# How JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/jepi
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on JEPI alone. It places JEPI (JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF) against 17 popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where JEPI stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: JEPI's full trading record, from May 2020 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** JEPI has trailed the market, rising 3.4% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. That said, it sits 0.1% below its record high, and the S&P 500 is similarly close to its own.
- **Fund or market?:** JEPI rose 3.7% over the past 3 months, in line with the S&P 500, which rose 3.9%: a market move, not its own.
- **Long term:** Over the past 5 years, JEPI returned 7.5% a year against 12.7% a year for the S&P 500 (43.3% in total against 81.7%).
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, JEPI fell 13.7%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500, and less than similar funds such as DFAE (Dimensional - Emerging Core Equity Market ETF, 28.0%).
- **Diversification:** JEPI is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 0.83 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.83 with the total US market, more closely than 71% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. JEPI fell in 18 of the 22 months the S&P 500 fell over the past 5 years: it usually fell with it.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** DIVO (Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF) earned more than JEPI over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 11.1% a year at 11.9% volatility, against 7.5% a year at 11.0%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** HDV (iShares Core High Dividend ETF, US dividend equity) and DGRW (WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund, US dividend equity) were ahead of JEPI in most short and long periods.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 15 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than JEPI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BUFR (FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF), FTLS (First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF) and PJAN (Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in JEPI have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in JEPI over the past 6 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of JEPI over the same span and JEPI's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in JEPI at the end of September 2020 would have grown to $17,622 by September 2026, less than the $24,691 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Six of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of JEPI, and VYM finished highest, at $22,820.

## JEPI at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- JEPI is trading within 1% of its all-time high.
- JEPI's deepest decline since it began trading in 2020 was 13.7%, from April to September 2022. It took nine months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over five full calendar years, JEPI's best was 2021, when it returned 21.5%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 3.5%. It lost money in one of those years.

- Type: ETF, Dividend & Income (Asset Management - Income)
- Trading since: May 21, 2020
- Assets: $46B
- Expense ratio: 0.35%
- Volatility (5 years): 11.0%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −13.7%, from April 20, 2022 to September 30, 2022; back at its high by June 15, 2023

| Period | JEPI total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +1.9% |
| 3 months | +3.7% |
| 6 months | +3.4% |
| year to date | +6.2% |
| 1 year | +8.7% |
| 3 years | +38.1% |
| 5 years | +43.3% |

## JEPI against the whole market

Where JEPI ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does JEPI rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks JEPI on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- JEPI lands in the broad middle of the market on every measure here. JEPI is among the steadier ETFs: its price swings rank in the top 26% of the 1,560 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | JEPI | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +8.7% | 1,371 of 2,485 (top 56%) |
| 3-year return | +38.1% | 1,360 of 1,949 (top 70%) |
| 5-year return | +43.3% | 792 of 1,560 (top 51%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 11.0% | 400 of 1,560 (top 26%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 512 of 1,560 (top 33%) |

### What has beaten JEPI on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 15 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than JEPI over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half JEPI's swings, POCT has the best return for its risk: 10.0% a year at 8.0% volatility, 28% less than JEPI's 11.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.23 against 0.71 for JEPI. FMAR earned the most, 10.6% a year, while still swinging less than JEPI (10.4% against 11.0%).

### Is there a better investment than JEPI?

The table below lists investments that beat JEPI over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among JEPI's popular alternatives, DIVO earned more than JEPI over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 11.1% a year at 11.9% volatility, against 7.5% a year at 11.0%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, HDV (US dividend equity) and DGRW (US dividend equity) were ahead of JEPI in most short and long periods.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 15 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than JEPI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them BUFR, FTLS and PJAN.

The 5 strongest of 15 investments that beat JEPI over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 5Y return | Correlation with JEPI | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| JEPI: JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (this page) |  | +7.5% | 11.0% | 0.71 | −13.7% | +43.3% |  |  |
| PJUL: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | Broad Market | +10.5% | 8.6% | 1.20 | −18.2% | +64.4% | 0.82 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FMAR: FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - March | Multi-Asset | +10.6% | 10.4% | 1.02 | −14.4% | +65.3% | 0.80 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| BUFR: FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF | Buffered Equity | +9.9% | 10.5% | 0.96 | −13.7% | +60.3% | 0.84 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FTLS: First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF | Broad Market | +10.2% | 10.4% | 0.99 | −20.6% | +62.9% | 0.82 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| SIXH: ETC 6 Meridian Hedged Equity Index Option ETF | Broad Market | +10.2% | 10.2% | 1.00 | −11.7% | +62.2% | 0.77 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## JEPI against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against JEPI, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do JEPI's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- None of the ten popular alternatives earned more than JEPI over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Over the past 5 years, JEPI returned 7.5% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with lower volatility (11.0% against 17.1%).

### Has JEPI consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares JEPI with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over seven periods from one month to five years.

- Six of the 17 popular alternatives, led by SCHD, DIVO and QYLD, outperformed JEPI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 2 long-term timeframes.
- SCHD, DIVO and QYLD outperformed JEPI in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | Periods ahead of JEPI | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| JEPI: JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (this page) | +8.7% | +38.1% | +43.3% |  |  | 0.71 |
| [SCHD](https://easycompare.io/research/schd): Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | +33.0% | +67.5% | +59.1% | 5/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.72 |
| DIVO: Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF | +14.6% | +63.4% | +69.0% | 4/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.95 |
| QYLD: Global X - Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF | +19.4% | +59.2% | +49.8% | 4/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.62 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | 3/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | consistent | 0.79 |
| [VYM](https://easycompare.io/research/vym): Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF | +16.9% | +72.8% | +71.1% | 3/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | consistent | 0.85 |
| PBP: Invesco S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF | +16.3% | +52.6% | +46.5% | 3/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | consistent | 0.71 |
| DFAE: Dimensional - Emerging Core Equity Market ETF | +18.1% | +83.5% | +49.3% | 2/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| USMV: iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | +9.7% | +49.7% | +44.4% | 5/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| [JEPQ](https://easycompare.io/research/jepq): JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF | +15.1% | +77.8% | — | 4/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | — |
| SPYI: Neos S&P 500(R) High Income ETF | +15.0% | +65.7% | — | 4/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | — |
| XYLD: Global X - S&P 500 Covered Call ETF | +16.0% | +50.5% | +43.1% | 3/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| DFAW: Dimensional - World Equity ETF | +17.3% | +81.5% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | — |
| GPIQ: Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF | +16.8% | +95.6% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | — |
| GPIX: Goldman Sachs S&P 500 Premium Income ETF | +15.6% | +81.5% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | — |
| RYLD: Global X - Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF | +11.4% | +35.6% | +10.6% | 3/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| QQQI: NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF | +13.2% | — | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | — |
| [BND](https://easycompare.io/research/bnd): Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | −2.1% | +15.7% | −1.8% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | -0.03 |

### How did JEPI do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2021, along with where JEPI ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- JEPI finished ahead of the S&P 500 in one of its five full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Among its popular alternatives, DIVO came out ahead of JEPI most often, in four of the five years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, JEPI finished in the top quarter in no of five years and in the bottom quarter in no. In 2025, it ranked 12 of 17.

| Year | JEPI | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +8.1% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +12.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +9.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −3.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +21.5% | +28.7% |

## Risk and diversification

How JEPI has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were JEPI's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all five of JEPI's worst declines, it fell less than the S&P 500 did over the same dates.
- None of these declines kept JEPI below its old high for long; the longest climb back took nine months.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −13.7% | April 20, 2022 | September 30, 2022 | June 15, 2023 | −19.0% | 2022 bear market |
| −13.3% | February 19, 2025 | April 8, 2025 | August 22, 2025 | −18.8% |  |
| −7.1% | December 31, 2021 | February 23, 2022 | April 8, 2022 | −11.2% | 2022 bear market |
| −6.7% | September 14, 2023 | October 27, 2023 | December 1, 2023 | −8.5% |  |
| −6.7% | February 27, 2026 | March 27, 2026 | August 5, 2026 | −7.3% |  |

### How did JEPI do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far JEPI, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- JEPI fell less than the S&P 500 in all two crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when JEPI fell 13.7% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.
- None of its popular alternatives fell less than JEPI in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- JEPI began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but two of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was BND's 9.3%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | JEPI fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | not trading | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | not trading | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | not trading | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | not trading | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | not trading | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | not trading | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −13.7% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does JEPI move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Over the past 5 years, JEPI captured 57% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 57% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.53. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- Six of the ten popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than JEPI's 0.99, led by PBP, XYLD and DIVO.
- PBP took just 48% of the S&P 500's losses, against 57% for JEPI, while still keeping 54% of its gains.

Measured over the past 5 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| JEPI: JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (this page) | 57.0% | 57.0% | 0.53 |
| [SCHD](https://easycompare.io/research/schd): Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | 78.0% | 85.0% | 0.68 |
| DIVO: Amplify CWP Enhanced Dividend Income ETF | 76.0% | 69.0% | 0.65 |
| QYLD: Global X - Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF | 63.0% | 59.0% | 0.61 |
| [VYM](https://easycompare.io/research/vym): Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF | 81.0% | 79.0% | 0.73 |
| PBP: Invesco S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF | 54.0% | 48.0% | 0.49 |
| DFAE: Dimensional - Emerging Core Equity Market ETF | 74.0% | 74.0% | 0.73 |
| USMV: iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | 65.0% | 74.0% | 0.64 |
| XYLD: Global X - S&P 500 Covered Call ETF | 54.0% | 49.0% | 0.49 |
| RYLD: Global X - Russell 2000 Covered Call ETF | 47.0% | 69.0% | 0.55 |
| [BND](https://easycompare.io/research/bnd): Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | 19.0% | 39.0% | 0.26 |

### What diversifies JEPI?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in JEPI into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 21% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+7.8% for JEPI alone, +8.5% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and GLD have moved largely independently of JEPI over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.49 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- In 2022, the one year JEPI lost money (-3.5%), DBMF returned +21.6%.

| Investment | Correlation with JEPI | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in JEPI's 1 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.49 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 1 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.46 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 0 of 1 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.27 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 0 of 1 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.46 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 1 of 1 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.43 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 0 of 1 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.21 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 1 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.24 | +66.4% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 1 |
| GDX: VanEck Gold Miners ETF | 0.37 | +181% | 38.2% | 0.73 | 0 of 1 |

## Common questions

### What was JEPI's worst drawdown?

JEPI's deepest decline since it began trading in 2020 was 13.7%, from April to September 2022. It took nine months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because JEPI launched in May 2020, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or six other sell-offs.

### What were JEPI's best and worst years?

Over five full calendar years, JEPI's best year was 2021, when it returned 21.5%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -3.5%.

### Is there a better investment than JEPI?

Among JEPI's popular alternatives, DIVO earned more than JEPI over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 11.1% a year at 11.9% volatility, against 7.5% a year at 11.0%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, HDV (US dividend equity) and DGRW (US dividend equity) were ahead of JEPI in most short and long periods.

### Is JEPI more volatile than the S&P 500?

No. JEPI's volatility over the past 5 years was 11.0%, 64% of the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, JEPI's return lands within 11.0% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is JEPI's Sharpe ratio?

JEPI's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.71, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so JEPI earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is JEPI with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, JEPI's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.83 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They move almost in lockstep, so holding both adds little diversification. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against JEPI instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a JEPI holding.

### What are the best alternatives to JEPI?

Of the 17 popular alternatives we compared, six outperformed JEPI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 2 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: SCHD, DIVO and QYLD.

### Did JEPI outperform the S&P 500?

JEPI finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of five full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +8.1%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did JEPI do in stock market crashes?

JEPI fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in two of the two major crashes it has traded through, and further in no. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when JEPI fell 13.7% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies JEPI?

These had a low correlation with JEPI over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.49), SMH (correlation 0.46) and GLD (correlation 0.27); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.44), CLS (correlation 0.32) and FIX (correlation 0.49). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
- [State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spy)
- [Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vym)
- [JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/jepq)
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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/jepi
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against JEPI live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=JEPI&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research