Weekly Payers, Steep Drawdowns: Six Leveraged US Equity ETFs Yielding Above 15%

Weekly income has become a product feature rather than an oddity. A screen of US-listed Equity exchange traded funds, filtered for active management, leveraged exposure, weekly distribution frequency and an indicated Dividend Yield above 15 per cent, returns six funds. Their indicated yields run from 24.47 per cent to 99.52 per cent. Their price performance over the same window runs the other way, and the gap between those two sets of numbers is the whole story for anyone looking at this corner of the market.

What the screen asked for

Six filters were applied: US listing, equity asset class, active strategy, leveraged, weekly Dividend frequency and indicated dividend yield greater than 15 per cent. Six funds cleared all six conditions. All six are classified as distributing rather than accumulating, which is expected given the weekly payment schedule. The result set is small because the combination is specific. Weekly distributions are still rare, Leverage narrows the field again, and a 15 per cent yield floor removes most conventional income products.

The six funds and their distribution profile

Ranked by indicated yield, the list is led by the REX TSLA Growth & Income ETF (NASDAQ: TSII), where the indicated annual distribution of USD 12.88 sits just under the USD 12.94 share price. That produces a headline figure of 99.52 per cent. The GraniteShares YieldBoost TopYielders ETF (NASDAQ: YBTY) follows at 75.26 per cent, then the GraniteShares YieldBoost Single Stock Universe ETF (NASDAQ: YBST) at 60.19 per cent and the REX NVDA Growth & Income ETF (NASDAQ: NVII) at 58.58 per cent. The REX WMT Growth & Income ETF (NASDAQ: WMTI) at 34.91 per cent and the Kurv High Income ETF (NYSE Arca: KYLD) at 24.47 per cent are the two lowest, and are the only two below 50 per cent.

An indicated yield is a forward extrapolation. It takes a recent distribution and annualises it. For a weekly payer, that means multiplying a single week by 52. If option premium collected in that week was unusually high, the annualised figure inherits the distortion. The indicated yield is therefore a distribution rate, not a return, and not a forecast the fund has committed to.

Price performance over the same period

Every fund on the list is negative on a year to date and one year price basis. The year to date range runs from -5.50 per cent for KYLD to -52.94 per cent for YBTY. Over one year, KYLD is again the least negative at -19.85 per cent and YBTY the most at -57.09 per cent. Across the whole grid of shorter periods there are only three positive readings: TSII at +2.21 per cent over one week and +8.28 per cent over one month, and KYLD at +0.10 per cent over six months.

For five of the six funds, the five year, ten year and all time columns show the same number. That should be read as a since inception figure repeated across periods the fund has not existed for, rather than as a genuine ten year record. NVII is the exception, showing -7.57 per cent for the all time column against -27.37 per cent over one year. That combination needs checking against the fund documents before it is quoted, since a since inception figure that is better than the one year figure implies an inception date inside the one year window.

Why the yield and the price do not reconcile

The performance figures shown here are price returns. They exclude distributions. A fund can pay out 60 per cent of its share price over a year and still show a price decline of similar size without a single dollar going missing, because the payment itself reduces net asset value on the ex-distribution date. Total return is the figure that combines the two, and the screener carries it in a separate NAV total return view that was not part of this pull.

Two structural features shape the outcome. First, these are option income strategies layered on single stocks or narrow baskets. Selling calls or puts converts potential price appreciation into cash premium, so upside is capped while downside is retained. In a falling or volatile market for the reference stock, that trade collects premium and absorbs the decline. Second, leverage amplifies both directions, which is visible in the spread between TSII and KYLD across every column.

Distribution composition is the third item, and it is the one the screener cannot show. Where a fund pays more than it earns in premium and income, the excess is return of capital. Return of Capital is the investor getting their own money back with a different tax character, not a yield. Fund 19a-1 notices and annual reports state the split. Any assessment of these six funds that stops at the yield column is incomplete without them.

What the screen leaves out

Expense ratio, Assets under management, average daily volume, bid-ask spread, Options overlay mechanics and distribution variability are all absent from this view. So is the tax treatment, which differs by fund structure and by the return of capital share of distributions. For leveraged and single-stock products, spread and Liquidity matter more than for broad index funds, because the exit price is part of the return.

The reading that the data supports is narrow. Six US-listed leveraged equity ETFs currently combine weekly distributions with indicated yields above 15 per cent, and all six have negative one year price returns. Whether that has been offset by the distributions received, and on what tax basis, requires the NAV total return series and the distribution notices for each fund. The yield column on its own does not answer it.

This article is general information only and does not take into account any individual objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. All figures are as displayed on the screener on 27 August 2026 and are subject to change. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Investors should consider the appropriateness of any information having regard to their own circumstances and seek independent financial advice before making any financial decision.