IWMI review: total return vs IWM, measured
IWMI, the NEOS Russell 2000 High Income fund, pays out about 15% of its price a year. Since mid 2024 it has kept most of IWM's return with a slightly smaller drawdown. Here are the numbers on the same days.
What IWMI is
IWMI is the NEOS Russell 2000 High Income ETF. It holds small-company stocks and sells call options on the Russell 2000 index against them, paying the premium out monthly. It launched in June 2024. It is the small-cap sibling of QQQI and SPYI.
The record
From its first close on June 25, 2024 to midday November 13, 2026, IWMI returned about 14.2% a year with distributions reinvested, against IWM's 15.4% on the same days. Its share price was about flat (down about 1% a year) while it paid out about 34% of its launch price in total.
By year: 2024 from launch +6.6% against IWM +10.9%; 2025 +15.0% against +12.7%; 2026 to mid November +12.1% against +12.6%. It beat IWM in 2025, a choppy year for small caps where selling calls paid well and the rally was limited.
Drawdown and capture
Worst drawdown -23.9% against IWM's -27.5%. In the February to April 2025 sell-off IWMI fell 20.3% close to close against 22.6%. On monthly returns it caught about 82% of IWM's up months and 76% of its down months.
That is the same shape as QQQI and SPYI: a bit less of the fall, a bit less of the rise, and a large monthly payout. The record is under two and a half years, and none of it includes a long flat or falling stretch for small caps. The QQQI review shows what ten years of an older covered call fund looked like.
How we measured
Daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance, split adjusted. Total return reinvests each distribution on its ex-date. Each fund is compared with what it tracks on exactly the same days, from the fund's first close. No taxes or trading costs are included, and past returns do not predict future ones. This is a measurement, not advice for anyone's account. Prices through midday November 13, 2026.
Measured from daily closes and distributions, every payout reinvested, each fund against its index on the same days. Past returns do not predict future ones. This is education, not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.