NVDY vs YMAX: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
NVDY and YMAX are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. NVDY is YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF, while YMAX is YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs. YMAX is broader by holdings count, with 30 positions versus 15 for NVDY. NVDY has the lower expense ratio. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has NVDY ahead on AIQ Score, 45 versus 40.
What is the main difference between NVDY and YMAX?
NVDY and YMAX have little in common: 1% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | NVDY | YMAX |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 1.09% | 1.33% |
| Holdings | 15 | 30 |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 54.02% | 61.76% |
| Average volume | 2,057,919 | 1,259,499 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | -26.1% | -43.1% |
| YTD return | -20.5% | -27.2% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 31.6% | 25.9% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -32.9% | -43.1% |
| Beta | 1.62 | 1.62 |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.92 | -2.08 |
| Sortino ratio | -1.39 | -3.05 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 45/100 | 40/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 3/10 | 2/10 |
| Momentum | 25/100 | 26/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 57/100 | 57/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF vs YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs
NVDY leads
NVDY leads by 5 AIQ points, primarily on Quality, but the lead has narrowed from 14 points over 30 sessions.
Fragile: 1 of 3 evidence groups support NVDY, its lead is narrowing, and its current signal state is conflicted.
YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF
YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors NVDY over YMAX, 45 versus 40 as of Oct 24, 2026. NVDY's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality. NVDY also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 1 of 3 covered evidence groups favor NVDY today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the AIQ gap is narrow at 5 points. NVDY lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 14 to 5 points over 30 sessions.
Compare YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF and YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
NVDY vs YMAX: 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 | NVDY | YMAX | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 1.09% | 1.33% | NVDY |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 15 | 30 | YMAX |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 54.02% | 61.76% | YMAX |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 1 year | -32.9% | -43.1% | NVDY |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 31.6% | 25.9% | YMAX |
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 NVDY and YMAX 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.
- Quality55 vs 49NVDY +6
- Momentum25 vs 26Even
- Risk Resilience57 vs 57Even
1 of 3 evidence groups favor NVDY. NVDY’s edge is concentrated in quality.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-23, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-22.
No factor moved materially.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 7 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Momentum -4, 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.
NVDY's lead was unchanged in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — NVDY and YMAX both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
NVDY (YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by quality.
YMAX (YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs): the counter-case, on technicals.
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 | NVDY | YMAX | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 1.09% | 1.33% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 15 | 30 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 2,057,919 | 1,259,499 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 31.6% | 25.9% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -32.9% | -43.1% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.92 | -2.08 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 1.62 | 1.62 | Sensitivity 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.
How much of the same holdings they own
NVDY and YMAX share 0.89% of their weighted exposure across 1 common holdings.
5 holdings are unique to NVDY, and 28 holdings are unique to YMAX. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Largest shared positions
| Holding | NVDY | YMAX | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 | 2.25% | 0.89% | 0.89% |
Shared weight is the lower of the two positions — the portion of capital both funds genuinely have in the same security.
What NVDY adds that YMAX doesn’t
| Holding | NVDY | YMAX |
|---|---|---|
| United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 | 17.03% | Not held |
| United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 | 16.09% | Not held |
| United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 | 15.9% | Not held |
| United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 | 15.84% | Not held |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 | 15.18% | Not held |
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 | 2.25% | 0.89% |
What YMAX adds that NVDY doesn’t
| Holding | YMAX | NVDY |
|---|---|---|
| SMCYYieldMax Smci Option Income Strategy ETF | 5.56% | Not held |
| GDXYYieldMax Gold Miners Option Income Strategy ETF | 5.52% | Not held |
| MSFOYieldMax MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF | 5.09% | Not held |
| GPTYYieldMax AI & Tech Portfolio Option Income ETF | 5.07% | Not held |
| XOMOYieldMax Xom Option Income Strategy ETF | 4.74% | Not held |
| SNOYYieldMax SNOW Option Income Strategy ETF | 4.73% | 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.
NVDY vs YMAX: five-year payout growth
NVDY began paying distributions in 2023, so it has no 2020-2025 growth rate to compare. YMAX began paying distributions in 2024, so it has no 2020-2025 growth rate to compare.
| Dividend metric | NVDY | YMAX |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 annual payout | $12.142 | $7.674 |
| Peer rank | not ranked | not 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
1 of 3 covered evidence groups favor NVDY. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | NVDY | 45 vs 40 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | Not covered | Not covered |
| Technicals | YMAX | Price vs 50-day -7.7% vs -5.6%; vs 200-day -12.6% vs -12.5% |
| Risk Resilience | Even | Risk Resilience 57 vs 57 |
| 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 NVDY and YMAX and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.
- The AIQ gap is narrow at 5 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- Only 1 of 3 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 NVDY.
How the comparison changed
48 daily snapshots · Sep 6 – Oct 23NVDY lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 14 to 5 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- NVDY +5
- 45 vs 40
- 7 sessions ago
- NVDY +5
- 46 vs 41
- 30 sessions ago
- NVDY +14
- 63 vs 49
- 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 / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only NVDY
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
- Keltner Channel Breakdown — bearish, volatility, short horizon
- RSI Oversold - Potential Bounce — bullish, momentum, short horizon
0 bullish / 4 bearish
No signal that the other name lacks.
Both carry 4 more signals that do not separate them: Death Cross Active, 52-Week Low Proximity, Downtrend Structure Active, MACD Bearish Crossover.
NVDY 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 -0.52%, AIQ 0 points).
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price -0.14%, AIQ 0 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.
- 1YMAX closes the Quality gap — currently 6 points behind, the largest single contributor to NVDY's edge.
- 2YMAX's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
- 3NVDY's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 5 bearish rules at once.
- 4The narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 9 points over 30 sessions, and a further 5-point move would eliminate NVDY'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
Split across windows| Metric | NVDY | YMAX |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -1.2% | -1.1% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -8.3% | -8.1% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | -3.5% | -3.5% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | -18.3% | -16.7% |
| Year to date | -20.5% | -27.2% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | -26.1% | -43.1% |
Technicals
YMAX has the stronger structure| Metric | NVDY | YMAX |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 24.7 | 30.9 |
| ADX (14) | 23.6 | 19.4 |
| Price vs 50-day | -7.7% | -5.6% |
| Price vs 200-day | -12.6% | -12.5% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 25.9% | 26.5% |
Risk
Split| Metric | NVDY | YMAX |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 1.62 | 1.62 |
| Sharpe ratio | -0.92 | -2.08 |
| Sortino ratio | -1.39 | -3.05 |
| Max drawdown | -32.9% | -43.1% |
| Current drawdown | -32.9% | -43.1% |
| Annualized volatility | 31.6% | 25.9% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -3.4% | -3% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between NVDY and YMAX?
NVDY and YMAX have little in common: 1% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do NVDY and YMAX overlap?
NVDY and YMAX share 0.89% of their weighted exposure across 1 common holdings. 5 holdings are unique to NVDY, and 28 holdings are unique to YMAX. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, NVDY or YMAX?
YMAX holds more positions: 30 versus 15 for NVDY.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
NVDY has the lower expense ratio, 1.09% a year against 1.33% for YMAX.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
YMAX, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 61.76% against 54.02% for NVDY.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
NVDY has been more volatile over the past year, at 31.6% annualized against 25.9% for YMAX.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
NVDY fell less from peak to trough over the past year: -32.9% against -43.1% for YMAX.
Compare NVDY and YMAX 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.