CAIQ vs JEPQ

CAIQCCalamos Nasdaq Autocallable Income ETF

JEPQAJPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

In short

CAIQ Autocallable notes, normally sold one private-banking client at a time, packaged into a ticker. Calamos built CAIQ as the first Nasdaq-100 autocallable income ETF, seeking high monthly income from contingent coupons instead of covered calls.

JEPQ Most Nasdaq income funds bolt call options onto the index and call it a day. JEPQ picks its own roughly 110 US large-cap stocks, then writes out-of-the-money Nasdaq-100 calls on top, aiming for monthly income with less volatility than the index itself.

Stated mandate

CAIQ The Fund seeks high monthly income and reduced downside risk through exposure to a portfolio of autocallables.

JEPQ The fund seeks current income while preserving potential for capital appreciation. It combines a data-science-driven portfolio of U.S. large-cap stocks with written out-of-the-money Nasdaq-100 Index call options and seeks lower volatility than the Nasdaq-100 Index.

Why people hold it

• CAIQ First ETF to put a portfolio of Nasdaq-100 autocallables, long a private-bank product, inside a ticker: no note-by-note paperwork, no account minimums.calamos.com
• The income engine is autocallable coupons, not covered calls, so the payout math does not depend on selling away Nasdaq-100 upside month after month.
• Actively managed rather than rules-locked: the team can redeploy as positions are called away or mature instead of following a fixed options calendar.

• JEPQ Charges 0.35% a year, roughly half the typical fee among Nasdaq options-income funds and well under QYLD's 0.60%.
• Income is manufactured by writing out-of-the-money Nasdaq-100 calls and paid out monthly, rather than harvested from high-dividend stocks.jpmorgan.com
• One of the largest and most heavily traded funds in the Nasdaq options-income group, which generally means tight spreads and easy entry and exit.
• The calls are struck out of the money, so the mandate keeps room for capital appreciation in the stock sleeve alongside the payout.jpmorgan.com

Worth knowing

• CAIQ At 0.74% a year it costs more than the plain covered-call route on the same index, where JEPQ and GPIQ run 0.35%. Novelty carries a price.
• Launched in November 2025, so there is no multi-year record of how the autocallable sleeve behaves through a full Nasdaq drawdown.
• Coupons are contingent, not fixed. The fund aims for high monthly income, but the size and timing of what lands can move around.

• JEPQ The overlay clips the top off big Nasdaq rallies: premium comes in, but stock gains above the call strikes go to the option buyer.jpmorgan.com
• Monthly payouts float with option premiums, which move with market volatility. This is variable income, not a fixed coupon.
• About 110 US large-cap holdings paired with a Nasdaq-100 overlay: concentrated, tech-leaning exposure rather than a broad-market portfolio.jpmorgan.com

Full CAIQ profile⁠

Full JEPQ profile⁠