How SPYI and QQQI Deliver Double-Digit Income — and What You Might Be Overlooking

Are sustainable double-digit returns possible for passive income investors? Annual yields of 10% or more aren’t just a pipe dream as NEOS brings you a pair of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that could deliver hefty cash distributions to your account.

Today, we’ll put the NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF (BATS:SPYI) and the NEOS NASDAQ-100 High Income ETF (NASDAQ:QQQI) under a microscope and examine their benefits and drawbacks. Currently, both of these NEOS funds feature high yields while also providing a good measure of portfolio diversification.

Nevertheless, you’ll want to conduct your full due diligence on the SPYI and QQQI ETFs since there are risks involved. Then, when all is said and done, you might be willing to give these two intriguing NEOS ETFs a try.

Easy Exposure to Established Indexes

A simple way to diversify into hundreds of stocks is to purchase shares of funds that track or follow well-known indexes. A couple of examples are the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY), which tracks the broad-market S&P 500 index, and the Invesco QQQ Trust (NYSEARCA:QQQ), which tracks the technology-focused NASDAQ 100 index.

If you’re on the hunt for double-digit yields, however, then these two funds might let you down. That’s because the forward annual dividend yields are just 1.09% for SPY and 0.47% for QQQ.

The NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF and NEOS NASDAQ-100 High Income ETF offer easy exposure to the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100, respectively, but with much higher yields. They achieve this with sophisticated options-trading strategies that typically include writing covered calls.

In other words, you can still achieve instant portfolio diversification with SPYI and QQQI, just like you would with seemingly bland index funds like SPY and QQQ. Granted, the the NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF charges annual operating expenses of 0.68% and so does the NEOS NASDAQ-100 High Income ETF. Still, the yields of these two NEOS funds will more than make up for the operating expenses.

Appealing Yields of SPYI and QQQI

There’s no denying that NEOS has solutions for traders who demand double-digit yields. Impressively, the NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF advertises an annual distribution rate of 12.16%.

If you think that’s a high yield, then check this out: Believe it or not, the NEOS NASDAQ-100 High Income ETF offers a 14.28% distribution rate.

Not only that, but both SPYI and QQQI pay out cash distributions on a monthly basis. As a result, investors will have frequent opportunities to reinvest the distributions and potentially compound their returns.

With equal-sized positions in the SPYI and QQQI ETFs, you could expect an average annual dividend/distribution rate of 13.22%. However, this expectation relies on a big assumption.

Frankly, you can’t just assume that NEOS will keep these distribution rates the same. There are no guarantees, and NEOS can reduce the distribution rates of the NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF and the NEOS NASDAQ-100 High Income ETF at any time.

Furthermore, investors need to monitor the share price, which will get dragged down slightly by the 0.68% annual operating expenses. All of a sudden, the picture becomes more complicated than just collecting what seems like easy money.

SPYI and QQQI: Price Problems Persist

Buying SPYI and QQQI instead of their simpler counterparts, SPY and QQQ, might feel like an obvious choice. However, we can check the price performance of these funds and see where problems may occur.

As of October 16, 2025, the SPY ETF’s share price (not including any dividends/distributions) increased by around 14% over the past 12 months. During that same time frame, SPYI’s share price only moved half a percent higher.

As for the QQQ ETF’s share price, it rallied 22% over the past year. In contrast, the share price of the QQQ ETF only rose 5% during that time. Thus, the same options-trading strategies that generated big monthly distributions might also limit the share-price upside potential of SPYI and QQQI.

In other words, if you’re on a quest for double-digit yield, don’t overlook the possible share-price sacrifices of the NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF and the NEOS NASDAQ-100 High Income ETF. Weigh the pros and cons of these funds, monitor your investments, and be ready to rebalance your portfolio if the need arises.