability

Fragile

The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.

  • The AIQ gap is moderate at 9 points.
  • The lead has already changed hands inside the comparison window. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)

Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on GDXY.

How the comparison changed

45 daily snapshots · Sep 6 – Oct 20

GDXY lead: Reversed — MSTY led by 6 AIQ points 30 sessions ago; GDXY now leads by 9.

Sep 6GDXY leads above the line · MSTY leads belowOct 20
Today
GDXY +9
42 vs 33
7 sessions ago
GDXY +2
40 vs 38
30 sessions ago
MSTY +6
38 vs 44
90 sessions ago
Not covered

The lead changed hands 5 times in this window, most recently on Oct 9 when GDXY moved ahead of MSTY.

AIQ Signal Divergence

Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.

GDXYConflicted

1 bullish / 2 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted

Only GDXY

  • MACD Bullish Crossover — bullish, momentum, short horizon
MSTY

0 bullish / 3 bearish / 2 neutral

Only MSTY

  • ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode — neutral, volatility, short horizon (6.22%)
  • MACD Bearish Crossover — bearish, momentum, short horizon

Both carry 3 more signals that do not separate them: Bollinger Band Squeeze, Death Cross Active, Downtrend Structure Active.

GDXY leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.

Price vs model alignment

Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.

GDXYNo material change

Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +0.41%, AIQ 0 points).

MSTYConfirmed strength

Price and the AIQ Score both moved up over the latest session (price +6.04%, AIQ +1 points).

What would flip this result

A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.

  1. 1MSTY closes the Risk Resilience gap — currently 27 points behind, the largest single contributor to GDXY's edge.
  2. 2MSTY's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
  3. 3GDXY's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once.
  4. 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.

The full evidence

Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.

Performance

GDXY leads 5 of 6 windows
MetricGDXYMSTY
1 week (5 sessions)-1.1%-7.2%
1 month (20 sessions)-12.2%-18.6%
3 months (63 sessions)-2%8.1%
6 months (126 sessions)-29%-43.5%
Year to date-39.1%-51.4%
1 year (252 sessions)-45.6%-75.4%

Technicals

MSTY has the stronger structure
MetricGDXYMSTY
RSI (14)42.136.5
ADX (14)23.521.2
Price vs 50-day-9%1.5%
Price vs 200-day-24.1%-27.6%
Volatility (1M, annualized)33.4%51.7%

Risk

GDXY is the more resilient
MetricGDXYMSTY
Beta1.612.81
Sharpe ratio-1.18-1.7
Sortino ratio-1.53-2.98
Max drawdown-50%-81.3%
Current drawdown-48.1%-76.7%
Annualized volatility42.2%71.1%
Value at risk (95%)-4.9%-6.6%

Straight answers

Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.

Which ETF is more diversified, GDXY or MSTY?

MSTY holds more positions: 24 versus 13 for GDXY.

Which has the lower expense ratio?

GDXY has the lower expense ratio, 1% a year against 1.03% for MSTY.

Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?

MSTY, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 141.1% against 75.39% for GDXY.

Which ETF has been more volatile?

MSTY has been more volatile over the past year, at 71.1% annualized against 42.2% for GDXY.

Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?

GDXY fell less from peak to trough over the past year: -50% against -81.3% for MSTY.

Compare GDXY and MSTY with others

Continue your research

This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.

How this comparison is scored

The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.

The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.

How to use side-by-side comparison →

This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.