DOWN BIG20 Weekly Dividend ETFs Down the Most From Their Launch Price
We checked the share price of every weekly payer on WeeklyETFs.com against the price it launched at. Almost all of them are lower, and some are down more than 90%. Are these beaten-down funds bargains, or warnings? Here is the full list and both sides of the argument.
104 of the 109 weekly dividend ETFs we track trade below their launch price, and 8 are down 90% or more. A big drop does not always mean investors lost money, though. 5 of the 20 funds on this list still show a positive total return once their weekly payouts are counted.
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How we measured "down from launch"
Share price only. No distributions added back.
For every ETF on our weekly dividend ETF list, we compared the closing price on its first day of trading with the closing price on October 12, 2026. That is the same idea behind the Price Decay column on our homepage, just with the exact percentage instead of a yes or no.
The 20 weekly ETFs down the most from launch
Ranked by share price change since launch. Click a ticker for its full yield and total return page.
| # | Ticker | Fund Name | Launched | Launch Price* | Price Now | Price Change | Total Return | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $AIYY | YieldMax AI Option Income Strategy ETF | Nov 2023 | $204.30 | $7.44 | -96.4% | -75% | 61% |
| 2 | $MARO | YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF | Dec 2024 | $48.28 | $3.18 | -93.4% | -64% | 65% |
| 3 | $FIAT | YieldMax Short COIN Option Income Strategy ETF | Jul 2024 | $202.00 | $15.69 | -92.2% | -46% | 55% |
| 4 | $COYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST COIN ETF | Jul 2025 | $150.75 | $14.03 | -90.7% | -61% | 66% |
| 5 | $CRSH | YieldMax Short TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF | May 2024 | $200.53 | $18.67 | -90.7% | -54% | 45% |
| 6 | $CONY | YieldMax COIN Option Income Strategy ETF | Aug 2023 | $197.58 | $19.08 | -90.3% | +39% | 58% |
| 7 | $MSTW | Roundhill MSTR WeeklyPay ETF | Jul 2025 | $49.11 | $4.79 | -90.2% | -74% | 72% |
| 8 | $SMCY | YieldMax SMCI Option Income Strategy ETF | Sep 2024 | $51.82 | $5.12 | -90.1% | -29% | 76% |
| 9 | $TSYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST TSLA ETF | Dec 2024 | $192.59 | $19.69 | -89.8% | -32% | 44% |
| 10 | $TSLY | YieldMax TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF | Nov 2022 | $204.38 | $22.24 | -89.1% | +43% | 50% |
| 11 | $ULTY | YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF | Mar 2024 | $200.00 | $25.32 | -87.3% | +12% | 61% |
| 12 | $MSTY | YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF | Feb 2024 | $108.00 | $15.54 | -85.6% | +72% | 76% |
| 13 | $DIPS | YieldMax Short NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF | Jul 2024 | $207.40 | $31.47 | -84.8% | -56% | 34% |
| 14 | $COIW | Roundhill COIN WeeklyPay ETF | Feb 2025 | $48.41 | $8.37 | -82.7% | -46% | 48% |
| 15 | $HOYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST HOOD ETF | Oct 2025 | $25.44 | $4.60 | -81.9% | -46% | 74% |
| 16 | $RBLY | YieldMax RBLX Option Income Strategy ETF | Jul 2025 | $51.67 | $9.74 | -81.2% | -59% | 60% |
| 17 | $YETH | Roundhill Ether Covered Call Strategy ETF | Sep 2024 | $48.00 | $9.25 | -80.7% | -33% | 42% |
| 18 | $YBIT | YieldMax Bitcoin Option Income Strategy ETF | Apr 2024 | $98.85 | $20.49 | -79.3% | -12% | 41% |
| 19 | $MRNY | YieldMax MRNA Option Income Strategy ETF | Oct 2023 | $195.55 | $41.76 | -78.6% | +81% | 100% |
| 20 | $SMYY | GraniteShares YieldBOOST SMCI ETF | Oct 2025 | $25.98 | $5.68 | -78.1% | -28% | 77% |
The drops, side by side
Share price change since launch for each of the 20 funds.
A fund at -90% would need to rise about 900% just to get back to its launch price. That almost never happens with an option income ETF, because the payouts keep pulling the price down.
Down 90% in price, but still up overall?
This is the part most people miss.
Price only tells half the story with weekly payers. These funds hand back a large slice of their value every single week, so the share price is supposed to fall to some degree. The real question is whether the payouts made up for it. That is what total return measures.
Columns: price change since launch, then total return since launch.
Take $CONY. Its share price is down about 90% since it launched in August 2023, yet it shows a total return of roughly +39%, because it paid out so much along the way. $MSTY is down about 86% in price and still shows about +72%. $MRNY is down about 79% and shows about +81%.
Now look at $AIYY, down 96% in price with a total return near -75%, or $MSTW at -90% and about -74%. Their payouts did not come close to covering the drop. Same kind of chart, very different outcome for the people who held them.
The case for buying: why some investors see opportunity
There are real reasons people look at beaten-down weekly payers.
- Your yield is based on what you pay. If you buy today, you get today's distribution rate on today's price. The people who bought at launch absorbed the past decline. You start fresh.
- The underlying stock can recover. Many of these funds track volatile names like $COIN, $TSLA, $MSTR, $HOOD and $SMCI. If the stock underneath rebounds hard, the fund's price and payouts can rise with it, at least partly.
- Cash comes back every week. High weekly payouts return money to you quickly. Some investors use them to reinvest into steadier funds, which spreads out the risk over time.
- Some have rewarded long-term holders. $CONY, $MSTY, $MRNY, $TSLY and $ULTY all fell 78% to 90% in price and still show positive total returns since launch.
The case against: why "cheap" can be a trap
Before treating a low price as a bargain, understand why these funds fell.
- An ETF is not on sale just because it fell. A stock can trade below what the business is worth. An ETF trades close to the value of what it holds, every day. A fund that is down 90% is not trading at a 90% discount. It is simply worth 90% less.
- The decay is built in. When a fund pays out more than it earns from options, the gap comes from its own value. Even if the underlying stock goes nowhere, the share price can keep sliding. Our guide to the lowest price decay weekly ETFs shows which funds have held up best.
- They miss most of the rebound. Covered call funds cap their upside, so when the stock rallies, the fund keeps only part of it. Falls come through in full. That lopsided math is why so few of these ever get back to their launch price.
- Payouts shrink as the price shrinks. A 60% yield on a $5 share is a much smaller check than the same yield on a $20 share. Distributions are reset often and can drop sharply.
- Small funds can close. Issuers sometimes shut down funds that have shrunk too much. When that happens, holders get cashed out at the current price, with no chance to wait for a recovery.
The handful still above their launch price
Out of 109 weekly payers, only a few trade above where they started. Most share two things: a strong stock or sector underneath and a strategy that leaves room for growth.
Weekly ETFs trading above their launch price
| Ticker | Fund Name | Launched | Price Change | Total Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $AMDW | Roundhill AMD WeeklyPay ETF | Jul 2025 | +82.3% | +339% |
| $CHPY | YieldMax Semiconductor Portfolio Option Income ETF | Apr 2025 | +57.7% | +177% |
| $GOOW | Roundhill GOOGL WeeklyPay ETF | Jul 2025 | +18.6% | +94% |
| $TDAX | TDAQ LIFT ETF | Jan 2026 | +1.6% | +19% |
If holding your value matters more to you than the biggest possible payout, these funds, along with our list of the safest weekly dividend ETFs and the weekly ETFs with zero NAV decay, are a better place to start than the drop list above.
A 5-point check before buying a beaten-down weekly ETF
- Check total return, not just price. Has the fund made money for anyone who held it, or has it lost money even with the payouts?
- Know what is underneath. Do you believe in the stock or index the fund is tied to? Is it a short fund that needs the stock to fall?
- Look at the recent trend in payouts. Weekly distributions that keep shrinking are a sign the decline is not over.
- Check the fund's size and age. Very small funds carry a higher risk of being closed. Newer funds have less history to judge.
- Size it like a high risk position. Many investors keep funds like these to a small slice of their income portfolio, paired with steadier payers. See how others do it in How to Get $500/Month From Weekly Dividend ETFs.
Screen every fund for price decay in seconds
TopDividendETFsPRO runs on the same daily database as this page. Filter out price decay, sort by total return and spot the funds that are holding their value before you buy.
Beaten-down weekly ETFs: questions, answered
Why are so many weekly dividend ETFs down from their launch price?
Most weekly ETFs pay out more than their option income and holdings earn, so part of every distribution comes from the fund's own value and the share price drifts lower over time. When the underlying stock also falls, the decline speeds up. In our database 104 of 109 weekly payers trade below their launch price.
Is a weekly ETF that is down 90% a good buy?
Not automatically. An ETF trades close to the value of what it holds, so a low share price is not a discount the way it can be for a beaten-down stock. Whether one is worth buying depends on the outlook for the stock underneath it, how much of the payout is being funded by the fund's own value, and how much risk you can take. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Can an ETF be down 90% in price and still make money?
Yes. Total return counts every distribution plus the change in price. $CONY is down about 90% in share price since launch but shows a total return of about +39% in our database, and $MSTY is down about 86% in price with a total return of about +72%. Investors who held from launch and kept the payouts are ahead. Investors who bought later at higher prices may not be.
What is the difference between price decay and total return?
Price decay looks only at the share price compared with the launch price. Total return adds back every distribution paid along the way. A fund can have heavy price decay and a positive total return if its payouts were large enough, or a negative total return if the payouts did not make up for the drop.
Which weekly dividend ETFs are above their launch price?
Only a handful. As of October 12, 2026, $AMDW, $CHPY, $GOOW and $TDAX trade above where they launched, and $WEEK, the Roundhill Weekly T-Bill ETF, is essentially flat.
What happens to a weekly ETF after a reverse split?
A reverse split combines shares, so a fund trading at $3 might become a $30 fund with one tenth as many shares. Your total investment value does not change. Reverse splits are common for heavily decayed option income funds, which is why the launch prices in our table are split adjusted.
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