SCEP vs TCAL

SCEPASterling Capital Hedged Equity Premium Income ETF

TCALAT. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Premium Income ETF

In short

SCEP Most premium-income ETFs sell calls and leave the downside wide open. Sterling's active take pairs those covered calls with protective puts, so the hedge is written into the strategy instead of bolted on later.

TCAL An active stock picker's take on the covered-call trade: roughly 70 hand-chosen holdings, calls written on top, cash paid out monthly, all for 0.34% a year.

Stated mandate

SCEP The Fund seeks long-term capital growth, income, and preservation of capital. It invests primarily in U.S. large- and mid-cap equity and equity-related securities and uses a dynamic covered-call and protective-put overlay to add income and mitigate downside risk.

TCAL The fund seeks regular distributions while aiming to preserve capital and potentially achieve capital appreciation. It invests in equities and writes covered calls to generate cash flow alongside dividends.

Why people hold it

• SCEP Two-sided overlay: covered calls generate income, protective puts are there to cushion drawdowns. That is a collar, not a call-only income sleeve.
• A 0.65% expense ratio undercuts the roughly 0.95% median fee across active options-income funds.
• The overlay is dynamic and actively managed, sitting on a portfolio of US large- and mid-cap stocks rather than a fixed index and a set strike calendar.
• Stands as one of the stronger overall builds in a crowded options-income field, where most rivals sell upside without buying any protection.

• TCAL At 0.34% a year, it undercuts most active options-income funds, including DIVO at 0.56%, so more of the option premium stays in the portfolio instead of the fee line.
• Active all the way down: roughly 70 equities picked by T. Rowe Price, with covered calls layered on to generate cash alongside dividends. No index sitting underneath.
• Pays monthly, and the stated mandate ties those distributions to preserving capital and seeking appreciation rather than maximizing headline yield.
• Ranks among the strongest implementations in a crowded options-income field, with cost the clearest edge.

Worth knowing

• SCEP It launched in December 2025, so the overlay has not yet run through a full market cycle.
• Cheaper than the typical peer, pricier than the category's low-fee names: PAPI charges 0.29% and TCAL 0.34%.
• Payouts arrive on an irregular schedule rather than the fixed monthly cadence many premium-income funds advertise, and the fund trades thinly, so spreads matter.

• TCAL Written calls trade upside for cash. When the stock picks run hard, the calls limit how much of that move the fund keeps.
• Launched in 2025, so there is no full market-cycle record to judge the strategy against yet.
• The fund discloses that distributions can include return of capital, meaning part of a payout may be your own money coming back rather than income earned.

Full SCEP profile⁠

Full TCAL profile⁠