JEPI vs JEPQ: $10,000 in Each Since 2022, Payouts Month by Month

Michael Whitman · Trading since 2017, full-time since 2020 · YouTube creator, 137K subscribers · Published 2026-11-07

JEPI and JEPQ are the same idea pointed at two different markets. Both are JPMorgan ETFs that hold large US stocks and sell call options for monthly cash, both charge 0.35% a year, and the gap between them comes almost entirely from the index each one’s options are tied to.

For JEPI that is the S&P 500, and for JEPQ the Nasdaq-100.

That one difference decides how much each pays, how hard each falls and how far each lags. The table below holds the facts most people search for, each with its date and source.

What each one is

Both are covered call funds, so the basic trade is the same: they collect option premium and give up part of the upside in return. What is specific to these two is how they do it.

JEPI (JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF) has about 140 holdings picked to be calmer than the S&P 500, and its 1 Nov 2026 summary prospectus says it seeks “a lower volatility level than the securities in the U.S. large cap market.”

JEPQ (JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF) has about 109 holdings weighted toward the Nasdaq-100. Its top three holdings on 30 Sep 2026 were Nvidia (7.4%), Apple (6.4%) and Microsoft (5.2%), while JEPI’s biggest single holding was 2.0%.

The options sit inside notes. Each prospectus allows up to 20% of net assets in equity-linked notes (ELNs), notes whose return is built from the index and sold call options on it. The fact sheets say the monthly payout comes from that option premium plus the stocks’ own dividends.

The fact sheets also warn that ELNs carry counterparty risk: the bank that issues the note has to pay.

Where they differ

How much they pay. JEPQ’s last 12 payouts added up to $6.94823 a share, 12.79% of its $54.34 close on 6 Nov 2026. JEPI’s added up to $4.56417, 8.09% of $56.43. Nasdaq stocks swing more than S&P 500 stocks, buyers pay more for options on them, and JEPQ passes that larger premium on.

How much they move. Measured on daily total returns from 4 May 2022 to 6 Nov 2026 and scaled to a year, JEPQ’s volatility was 16.9%, the same as SPY’s, while JEPI’s was 10.9%. QQQ’s was 22.5%. JEPQ is a calmer Nasdaq fund, not a calm fund.

What they hold. Half of JEPQ was information technology on 30 Sep 2026, against 15.6% of JEPI. The two still moved together most days: the correlation of their daily returns over the span was 0.78.

What they cost. Nothing separates them here. Both charge 0.35%, which is $35 a year on $10,000; how that expense ratio stacks up against plain index funds is covered there.

A worked example: $10,000 in each for one year

Take the 12 months from the 31 Oct 2025 close to the 30 Oct 2026 close, with every payout kept as cash rather than reinvested.

JEPQ paid about 24 times as much cash as QQQ and still finished $117.80 behind, because its share price fell from $59.10 to $57.58 while QQQ’s rose. JEPI paid about $362 less cash than JEPQ and ended $14.18 ahead of it, since JEPI’s price rose a little over the year.

The year had a slump in it. At the 30 Mar 2026 close, QQQ’s low point of the year, JEPQ plus the cash it had paid so far was worth $9,534.62 and QQQ plus its cash was $8,898.96. From there to 30 Oct, QQQ’s price climbed 23.68% and JEPQ’s 7.09%, and the order flipped.

How the monthly payout is set

Nobody fixes the amount in advance. Both prospectuses say the funds seek “monthly distributions at a relatively stable level,” and the cash depends on what option buyers paid that month plus the stocks’ own dividends.

On $10,000 bought at the 4 May 2022 close (195.71 JEPQ shares or 168.52 JEPI shares), with nothing reinvested, JEPQ’s monthly cash ran from $66.49 (ex-date 1 Jul 2022) to $137.97 (3 Aug 2026), with a median of $90.18. JEPI’s ran from $48.78 (1 Aug 2024) to $104.65 (1 Jul 2022), with a median of $64.24.

One month can be very different from the next. JEPQ’s payout jumped 79% from $0.37954 a share in October 2022 to $0.68125 in November 2022. JEPI’s fell 30% from $0.42781 (ex-date 28 Dec 2023, the January payout) to $0.30061 in February 2024.

The yearly totals have moved in different directions. By ex-date year, JEPQ paid $5.00 a share in 2023, $5.44 in 2024 and $6.12 in 2025. JEPI paid $4.62, then $4.22, then $4.72. Most years two ex-dates land in December, because the January payout goes ex in the last days of the month before.

The original data

$10,000 in each fund from 4 May 2022 to 6 Nov 2026. The start is JEPQ’s first close; the end is the last full session before the 7 Nov 2026 download, 4.5 years and 1,133 sessions.

Payouts count if they went ex after the start and on or before the end, and “reinvested” buys more shares at the close on each ex-date.

The cash was large and the price did the rest. JEPQ paid $5,135 in cash on $10,000, almost 14 times QQQ’s $369, and QQQ still ended $4,505 ahead on the cash-taken total because its price doubled. JEPI paid five times SPY’s cash and finished $4,691 behind it.

All four had their worst drawdown in the same spring 2025 sell-off. JEPQ’s fall of 20.06% was not much smaller than QQQ’s 22.77%; JEPI’s 13.26% was the shallowest.

Big days, measured. Across the 1,132 daily returns, QQQ rose or fell 2% or more on 144 days. On its 68 down days QQQ averaged -3.06% and JEPQ -2.38%, so JEPQ fell 78% as much. On its 76 up days QQQ averaged +2.84% and JEPQ +1.99%, so JEPQ kept 70% of the gain.

SPY had 33 down days of 2% or more, averaging -2.96%, when JEPI averaged -1.87% (63%), and 28 up days averaging +2.92%, when JEPI averaged +1.70% (58%).

The latest example came on 5 Nov 2026, when QQQ lost 6.49% and JEPQ 5.95%; SPY lost 4.41% and JEPI 3.26%. A beta below one is visible in both funds, and so is the fact that a bad day for the index was still a bad day for the fund.

Checking against JPMorgan. The JEPQ fact sheet shows $10,000 growing to $20,286 from the 3 May 2022 launch to 30 Sep 2026 at net asset value.

Our series starts a day later, at the 4 May 2022 close, a day QQQ rose 3.38%, and reaches $19,488 by 30 Sep 2026. The gap is mostly that first day. The full daily data is in the CSV download.

Taxes and the account you hold it in

Each summary prospectus says the distributions “will be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains” unless they are held in a tax-advantaged plan such as an IRA or 401(k). The split between those types changes each year and is printed on the fund’s year-end tax form, so this page does not guess at it.

The practical point is that a yield of 12.79% in a taxable account is not 12.79% after tax, and the gap depends on the holder’s bracket. How payout types are taxed is covered in dividend tax.

Which one to use: JEPI or JEPQ?

JEPI fits when the aim is the steadier of the two monthly payouts. It paid less, its monthly cash swung less on the same $10,000, and its worst fall since May 2022 was 13.26%, against 20.06% for JEPQ.

JEPQ fits when a bigger, more variable payout tied to large tech stocks is acceptable. Its cash was about 40% higher than JEPI’s over the full span, and its swings were roughly those of the S&P 500 itself.

Neither fits when the aim is the largest ending balance. On this record, QQQ finished ahead of JEPQ and SPY ahead of JEPI, whether payouts were reinvested or not. That is the trade both funds are built on, and the 12-month result, where JEPQ trailed QQQ by $117.80, shows it holds even in a year with a slump.

Holding both adds less than it looks. With a 0.78 daily correlation and the same big tech names near the top of each, two income funds from one manager tend to rise and fall on the same days.

When it fails

A strong rally is where both lag most. From QQQ’s 30 Mar 2026 low to 30 Oct 2026, QQQ’s price rose 23.68% and JEPQ’s 7.09%. The premium kept arriving, and the capped upside cost far more than it paid.

A crash still hurts. A fund that falls 78% as much as QQQ on bad days still fell 20.06% in spring 2025. The payout is a cushion of about 1% a month, not a floor.

The yield is read as the return. JEPI paid $3,671 on $10,000 since May 2022 while its share price fell 4.90%, so the payouts were the whole of the return and the shares underneath them did not grow.

The note issuer fails. The ELNs are promises from banks. JPMorgan’s fact sheets say ELNs carry credit or counterparty risk, and that ELN losses “could be significant and could include the Fund’s entire principal investment.”

The payout moves. A budget built on one month’s check is built on a number that changed by up to 79% from one month to the next.

Questions people ask

Does JEPQ pay a dividend every month?

Yes. JEPQ made 54 payouts from June 2022 to 2 Nov 2026, the latest $0.53922 a share, ex-dated 2 Nov 2026 and paid 4 Nov. JEPI also pays monthly; its 2 Nov 2026 payout was $0.34683 a share.

Which pays more, JEPI or JEPQ?

JEPQ. Its last 12 payouts were 12.79% of its price at the 6 Nov 2026 close, against 8.09% for JEPI. JPMorgan’s 12-month rolling dividend yields on 30 Sep 2026 were 11.56% and 8.04%.

Is JEPQ riskier than JEPI?

On every measure here, yes. Its yearly volatility was 16.9% against 10.9%, its worst drop since May 2022 was 20.06% against 13.26%, and JPMorgan’s 3-year standard deviation was 11.26 against 7.78.

Did JEPI or JEPQ beat the S&P 500?

Not over this span. With payouts reinvested, $10,000 became $14,007 in JEPI and $17,615 in JEPQ from 4 May 2022 to 6 Nov 2026, while SPY reached $18,205 and QQQ $20,455.

Related

Covered call funds explains the option-income structure these two share and why the payout is paid for with upside.

A single covered call shows the same trade on one stock. To read the headline payout correctly, start with dividend yield, and for how deep a fall can go before it recovers, see drawdown.

This page is educational, not financial advice. Test every idea on your own charts before risking money.