MARO vs QQQ: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
MARO and QQQ are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. MARO is YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF, while QQQ is Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1. QQQ is broader by holdings count, with 107 positions versus 9 for MARO. QQQ has the lower expense ratio. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has QQQ ahead on AIQ Score, 51 versus 27.
What is the main difference between MARO and QQQ?
QQQ holds 107 positions to MARO's 9, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | MARO | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 1% | 0.18% |
| Holdings | 9 | 107 |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 249.99% | 0.43% |
| Average volume | 560,563 | 37,968,274 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | -86% | +19.6% |
| YTD return | -63.2% | +16.8% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 67.7% | 19.9% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -86.6% | -12.2% |
| Beta | 2.80 | 1.45 |
| Sharpe ratio | -2.59 | 0.77 |
| Sortino ratio | -3.90 | 1.20 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 27/100 | 51/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 1/10 | 4/10 |
| Momentum | 25/100 | 21/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 1/100 | 72/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF vs Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1
QQQ leads
QQQ leads by 24 AIQ points, primarily on Risk Resilience and Quality, but the lead has narrowed from 35 points over 30 sessions.
Competitive: 3 of 3 evidence groups support QQQ, its lead is narrowing, and its current signal state is conflicted.
YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF
Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors QQQ over MARO, 51 versus 27 as of Oct 21, 2026. QQQ's advantage is driven primarily by stronger risk resilience and quality, while MARO holds the stronger momentum profile. QQQ also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 3 of 3 covered evidence groups favor QQQ today, and the comparison is rated Competitive on stability: the leader's advantage has been narrowing. QQQ lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 35 to 24 points over 30 sessions.
Compare YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
MARO vs QQQ: 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 want | MARO | QQQ | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 1% | 0.18% | QQQ |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 9 | 107 | QQQ |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 249.99% | 0.43% | MARO |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 1 year | -86.6% | -12.2% | QQQ |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 67.7% | 19.9% | QQQ |
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.
Performance over time
Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested
Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.
Compare MARO and QQQ against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
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.
- Risk Resilience1 vs 72QQQ +71
- Quality42 vs 82QQQ +40
- Momentum25 vs 21MARO +4
3 of 3 evidence groups favor QQQ. QQQ’s edge is concentrated in risk resilience and quality; MARO keeps a meaningful momentum edge.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.
No factor moved materially.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 8 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Momentum -2
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 3 active signals are unchanged.
QQQ's lead narrowed by 1 AIQ point in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — MARO and QQQ both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1): the stronger current systematic profile, led by risk resilience and quality.
MARO (YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF): the counter-case, on momentum — but at materially higher volatility, 47.8% against 15.4%.
Fund facts, side by side
Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.
| Measure | MARO | QQQ | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 1% | 0.18% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 9 | 107 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 560,563 | 37,968,274 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 67.7% | 19.9% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -86.6% | -12.2% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | -2.59 | 0.77 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 2.80 | 1.45 | Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio. |
How much of the same holdings they own
MARO and QQQ share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings.
4 holdings are unique to MARO, and 102 holdings are unique to QQQ. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
What MARO adds that QQQ doesn’t
| Holding | MARO | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 | 33.4% | Not held |
| United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 | 28.74% | Not held |
| United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 | 14.05% | Not held |
| United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 | 0.6% | Not held |
What QQQ adds that MARO doesn’t
| Holding | QQQ | MARO |
|---|---|---|
| NVDANVIDIA Corp | 8.49% | Not held |
| AAPLApple Inc | 7.71% | Not held |
| MSFTMicrosoft Corp | 5.88% | Not held |
| MUMicron Technology Inc | 4.89% | Not held |
| AMZNAmazon.com Inc | 4.36% | Not held |
| AMDAdvanced Micro Devices Inc | 3.64% | Not held |
Each list is a fund’s largest positions by weight that the other fund does not hold, or holds at less than half the weight.
MARO vs QQQ: five-year payout growth
QQQ grew its split-adjusted payout at 9.99% a year over 2020-2025. MARO began paying distributions in 2025, so it has no 2020-2025 growth rate to compare.
| Dividend metric | MARO | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 annual payout | $21.132 | $2.795 |
| Peer rank | not ranked | #56 of 138 |
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
3 of 3 covered evidence groups favor QQQ. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | QQQ | 27 vs 51 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | Not covered | Not covered |
| Technicals | QQQ | Price vs 50-day -33% vs -0.2%; vs 200-day -54.7% vs 6.2% |
| Risk Resilience | QQQ | Risk Resilience 1 vs 72 |
| Analyst expectations | Not covered | Not covered |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of MARO and QQQ and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The two are close enough that your objective, not the score, should decide.
- The AIQ gap is wide at 24 points. (supports the conclusion holding)
- 3 of 3 covered evidence groups point the same way. (supports the conclusion holding)
- 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 QQQ.
How the comparison changed
45 daily snapshots · Sep 6 – Oct 20QQQ lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 35 to 24 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- QQQ +24
- 27 vs 51
- 7 sessions ago
- QQQ +30
- 27 vs 57
- 30 sessions ago
- QQQ +35
- 30 vs 65
- 90 sessions ago
- Not covered
The lead has not changed hands in this window.
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.
1 bullish / 5 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted
Only MARO
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
- Death Cross Active — bearish, trend, long horizon (43.32%)
- ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode — neutral, volatility, short horizon (8.92%)
- RSI Oversold - Potential Bounce — bullish, momentum, short horizon
- 52-Week Low Proximity — bearish, risk, long horizon (0.0%)
- Downtrend Structure Active — bearish, trend, long horizon
1 bullish / 2 bearish, conflicted
Only QQQ
- Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (7.50%)
Both carry 2 more signals that do not separate them: Keltner Channel Breakdown, MACD Bearish Crossover.
QQQ 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.
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +3.15%, AIQ 0 points).
Price is up while the AIQ Score moved down 1 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price +1.05%, 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.
- 1MARO closes the Risk Resilience gap — currently 71 points behind, the largest single contributor to QQQ's edge.
- 2MARO's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
- 3QQQ's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once.
- 4The narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 11 points over 30 sessions, and a further 24-point move would eliminate QQQ'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
QQQ leads 6 of 6 windows| Metric | MARO | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -18.1% | -3.5% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -44.9% | -4% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | -51.8% | 1.7% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | -59.7% | 11.4% |
| Year to date | -63.2% | 16.8% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | -86% | 19.6% |
Technicals
QQQ has the stronger structure| Metric | MARO | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 5.8 | 37.2 |
| ADX (14) | 30.7 | 20.3 |
| Price vs 50-day | -33% | -0.2% |
| Price vs 200-day | -54.7% | 6.2% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 47.8% | 15.4% |
Risk
QQQ is the more resilient| Metric | MARO | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 2.8 | 1.45 |
| Sharpe ratio | -2.59 | 0.77 |
| Sortino ratio | -3.9 | 1.2 |
| Max drawdown | -86.6% | -12.2% |
| Current drawdown | -86.3% | -5.5% |
| Annualized volatility | 67.7% | 19.9% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -7.7% | -1.9% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between MARO and QQQ?
QQQ holds 107 positions to MARO's 9, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do MARO and QQQ overlap?
MARO and QQQ share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings. 4 holdings are unique to MARO, and 102 holdings are unique to QQQ. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, MARO or QQQ?
QQQ holds more positions: 107 versus 9 for MARO.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
QQQ has the lower expense ratio, 0.18% a year against 1% for MARO.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
MARO, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 249.99% against 0.43% for QQQ.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
MARO has been more volatile over the past year, at 67.7% annualized against 19.9% for QQQ.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
QQQ fell less from peak to trough over the past year: -12.2% against -86.6% for MARO.
Compare MARO and QQQ 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.