Is VAR or JEPI a better dividend investment in 2026?

VAR currently yields 4.00% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. JEPI yields 8.49% with 2.1% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: JEPI offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between VAR and JEPI?

VAR has a forward dividend yield of 4.00% ($2.00/share annually). JEPI yields 8.49% ($4.76/share annually). The yield gap is 4.49 percentage points.

Home › Compare › VAR vs JEPI

VAR vs JEPI: Dividend Comparison 2026

VAR yields 4.00% · JEPI yields 8.49%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 JEPI wins by $1.1K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

VAR

● Live price

4.00%

Share price

$50.00

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$28.0K

Annual income

$899.19

Full VAR calculator →

JEPI

JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF

● Live price

8.49%

Share price

$56.13

Annual div

$4.76

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$29.2K

Annual income

$1,552.59

Full JEPI calculator →

Portfolio growth — VAR vs JEPI

📍 JEPI pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

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

Crisis Period	VAR	JEPI
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%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, VAR + JEPI cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

VAR pays

JEPI pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

VAR

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

$340.00/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$764.31/yr

JEPI

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

$721.23/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$1,319.70/yr

At 15% tax rate, JEPI beats the other by $555.39/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of VAR + JEPI for your $10,000?

VAR: 50%JEPI: 50%

100% JEPI50/50100% VAR

Portfolio after 10yr

$28.6K

Annual income

$1,225.90/yr

Blended yield

4.29%

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Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on VAR right now

VAR

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Hold

JEPI

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.

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

VAR buys

JEPI buys

Politician	Chamber	Ticker	Type	Amount	Date
Ro Khanna	🏢 House	$JEPI	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2023-11-03
Max Miller	🏢 House	$JEPI	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2023-10-06
Kevin Hern	🏢 House	$JEPI	▲ Buy	$1,001 - $15,000	2022-10-06
Kevin Hern	🏢 House	$JEPI	▲ Buy	$1,001 - $15,000	2022-09-07
Robert J. Wittman	🏢 House	$JEPI	▲ Buy	$1,001 - $15,000	2022-05-10
Kevin Hern	🏢 House	$JEPI	▲ Buy	$100,001 - $250,000	2021-07-30
Chris Jacobs	🏢 House	$VAR	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2021-04-15
Dean Phillips	🏢 House	$VAR	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2021-04-15
Mikie Sherrill	🏢 House	$VAR	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2020-02-20
Sheldon Whitehouse	🏛 Senate	$VAR	▼ Sell	$15,001 - $50,000	2014-02-19

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

MetricVARJEPI

Forward yield	4.00%	8.49% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$2.00	$4.76 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	5% ✓	0%
5-year div CAGR	5% ✓	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$28.0K	$29.2K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$899.19	$1,552.59 ✓
Total dividends collected	$6.4K	$11.9K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: VAR vs JEPI ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	VAR Portfolio	VAR Income/yr	JEPI Portfolio	JEPI Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,120	$420.00	$11,269	$848.50	$149.00 → JEPI
2	$12,357	$458.31	$12,659	$917.60	$302.00 → JEPI
3	$13,721	$499.76	$14,180	$989.30	$459.00 → JEPI
4	$15,227	$544.58	$15,839	$1,063.50	$612.00 → JEPI
5	$16,885	$593.02	$17,645	$1,140.05	$760.00 → JEPI
6	$18,713	$645.34	$19,605	$1,218.79	$892.00 → JEPI
7	$20,724	$701.81	$21,728	$1,299.59	$1.0K → JEPI
8	$22,938	$762.73	$24,022	$1,382.26	$1.1K → JEPI
9	$25,372	$828.41	$26,498	$1,466.66	$1.1K → JEPI
10	$28,047	$899.19	$29,164	$1,552.59	$1.1K → JEPI

VAR vs JEPI: Complete Analysis 2026

VAR — Stock

VAR is a dividend-paying stock. Use this calculator to estimate your future dividend income, DRIP compounding returns, and passive income potential from investing in VAR shares.

Full VAR Calculator →

JEPI — ETF

The fund seeks to provide the majority of the returns associated with its primary benchmark, the Standard & Poor's 500 Total Return Index (S&P 500 Index), while exposing investors to less risk through lower volatility and still offering incremental income. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities. It may also invest in other equity securities not included in the S&P 500 Index.

Full JEPI Calculator →

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