Is ZAIS or QYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

ZAIS currently yields 48.90% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. QYLD yields 11.92% with -2.1% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: ZAIS offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between ZAIS and QYLD?

ZAIS has a forward dividend yield of 48.90% ($2.00/share annually). QYLD yields 11.92% ($2.04/share annually). The yield gap is 36.98 percentage points.

Home › Compare › ZAIS vs QYLD

ZAIS vs QYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

ZAIS yields 48.90% · QYLD yields 11.92%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 ZAIS wins by $346.8K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

ZAIS

● Live price

48.90%

Share price

$4.09

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$372.2K

Annual income

$74,100.38

Full ZAIS calculator →

QYLD

Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF

● Live price

11.92%

Share price

$17.15

Annual div

$2.04

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$25.4K

Annual income

$5,659.31

Full QYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — ZAIS vs QYLD

📍 ZAIS 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	ZAIS	QYLD
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, ZAIS + QYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

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Feb

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Mar

—

Apr

—

May

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Jun

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Jul

—

Aug

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Sep

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Oct

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Nov

—

Dec

—

ZAIS pays

QYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

ZAIS

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

$4,156.48/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$62,985.32/yr

QYLD

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

$1,013.51/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$4,810.41/yr

At 15% tax rate, ZAIS beats the other by $58,174.91/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 ZAIS + QYLD for your $10,000?

ZAIS: 50%QYLD: 50%

100% QYLD50/50100% ZAIS

Portfolio after 10yr

$198.8K

Annual income

$39,879.85/yr

Blended yield

20.06%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

ZAIS buys

QYLD buys

Politician	Chamber	Ticker	Type	Amount	Date
Tim Moore	🏢 House	$QYLD	▼ Sell	$15,001 - $50,000	2025-05-02
Tim Moore	🏢 House	$QYLD	▲ Buy	$15,001 - $50,000	2025-04-07
Dwight Evans	🏢 House	$QYLD	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2022-11-14
Dwight Evans	🏢 House	$QYLD	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2020-10-29

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

MetricZAISQYLD

Forward yield	48.90% ✓	11.92%
Annual dividend / share	$2.00	$2.04 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$372.2K ✓	$25.4K
Annual income after 10y	$74,100.38 ✓	$5,659.31
Total dividends collected	$295.4K ✓	$27.1K
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: ZAIS vs QYLD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	ZAIS Portfolio	ZAIS Income/yr	QYLD Portfolio	QYLD Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$15,590	$4,889.98	$10,352	$1,192.36	+$5.2K → ZAIS
2	$23,806	$7,124.73	$10,830	$1,347.57	+$13.0K → ZAIS
3	$35,640	$10,167.77	$11,460	$1,539.07	+$24.2K → ZAIS
4	$52,361	$14,226.41	$12,275	$1,777.84	+$40.1K → ZAIS
5	$75,560	$19,533.63	$13,323	$2,078.95	+$62.2K → ZAIS
6	$107,194	$26,344.00	$14,667	$2,463.34	+$92.5K → ZAIS
7	$149,625	$34,927.92	$16,396	$2,960.57	+$133.2K → ZAIS
8	$205,663	$45,564.28	$18,631	$3,612.97	+$187.0K → ZAIS
9	$278,591	$58,531.92	$21,548	$4,482.15	+$257.0K → ZAIS
10	$372,193	$74,100.38	$25,398	$5,659.31	+$346.8K → ZAIS

ZAIS vs QYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

ZAIS — Stock

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

Full ZAIS Calculator →

QYLD — ETF

The Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cboe Nasdaq-100 BuyWrite V2 Index.

Full QYLD 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.