IWMY vs JEPQ: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk

IWMY and JEPQ are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. IWMY is R2000 Weekly Distribution ETF, while JEPQ is JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF. JEPQ is broader by holdings count, with 110 positions versus 5 for IWMY. JEPQ has the lower expense ratio. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has JEPQ ahead on AIQ Score, 54 versus 47.

Market data as of Oct 21, 2026 market close· Fund characteristics as of Oct 21, 2026
IWMY
Defiance
vs
JEPQ
J.P. Morgan
IWMY
R2000 Weekly Distribution ETF
Issuer
Defiance
Inception
2023-10-30
JEPQ
JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF
Issuer
J.P. Morgan
Inception
2022-05-03

What is the main difference between IWMY and JEPQ?

JEPQ holds 110 positions to IWMY's 5.

Expense ratio
IWMY
1.05%
JEPQ
0.35%
Lower annual fund costJEPQ
Holdings
IWMY
5
JEPQ
110
Broader reported basketJEPQ
1Y return
IWMY
-24.4%
JEPQ
+4.1%
Trailing performanceJEPQ
Annualized volatility
IWMY
16.8%
JEPQ
15.1%
Lower realized volatilityJEPQ
MetricIWMYJEPQ
Fund
Expense ratio1.05%0.35%
Holdings5110
Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months38%11.58%
Average volume51,8116,194,078
Performance
1Y return-24.4%+4.1%
YTD return-15.5%+2.3%
Risk
Annualized volatility16.8%15.1%
Max drawdown (1Y)-26.1%-10.3%
Beta1.071.04
Sharpe ratio-1.790.04
Sortino ratio-2.580.05
AlgovestIQ
AIQ Score47/10054/100
AIQ Edge Score3/105/10
Momentum29/10031/100
Risk Resilience77/10080/100

AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison

R2000 Weekly Distribution ETF vs JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

Data as of Oct 21, 2026· market close· Options Income / Covered Call· Coverage 64/66 fields· High confidence
AIQ VerdictFragileAIQ Comparison Conviction 4/10

JEPQ leads

JEPQ leads by 7 AIQ points, primarily on Quality, but the lead has narrowed from 19 points over 30 sessions.

Fragile: 2 of 4 evidence groups support JEPQ, its lead is narrowing, and its current signal state is conflicted.

Evidence agreement: 2 of 4Comparison trend: Weakening
IWMY

R2000 Weekly Distribution ETF

AIQ Score
47/100
AIQ Edge Score
3/10
JEPQ

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

Leads
AIQ Score
54/100
AIQ Edge Score
5/10

The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors JEPQ over IWMY, 54 versus 47 as of Oct 21, 2026. JEPQ's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality, while IWMY holds the stronger value profile. JEPQ also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 2 of 4 covered evidence groups favor JEPQ today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: only 2 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. JEPQ lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 19 to 7 points over 30 sessions.

Compare R2000 Weekly Distribution ETF and JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.

IWMY vs JEPQ: 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 wantIWMYJEPQFits
Lower costExpense ratio1.05%0.35%JEPQ
Broader diversificationNumber of holdings5110JEPQ
Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield38%11.58%IWMY
Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 1 year-26.1%-10.3%JEPQ
Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year16.8%15.1%JEPQ

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.

IWMY
+37.2%
JEPQ
+78.5%

Total return comparison

Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested

IWMY $13,720 · JEPQ $17,848

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

Compare IWMY and JEPQ 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.

IWMY advantage
0
JEPQ advantage
  • Quality34 vs 69
    JEPQ +35
  • Value59 vs 45
    IWMY +14
  • Risk Resilience77 vs 80
    Even
  • Momentum29 vs 31
    Even

2 of 4 evidence groups favor JEPQ. JEPQ’s edge is concentrated in quality; IWMY keeps a meaningful value edge.

What changed since the last close

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

IWMY+1 AIQ

Largest factor move: Momentum +4

No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 6 active signals are unchanged.

JEPQ-1 AIQ

Largest factor move: Value -1

New signals

  • RSI Oversold - Potential Bounce — bullish, momentum, short horizon

JEPQ's lead narrowed by 2 AIQ points in the latest session.

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

The central trade-off

JEPQ (JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by quality.

IWMY (R2000 Weekly Distribution ETF): the counter-case, on value, valuation.

Fund facts, side by side

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

MeasureIWMYJEPQWhy it matters
Expense ratio1.05%0.35%Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold.
Holdings5110More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns.
Average volume51,8116,194,078Liquidity — matters most if you trade size.
Annualized volatility16.8%15.1%Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure.
Max drawdown (1Y)-26.1%-10.3%The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year.
Sharpe ratio-1.790.04Return per unit of risk. Higher is better.
Beta1.071.04Sensitivity 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.

Technology14.5% vs 61.0%
Financial Services18.0% vs 0.4%
Healthcare20.9% vs 4.2%
Communication Services2.3% vs 12.6%
Industrials13.3% vs 3.9%
Real Estate6.4% vs 0.2%
Energy6.4% vs 0.3%
Basic Materials4.3% vs 0.8%
IWMYJEPQ

IWMY vs JEPQ: five-year payout growth

IWMY began paying distributions in 2023, so it has no 2020-2025 growth rate to compare. JEPQ began paying distributions in 2022, so it has no 2020-2025 growth rate to compare.

Dividend metricIWMYJEPQ
2025 annual payout$12.477$6.123
Peer ranknot rankednot ranked

Split-adjusted annual distributions, 2020–2025. Research as of Sep 19, 2026. Yield and expense ratio above are current values, not part of this window.

AIQ Agreement Matrix

2 of 4 covered evidence groups favor JEPQ. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.

Evidence groupFavorsReading
AIQ ScoreJEPQ47 vs 54
FundamentalsNot coveredNot covered
ValuationIWMYValue 59 vs 45
TechnicalsJEPQPrice vs 50-day -6.5% vs -0.4%; vs 200-day -12.6% vs 0.6%
Risk ResilienceEvenRisk Resilience 77 vs 80
Analyst expectationsNot coveredNot covered

✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of IWMY and JEPQ 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 7 points.
  • Only 2 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The leader's advantage has been narrowing. (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 JEPQ.

How the comparison changed

99 daily snapshots · Jun 22 – Oct 20

JEPQ lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 19 to 7 points over 30 sessions.

Jun 22IWMY leads above the line · JEPQ leads belowOct 20
Today
JEPQ +7
47 vs 54
7 sessions ago
JEPQ +9
46 vs 55
30 sessions ago
JEPQ +19
46 vs 65
90 sessions ago
JEPQ +7
50 vs 57

The lead changed hands 2 times in this window, most recently on Jun 29 when JEPQ moved ahead of IWMY.

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.

IWMY

0 bullish / 4 bearish / 2 neutral

Only IWMY

  • Death Cross Active — bearish, trend, long horizon (6.71%)
  • 52-Week Low Proximity — bearish, risk, long horizon (0.1%)
  • Downtrend Structure Active — bearish, trend, long horizon
JEPQConflicted

2 bullish / 2 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted

Only JEPQ

  • Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (1.94%)
  • Keltner Channel Breakdown — bearish, volatility, short horizon
  • RSI Oversold - Potential Bounce — bullish, momentum, short horizon

Both carry 3 more signals that do not separate them: Bollinger Band Squeeze, ATR Contraction - Coiling, MACD Bearish Crossover.

JEPQ 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.

IWMYConfirmed strength

Price and the AIQ Score both moved up over the latest session (price +0.24%, AIQ +1 points).

JEPQDivergence

Price is up while the AIQ Score moved down 1 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price +0.86%, 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. 1IWMY closes the Quality gap — currently 35 points behind, the largest single contributor to JEPQ's edge.
  2. 2IWMY's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
  3. 3JEPQ's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 2 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once.
  4. 4The narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 12 points over 30 sessions, and a further 7-point move would eliminate JEPQ's advantage entirely.

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

JEPQ leads 5 of 6 windows
MetricIWMYJEPQ
1 week (5 sessions)-1.2%-2.4%
1 month (20 sessions)-6%-2.8%
3 months (63 sessions)-13.1%0%
6 months (126 sessions)-14.5%1.4%
Year to date-15.5%2.3%
1 year (252 sessions)-24.4%4.1%

Technicals

JEPQ has the stronger structure
MetricIWMYJEPQ
RSI (14)35.129.6
ADX (14)53.621.8
Price vs 50-day-6.5%-0.4%
Price vs 200-day-12.6%0.6%
Volatility (1M, annualized)13.8%10.8%

Risk

Split
MetricIWMYJEPQ
Beta1.071.04
Sharpe ratio-1.790.04
Sortino ratio-2.580.05
Max drawdown-26.1%-10.3%
Current drawdown-24.7%-3.3%
Annualized volatility16.8%15.1%
Value at risk (95%)-1.9%-1.7%

Straight answers

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

What is the difference between IWMY and JEPQ?

JEPQ holds 110 positions to IWMY's 5.

Which ETF is more diversified, IWMY or JEPQ?

JEPQ holds more positions: 110 versus 5 for IWMY.

Which has the lower expense ratio?

JEPQ has the lower expense ratio, 0.35% a year against 1.05% for IWMY.

Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?

IWMY, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 38% against 11.58% for JEPQ.

Which ETF has been more volatile?

IWMY has been more volatile over the past year, at 16.8% annualized against 15.1% for JEPQ.

Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?

JEPQ fell less from peak to trough over the past year: -10.3% against -26.1% for IWMY.

Compare IWMY and JEPQ 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.