AAPY vs MARO

AAPYAKurv Yield Premium Strategy Apple (AAPL) ETF

MAROBYieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF

In short

AAPY Apple income without slamming the brakes on upside: AAPY builds its Apple exposure with options, sells calls above the market rather than at it, and pays monthly. Fee is 0.99% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027 (1.15% gross).

MARO Income squeezed out of a bitcoin miner that trades like one. Launched in December 2024, MARO sells call spreads on MARA rather than plain covered calls, so the upside it gives away is a band, not everything above one strike.

Stated mandate

AAPY The Fund seeks current income while providing exposure to Apple Inc.'s share price, with potential gains limited by its options strategy.

MARO The fund seeks weekly income by actively selling call spreads on MARA while retaining participation in MARA share-price appreciation.

Why people hold it

• AAPY The calls it sells sit out of the money, and the prospectus allows buying higher-strike calls and put spreads, a toolkit aimed at keeping some room above the sold strike.sec.govsec.gov 2
• 0.99% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027 (1.15% gross) comes in under APLY, the other Apple options-income ETF, at 1.04%.
• Collateral sits in Treasury bills, income is paid monthly, and the portfolio matches what the filings describe.sec.gov
• One of the stronger builds in a crowded field of single-stock options-income funds.

• MARO The spread twist: sell one call, own a higher-strike one. The giveaway is limited to the gap between strikes, and the fund keeps participating in MARA above it.
• A 1.00% expense ratio, a touch under the typical single-stock option income fund and under YieldMax's other MARA vehicle, MAAY, at 1.07%.
• One of the stronger builds in a crowded single-stock income cohort, and it trades actively, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
• Standard 1940 Act fund wrapper with income as the stated goal: distributions on a regular schedule, a 1099 at tax time, no K-1 paperwork.

Worth knowing

• AAPY Apple's full downside comes through the synthetic long position, while share-price gains are limited by the options strategy.sec.gov
• Monthly payouts can include return of capital, meaning part of a distribution may be your own money coming back.kurvinvest.com
• Small fund that trades thinly, so spreads can be wider than a mega-ETF's and large orders can move the price.

• MARO Everything rides on one bitcoin miner. No diversification, and the fund's measured risk sits at the wild end of its peer group.
• MARA exposure comes through options, not shares. You hold a fund, not the stock, and the spread narrows the upside cap without removing it.
• Payouts come from option premiums, which rise and fall with MARA's volatility. The income stream is variable by design.

Full AAPY profile⁠

Full MARO profile⁠