AAPY vs SMCY

AAPYAKurv Yield Premium Strategy Apple (AAPL) ETF

SMCYBYieldMax SMCI 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).

SMCY SMCY owns no Super Micro stock. It rents the name's volatility instead: a synthetic long built from options with short-term Treasuries as collateral, harvesting call premium off one of the loudest tickers in the AI complex.

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.

SMCY The Fund seeks current income while providing exposure to the share price of Super Micro Computer, Inc., subject to a general limit on potential investment gains.

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.

• SMCY Charges 1.01%, under the middle of the single-stock option-income pack, and it trades actively enough that getting in and out isn't the hard part.
• The issuer describes writing call spreads rather than plain short calls, a build that leaves some room to participate in SMCI's share price while premium comes in.yieldmaxetfs.com
• Exposure is synthetic and collateralized: options do the work, cash and short-term Treasuries sit underneath. You get SMCI's price action, not SMCI shares.yieldmaxetfs.com
• Among the dozens of single-stock income overlays now on the tape, this one grades out in the upper tier of its peer group.

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.

• SMCY Upside is capped by design. The fund's stated objective limits participation in gains, while SMCI's declines still flow through.yieldmaxetfs.com
• Payouts can include return of capital, meaning part of a distribution may be your own principal coming back rather than income the strategy earned.yieldmaxetfs.com
• One stock, one story. Launched in 2024, so the track record is short and everything here rides on Super Micro's share price.

Full AAPY profile⁠

Full SMCY profile⁠