NEOS Income ETF Beats JEPI Over One-Year Window
Over the 12 months ended October 20, 2025, the NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF returned 14.46% with distributions reinvested, compared with 8.75% for JPMorgan's JEPI. SPYI's price history only begins in August 2022, so it has not been tested across a complete market cycle. The article notes that switching from JEPI to SPYI is simplest in an IRA because selling JEPI in a taxable account may create capital gains.
The comparison used total return, meaning every distribution was assumed to buy additional shares. Investors who spent payouts would have seen different account outcomes, so the figures compare fund performance rather than a retiree's spending result.
SPYI's record starts in late August 2022, leaving no five- or ten-year overlap with JEPI. Its one-year lead also was not uniform: JEPI outperformed over the latest month, while SPYI remained ahead year to date.
Retirees and income-focused investors may feel this comparison most directly, since monthly payouts can shape household budgeting and withdrawal choices. A newer fund's stronger recent return could prompt some to consider switching, but a short record may leave savers weighing potential extra income against uncertainty and, in taxable accounts, possible capital-gains costs. Advisers may need to explain that recent performance and reinvested-return figures do not necessarily match the cash-flow experience of people spending distributions.