Forget JEPI: QQQ’s Sponsor Sells an Equal-Weight S&P Income Fund That Charges Less and Is Beating It by 8 Points

If you own JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (NYSEARCA:JEPI), you bought it for a reason: a monthly paycheck, a smoother ride than the S&P 500, and a covered-call engine run by a household name in asset management. That thesis still works. What is worth knowing is that the sponsor behind Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) now runs an equal-weight S&P income fund that charges less than JEPI, distributes more, and has produced a materially better total return since its launch. If your goal is high monthly income from U.S. large caps, JEPI is no longer the only obvious answer.

What JEPI Actually Delivers

JEPI holds a low-volatility slice of large-cap U.S. stocks and layers on equity-linked notes that replicate a covered-call overlay on the S&P 500. The design produces heavy monthly distributions and dampens drawdowns. It has worked at scale: net assets sat at roughly $44.7 billion as of June 30, 2026, with large positions in names like Howmet Aerospace, Johnson & Johnson, Eaton, and Trane Technologies. The trailing 12-month distribution came to $4.58338 per share, which at a recent price of $56.67 works out to roughly 8.1%. That is the appeal, and it is real.

Where the Covered-Call Trade Falls Short

The overlay that funds those payouts also caps upside. When the market rallies, JEPI’s calls are exercised or repriced, and shareholders keep the premium while giving up the price appreciation above the strike. That trade shows up in total return. Over the year ending September 11, 2026, JEPI returned 7.25% on an adjusted basis, and it was up 4.48% year-to-date. Its 0.35% expense ratio is reasonable for an actively managed derivative-income product, but every basis point of drag matters when the strategy is engineered to trail in strong market environments.

There is also a tax layer worth flagging. A large share of JEPI’s distributions comes from the equity-linked note premiums, which flow through as ordinary income rather than qualified dividends. In a taxable account, that changes the after-tax math significantly.

Meet RSPA, the Equal-Weight Income Fund From QQQ’s Sponsor

The alternative is Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Income Advantage ETF (NYSEARCA:RSPA). It uses Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (NYSEARCA:RSP) as its equity engine, then writes S&P 500 index calls to generate monthly income. So a JEPI holder gets what they came for: monthly cash and an option overlay, from the same firm that runs QQQ.

Two numbers do most of the work. RSPA charges 0.29%, six basis points below JEPI. Its trailing 12-month distribution of $4.84068 against a recent price of $53.20 puts the yield near 9.1%, with an annualized forward run rate of $5.10204. On total return, RSPA is up 14.54% over the past year and 11.1% year to date, versus JEPI’s 7.25% and 4.48%. That is a trailing-year gap of roughly 7 percentage points, and the underlying equal-weight index has run 8.7 points ahead of JEPI year to date.

The mechanism is straightforward. Equal weighting reduces the concentration risk that comes with a market-cap S&P slice, and the option overlay is written against a broad index rather than a hand-picked defensive book. You collect more income, pay less to hold the fund, and keep more of the broader market’s upside.

Tradeoffs You Should Weigh

RSPA is young. It has 541 trading days of history, versus JEPI’s 1,585, so it has not been tested through a genuine bear market. Equal weighting tilts the portfolio toward mid-caps and away from mega-cap tech, which cuts both ways: it helped in 2026’s broadening rally and would hurt if leadership narrows back to a handful of names. And RSPA’s distributions, like JEPI’s, are largely ordinary income under the option-premium regime, so this swap improves yield and expense drag without materially fixing the tax profile.

Making the Switch Without the Tax Bill

In an IRA or 401(k), the trade is mechanical: sell JEPI, buy RSPA, done. In a taxable account, check embedded gains before selling. JEPI has been distributing income aggressively, which suppresses cost-basis appreciation, but any long-term gain still triggers capital-gains tax. A partial rotation, or redirecting new contributions and reinvested distributions into RSPA, is often the better path.

Deciding Where This Fits

JEPI is a competent fund that still serves income investors who prize a longer track record. RSPA is the better expression of the same idea for a reader who wants a cheaper wrapper, a higher current payout, and broader equity exposure driving the option overlay. If a monthly paycheck is the whole point of the sleeve, it may be worth looking past these two: we rounded up seven funds that pay every 30 days in a free report.

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