IVVW vs NBOS

IVVWAiShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF

NBOSBNeuberger Berman Option Strategy ETF

In short

IVVW BlackRock's version of the covered call: hold the whole S&P 500 through the iShares Core fund, sell one-month index calls struck 1% out of the money, pay the premium out monthly. All for a quarter-point fee.

NBOS Most options-income ETFs sell calls on stocks they already own. NBOS flips the trade: it sells collateralized puts on the S&P 500 and parks the collateral in bonds, so premium, not dividends, does the work.

Stated mandate

IVVW The fund seeks to track an index strategy that holds the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and sells one-month call options primarily on the S&P 500 Index to generate income. The short option position is intended to be offset by the fund’s long position in the underlying ETF.

NBOS The Fund seeks long-term capital growth and income mainly by selling collateralized puts on U.S. indices, including the S&P 500 and related S&P 500 suite indices, while investing collateral in fixed-income instruments intended to moderate volatility.

Why people hold it

• IVVW Costs 0.25% a year against a category median near 0.60%. On an income strategy, that is less of the option premium quietly leaking out the door.
• The calls sit 1% out of the money, so a slice of each month's rally still belongs to shareholders before the cap bites. At-the-money writers give that up.cboe.com
• Rules over hunches: it tracks a Cboe index that pairs a long position in the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF with a short monthly S&P 500 call, rolled on a set schedule.cboe.com
• Inside a crowded covered-call field where fat fees are the norm, this is one of the tighter builds in its peer group.

• NBOS The mandate is a put-write, not a covered call: sell collateralized puts on the S&P 500 and related indices, hold the collateral in fixed income meant to moderate volatility.
• 0.59% a year, below the 0.75% median for its options-income peer group and cheaper than every fund citing the same index (ACYS, SIXH, OVL, MRSK).
• Pays monthly, and runs a compact book of roughly 30 positions rather than a sprawling equity sleeve with options bolted on.
• Sticks closely to the strategy its prospectus describes, and stands among the stronger implementations in a crowded options-income field.

Worth knowing

• IVVW Covered calls trade upside for income. Above the strike, the month's gain is capped, and the premium cushions losses rather than blocking them.cboe.com
• Monthly payouts come from option premium, so they move with volatility instead of arriving as a fixed amount.
• Launched in 2024 and moderately traded, so the live record is short and spreads can run wider than the category's biggest names.

• NBOS Selling puts means your equity upside is the premium collected, while index downside still flows through. Expect it to trail the S&P 500 in strong rallies.
• Launched in 2024, so the live record is short and spans a narrow slice of market conditions.
• Moderately traded rather than a category giant, so limit orders are the sane way in and out.

Full IVVW profile⁠

Full NBOS profile⁠