JEPQ vs QQQI: Which ETF Is Better in 2026?
A metric-by-metric comparison of JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) and NEOS NASDAQ-100(R) High Income ETF (QQQI) — both Covered Call / Income funds — using ETFValuer's daily-updated rankings.
Educational content — not financial advice. Data as of July 25, 2026. ~5 minute read.
The Verdict
JEPQ and QQQI compete directly — both are Covered Call / Income funds chasing the same job in a portfolio. That makes this a genuine either/or: the index each tracks, what it costs, and how it has handled drawdowns are what separate them, not the broad exposure they give you.
On ETFValuer's overall model — which blends return, risk-adjusted performance, cost, drawdown, size and volatility — JEPQ scores higher: 65.2 (Grade B) versus 55.1 for QQQI. That doesn't make QQQI a bad fund; it means JEPQ currently edges it out on this specific mix of factors. Read the metric-by-metric breakdown below before deciding which matters more for your own portfolio.
Head-to-Head: Every Metric
| JEPQ | QQQI | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Covered Call / Income | Covered Call / Income |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.68% |
| Fund size (AUM) | $40.7B | $13.1B |
| Dividend yield | 9.95% | 0.09% |
| 1-year return | +17.51% | +15.71% |
| 3-year return | +61.31% | n/a |
| Volatility | 14.13% | 15.84% |
| Max drawdown | -20.07% | -20.00% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.89 | 0.68 |
| ETFValuer score | 65.2 | 55.1 |
| Grade | B | C |
| Overall rank | #169 | #323 |
Bold marks the better value in each row. "Better" is directional only (e.g. lower cost, higher return) — it isn't a recommendation by itself. See the full methodology.
Cost
JEPQ is the cheaper fund, charging 0.35% a year versus 0.68% for QQQI — a gap of 0.33 percentage points (about $33.00/year on a $10,000 position) that compounds meaningfully over a multi-decade holding period. See the ETF Fee Calculator for the exact dollar impact at your investment size and horizon.
What QQQI's Fees Cost You
QQQI charges an expense ratio of 0.68% a year, deducted automatically from the fund's value. Small percentages compound into real money — adjust the figures below to see the impact on your own numbers.
Assumes a constant gross return and no additional contributions — a simplification, but it isolates exactly what the expense ratio costs. Try the full fee calculator to model contributions and compare any two funds.
Performance & Risk
Because at least one of these funds is too young for a 3-year record, the comparison rests on the 1-year window: JEPQ returned +17.51% against +15.71% for QQQI. JEPQ has the better risk-adjusted figure over that window (Sharpe 0.89 vs 0.68). A single year says very little about how either fund behaves across a full market cycle, so weight this far less heavily than you would a long record.
A Note on Comparing These Two
QQQI has only 2.5 years of trading history, against a full three-year record for JEPQ. That makes several figures below not directly comparable: the 3-year return is unavailable, and the maximum drawdown covers a shorter — and possibly calmer — stretch of market history. A shallow drawdown on a young fund means it has not yet been tested, not that it held up well.
How Closely Do They Track Each Other?
Over the last 2.5 years of daily returns (622 shared trading days), JEPQ and QQQI show a extremely high correlation of 0.983 — very close substitutes. Holding both would add very little diversification: when one falls, the other almost always falls with it. Treat these as alternatives to each other, not as complements in the same portfolio.
| Measure | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Daily return correlation | 0.983 | Extremely high — very close substitutes |
| R-squared | 96.6% | 96.6% of JEPQ's daily moves are explained by QQQI's |
| Tracking error (annualised) | 3.40% | Typical yearly spread between the two funds' returns |
| Annualised return over 2.5y | JEPQ +16.51% · QQQI +18.23% | QQQI ahead by 1.72 points a year |
Correlation alone understates how far these can drift. Across every rolling 12-month window in the period, JEPQ finished as much as +1.8 points ahead of QQQI at the best extreme and -7.3 points at the worst — a 9.1-point spread between the best and worst year of relative performance. Two funds can correlate tightly day to day and still deliver very different outcomes over any single year you happen to hold them.
Calculated from daily total returns over the trailing 3-year window, recomputed every day this site refreshes. Correlation of 1.00 means the two funds moved in lockstep; 0.00 means their daily moves were unrelated.
Holdings Overlap
JEPQ and QQQI hold 9 of the same companies among their top 10 positions. Those shared names make up 37.9% of JEPQ and 46.7% of QQQI. That's heavy duplication — owning both largely doubles down on the same companies rather than spreading risk. Most investors should pick one.
| Shared Holding | JEPQ Weight | QQQI Weight |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp. | 7.34% | 8.64% |
| Apple, Inc. | 6.37% | 7.67% |
| Alphabet, Inc. | 5.09% | 6.58% |
| Microsoft Corp. | 4.81% | 5.62% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 4.01% | 4.54% |
| Meta Platforms, Inc. | 3.02% | 3.42% |
| Tesla, Inc. | 2.60% | 3.80% |
| Walmart, Inc. | 2.47% | 3.42% |
| Broadcom, Inc. | 2.23% | 2.98% |
Compares the top 10 reported holdings from each fund's most recent SEC N-PORT-P filing, so it understates total overlap — funds tracking similar indexes overlap far more deeply than the top 10 alone can show. Search any company across all tracked funds with the Stock Overlap tool.
Which One Should You Pick?
Lean JEPQ if…
- You want the lower running cost — 0.35% vs 0.68%, about $33 a year less on a $10,000 position
- Current income matters to you — it yields 9.95% against 0.09%
- It has been the calmer ride (14.1% volatility vs 15.8%)
- You care about return per unit of risk — its Sharpe ratio of 0.89 beats 0.68
Lean QQQI if…
- You prefer to keep holdings under one roof at Neos Funds
Whichever you pick, holding both at full weight is usually the wrong answer — see the overlap and correlation sections above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is JEPQ or QQQI better?
On ETFValuer's overall model — which blends return, risk-adjusted performance, cost, drawdown, size and volatility — JEPQ scores higher: 65.2 (Grade B) versus 55.1 for QQQI. That doesn't make QQQI a bad fund; it means JEPQ currently edges it out on this specific mix of factors. Read the metric-by-metric breakdown below before deciding which matters more for your own portfolio.
Which has the lower expense ratio, JEPQ or QQQI?
JEPQ currently has the lower expense ratio (0.35% vs. 0.68%).
Can I hold both JEPQ and QQQI?
You can, but there's little point. JEPQ and QQQI have a daily return correlation of 0.98 over the past 2.5 years, meaning they move almost in lockstep. Holding both roughly doubles a single bet rather than spreading it — pick whichever wins on cost and liquidity and put the money in one place.
Go deeper on either fund
Full daily-updated metrics, holdings context, and category peers.