Is AAIC or RYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

AAIC currently yields 41.32% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. RYLD yields 12.39% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: AAIC offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between AAIC and RYLD?

AAIC has a forward dividend yield of 41.32% ($2.00/share annually). RYLD yields 12.39% ($1.81/share annually). The yield gap is 28.93 percentage points.

Home › Compare › AAIC vs RYLD

AAIC vs RYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

AAIC yields 41.32% · RYLD yields 12.39%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 RYLD wins by $17.6K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 3

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

AAIC

● Live price

41.32%

Share price

$4.84

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

-50%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$27.7K

Annual income

$5.67

Full AAIC calculator →

RYLD

● Live price

12.39%

Share price

$14.64

Annual div

$1.81

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$45.3K

Annual income

$2,682.98

Full RYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — AAIC vs RYLD

📍 RYLD pulled ahead of the other in Year 3

Annual dividend income

🛡️

Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	AAIC	RYLD
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

📅

Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, AAIC + RYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

AAIC pays

RYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

AAIC

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$3,512.40/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$4.82/yr

RYLD

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$1,053.44/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2,280.53/yr

At 15% tax rate, RYLD beats the other by $2,275.71/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of AAIC + RYLD for your $10,000?

AAIC: 50%RYLD: 50%

100% RYLD50/50100% AAIC

Portfolio after 10yr

$36.5K

Annual income

$1,344.33/yr

Blended yield

3.69%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on AAIC right now

AAIC

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Consensus: Hold

Altman Z

-1.9

Piotroski

6/9

RYLD

No analyst data

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

AAIC buys

RYLD buys

No recent congressional trades found for AAIC or RYLD in the last 90 days.

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricAAICRYLD

Forward yield	41.32% ✓	12.39%
Annual dividend / share	$2.00 ✓	$1.81
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	-50%	0% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$27.7K	$45.3K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$5.67	$2,682.98 ✓
Total dividends collected	$4.7K	$19.4K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: AAIC vs RYLD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	AAIC Portfolio	AAIC Income/yr	RYLD Portfolio	RYLD Income/yr	Gap
1	$12,766	$2,066.12	$11,939	$1,239.34	+$827.00 → AAIC
2	$14,892	$1,232.54	$14,158	$1,382.89	+$734.00 → AAIC
3← crossover	$16,607	$671.87	$16,682	$1,532.59	$75.00 → RYLD
4	$18,119	$350.10	$19,537	$1,687.64	$1.4K → RYLD
5	$19,566	$178.50	$22,752	$1,847.20	$3.2K → RYLD
6	$21,026	$90.07	$26,355	$2,010.43	$5.3K → RYLD
7	$22,543	$45.23	$30,376	$2,176.45	$7.8K → RYLD
8	$24,143	$22.66	$34,847	$2,344.43	$10.7K → RYLD
9	$25,845	$11.34	$39,800	$2,513.54	$14.0K → RYLD
10	$27,660	$5.67	$45,269	$2,682.98	$17.6K → RYLD

AAIC vs RYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

AAIC — Stock

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (NYSE: AAIC) currently invests primarily in mortgage-related and other assets and has elected to be taxed as a REIT. The Company is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For more information, please visit www.arlingtonasset.com.

Full AAIC Calculator →

RYLD — ETF

The Global X Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF (RYLD) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cboe Russell 2000 BuyWrite Index.

Full RYLD Calculator →

📬

Get this AAIC vs RYLD comparison by email

Save your analysis + weekly dividend insights. Free forever.

More comparisons

AAIC vs SCHD AAIC vs JEPI AAIC vs O AAIC vs KO AAIC vs MAIN

⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.