IVVW vs PHEQ

IVVWAiShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF

PHEQAParametric Hedged Equity 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.

PHEQ A hedged large-cap core that skips the outcome calendar. Parametric layers a ladder of put spreads and short calls over U.S. stocks, so the hedge rolls through the year instead of resetting on one annual date.

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.

PHEQ Seeks capital appreciation up to a cap while limiting investor losses through a downside buffer. It invests in U.S. large-cap equities and uses laddered put spreads and short calls to create buffer-cap structures.

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.

• PHEQ 0.29% a year, roughly half the typical fee in its S&P 500 options crowd. Cheap for a strategy that usually charges up for the options desk.
• The ladder is the point: overlapping put spreads and short calls mature on a rolling basis, so no single reset date dictates your cap or your protection.eatonvance.com
• You own the stocks. It holds U.S. large caps outright and layers options on top, rather than renting exposure through swaps or a Treasuries-plus-calls package.
• Live since 2023 and one of the stronger builds in a crowded field of S&P 500 option-overlay funds, on our review.

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.

• PHEQ A put spread covers a band, not the whole drop. Below the lower strike, losses track the market again, and the short calls trim the top end of big rallies.
• Thinly traded compared with the giants of this category, so bid-ask spreads can be wider and limit orders carry more weight.
• Built as a hedge, not a yield engine: income is paid quarterly and the fund declares no target payout rate.

Full IVVW profile⁠

Full PHEQ profile⁠