Monthly income investors have gravitated to JPMorgan Equity Premium Income, or JEPI, as a core holding, but its payout is no longer the only game in town. With option-based strategies proliferating, a new crop of funds is offering richer yields and, in some cases, better participation in equity upside. I see three monthly dividend ETFs that now outmuscle JEPI on raw yield while still giving investors a credible path to capital gains.
JEPI remains a serious benchmark in this niche, so any challenger has to clear a high bar on income, liquidity, and risk control. The contenders here do that by leaning on similar covered call and derivatives overlays, but they target different indexes and accept more volatility in exchange for fatter distributions. For investors who understand those trade-offs, the extra yield can be compelling.
JEPI’s strong baseline, and why investors are looking beyond it
To understand why higher yielding rivals matter, I start with what JEPI already delivers. According to its own Dividend Information, JEPI has a dividend yield of 8.19% and paid $4.72 per share in the past year, with that $4.72 distributed on a monthly schedule. Another profile of the fund notes a recent trading range between $59.730 and $49.940, highlights it as Best Performing in its “Derivative Income Over the Last Year” peer group, and cites a modest 0.2% figure tied to its NAV performance. For a fund built around option premiums, that combination of high income and relatively muted price swings has been exactly what many retirees and income-focused investors wanted.
Yet the same reporting that cements JEPI’s status also underlines why some investors are now shopping around. A recent JEPI snapshot reiterates that 8.19% yield, but newer competitors are pushing into double digits. One analysis of monthly payers notes that JPMorgan Equity Premium Income yields about 8%, while a set of NEOS alternatives, including SPYI and QQQI, offer 11.57% and 13.69% respectively, with those figures highlighted in a Quick Read on the space. When a fund that was once the high-yield standout is suddenly in the middle of the pack, it is natural for investors to ask whether they are being paid enough for the risk they are taking.
NEOS SPYI: higher yield on the S&P 500 with option income
The first challenger I focus on is the NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF, ticker SPYI, which is built to harvest income from the same broad U.S. equity benchmark that anchors many portfolios. The NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF holds the index and then runs an index call-options overlay to generate extra cash flow, a structure described in detail in a NEOS overview. That means investors are still effectively tied to the S&P 500’s earnings and dividend growth, but they are also selling some upside to option buyers in exchange for immediate income. In practice, this has allowed SPYI to post a yield of 11.57%, a figure that appears alongside QQQI’s 13.69% payout in a Quick Read comparison of monthly payers.
Performance has also been competitive. One review of the fund’s track record notes that SPYI has done better than JEPI because the S&P 500 has been rallying, with SPYI up 3.37% on price in the year on top of its double digit yield, while JEPI has been roughly flat over the same stretch. That relative edge is spelled out in a SPYI performance note that also warns a sharp reversal in the S&P 500 could hurt SPYI more. For investors comfortable with that trade-off, I see SPYI as a straightforward way to stay anchored to the S&P 500 while collecting a payout that is several percentage points higher than JEPI’s.
NEOS QQQI: juicing income from Nasdaq 100 volatility
If SPYI is the high income S&P 500 play, NEOS QQQI is the more aggressive cousin that leans into tech-heavy volatility. The same analysis that pegs SPYI’s yield at 11.57% puts QQQI’s payout at 13.69%, again highlighting both figures in a Quick Read of NEOS strategies. The logic is simple: Nasdaq 100 options tend to be more expensive than S&P 500 options because the underlying stocks are more volatile, so selling covered calls on that index can throw off more income. QQQI uses that dynamic to turn the growth profile of the Nasdaq 100 into a monthly cash machine, at the cost of capping some of the index’s upside in roaring bull markets.
That structure makes QQQI less of a direct JEPI replacement and more of a satellite position for investors who want to tilt their income portfolio toward technology and growth. The same NEOS coverage that highlights QQQI’s 13.69% yield also stresses that those richer premiums come from “more expensive Nasdaq-100 options,” which is another way of saying investors are being paid to shoulder more volatility. In my view, that makes QQQI best suited for investors who already hold broad market income funds like JEPI or SPYI and are looking to layer on a higher octane, tech-focused monthly payer rather than replace their core allocation outright.
XPAY: a managed distribution twist on S&P 500 income
The third fund that stands out to me is not from NEOS at all, but from Roundhill, which has built a niche around targeted thematic and income products. The Roundhill S&P 500 Target 20 Managed Distribution ETF, ticker XPAY, is designed to deliver a set distribution target from an S&P 500 based portfolio, using derivatives and active management to smooth the payout. A detailed breakdown of the fund notes that XPAY “comes with the highest” yield in its peer set and explicitly ties that to its use of derivatives and active positioning, a point underscored in a XPAY overview. While the exact distribution rate can shift with market conditions, the strategy is clearly built to sit above JEPI on the yield spectrum.
Costs and structure matter here as well. The same Roundhill S&P 500 Target 20 Managed Distribution ETF (XPAY) profile points to an expense ratio of 0.49%, a figure that is explicitly called out in a Roundhill summary. That is higher than many plain vanilla index ETFs but in line with other actively managed option income strategies. For investors, the key question is whether XPAY’s combination of a targeted distribution policy, S&P 500 exposure, and derivatives-driven income justifies that fee relative to JEPI and NEOS products. I see XPAY as appealing to those who prioritize a more predictable payout pattern and are comfortable with an active manager steering both the equity and options book.
How I would think about using these funds alongside JEPI
For income-focused investors, the choice is not necessarily JEPI or one of these funds, but how to blend them intelligently. JEPI’s 8.19% yield, documented in its own Dividend Information, still looks attractive relative to traditional equity income funds, and its track record as a Best Performing derivative income ETF over the last year suggests it has managed risk well. At the same time, SPYI’s 11.57% yield and QQQI’s 13.69% payout, both highlighted in multiple Quick Read style rundowns, show how much extra income is available if you are willing to accept more volatility and option-related complexity.
In practice, I would think about SPYI as a higher yielding S&P 500 core, QQQI as a tactical overlay on Nasdaq 100 volatility, and XPAY as a managed distribution tool that can help smooth cash flows. The fact that SPYI has recently outpaced JEPI on price, rising 3.37% while JEPI stayed flat according to a JEPI comparison, underscores that these funds are not just about yield, they also shape how much upside you keep in a rising market. For investors who have relied on JEPI as their sole monthly payer, the emergence of NEOS SPYI, NEOS QQQI, and Roundhill’s XPAY, each detailed in recent coverage of monthly dividend ETFs, creates an opportunity to diversify income streams, fine tune risk, and potentially lock in fatter yields without abandoning the comfort of familiar benchmarks like the S&P 500.
More From The Daily Overview
Grant Mercer covers market dynamics, business trends, and the economic forces driving growth across industries. His analysis connects macro movements with real-world implications for investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Through his work at The Daily Overview, Grant helps readers understand how markets function and where opportunities may emerge.
