AllianceBernstein lists an S&P 500 income ETF that does not say how much the calls cover

AllianceBernstein listed the AB Equity Premium Income ETF, INK, on Nasdaq on Wednesday without saying how much of the portfolio its call options will cover. The prospectus, revised Sept. 4, 2026, says those calls are there to produce premium income and a degree of protection if stocks fall, and that they can limit gains in a sharp rally.

That missing share is how an investor would weigh the premium against the rally given up. The prospectus also says the premiums may not fully protect against a decline.

Julie Gunts, AllianceBernstein's global head of ETFs, said in Wednesday's announcement that the overlay is "designed to provide regular income while maintaining equity market participation."

The prospectus pairs that participation with a limit. In a sharp rising market, it says, the fund could significantly underperform.

The prospectus describes an actively managed portfolio that generally targets the return of the market-cap-weighted S&P 500. It says the fund seeks to harvest losses, selling stocks as the losses occur so those losses can offset gains from the option premiums, while still managing how closely the portfolio tracks the index.

If that harvesting works, the prospectus says a significant portion of the distribution may be a return of capital, which the announcement says reduces a shareholder's cost basis. If the fund cannot harvest the losses, the prospectus says the premium income would be taxed as short-term capital gains and distributed as ordinary, unqualified dividends.

The prospectus says dividends from net investment income, if any, are declared and paid monthly, with no guarantee distributions will always be paid or paid at a stable rate. The announcement says the fund seeks monthly distributions, with no such guarantee.

Nasdaq's information circular for the listing says those net-investment-income dividends are declared and paid annually. The circular states that it is not a statutory prospectus, and it tells members to consult the prospectus.

The fund charges 0.35% a year. The prospectus fee table lists that as the total, a management fee, with other expenses estimated at zero. The table shows no waiver.

What Goldman, JPMorgan and NEOS already disclose

Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF, GPIX, generally sells calls on an instrument tied to the S&P 500, such as an ETF that tracks the index, and not on the stocks it holds. INK plans to write its calls mainly on ETFs that track broad U.S. equity indexes, principally the S&P 500, and also on the indexes themselves.

Goldman's April 30, 2026, prospectus says it expects, under normal circumstances, to sell calls covering 25% to 75% of the value of the equity portfolio. INK states no such range.

The net fee on GPIX is 0.29%, under a waiver that runs through at least April 30, 2027. The gross fee is 0.35%, the same as INK, so the difference is 6 basis points while the waiver lasts. Goldman put the fund's assets at $6.4 billion as of Nov. 3, 2026.

J.P. Morgan Investment Management's JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF, JEPI, charges the same 0.35% and does not use that options book.

Its Nov. 1, 2026, prospectus says the adviser selects stocks through research and valuation, seeking lower volatility than the large-cap market, and may put up to 20% of net assets in equity-linked notes issued by banks, broker-dealers or their affiliates. The notes embed short calls on the S&P 500 or on ETFs that track it, and they are not traded on an exchange. J.P. Morgan's Sept. 30, 2026, fact sheet put the fund's assets at $45.27 billion.

NEOS Investment Management's NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF, SPYI, states a ceiling and takes a different route to the tax question. Its May 1, 2026, prospectus says the fund writes S&P 500 index calls on up to 100% of the value of the stocks it holds, and uses part of the premium to buy out-of-the-money calls for the chance to participate if the index rises.

Those index options are Section 1256 contracts. The prospectus says gains or losses on them are treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term no matter how long the contracts were held, and that contracts still open at year-end are treated as sold.

INK says it does not believe its positions will be subject to that rule, so they will not be marked to market at year-end. The distribution it describes turns on the harvesting instead: return of capital if the stock losses offset the premiums, and ordinary, unqualified dividends if they do not.

SPYI may seek to harvest losses, its prospectus says, opportunistically. The tax case it states is the index-option rule. The fund charges 0.68%.

INK is Goldman's call structure without the range, at the 0.35% JEPI charges, and its tax result depends on harvested losses rather than on the index-option rule SPYI uses.