Is NVDY a Buy? What to Consider in 2026

The YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF (NVDY) is an actively managed exchange-traded fund from YieldMax, operated under Tidal Trust II with Tidal Investments as adviser. It does not buy NVIDIA shares directly. Instead it uses a synthetic options position to gain exposure to NVDA's price and writes (sells) call options against that exposure, a covered-call style income strategy applied to a single stock. The premiums collected from selling those calls fund large distributions that have been paid weekly in recent periods (the fund historically paid monthly). Because writing calls exchanges potential upside for premium income, NVDY participates in only a limited portion of NVDA rallies while still bearing most of NVDA's downside. The advertised distribution rate is high but is heavily influenced by NVDA's implied volatility and frequently includes a substantial return of capital component, meaning part of each payout can be investors' own principal returned rather than newly earned income. Over time this combination can erode the fund's net asset value, so the total return of holding NVDY can lag the total return of simply owning NVDA, especially in strong up markets. The expense ratio is high relative to broad index ETFs.

Largest holdings (approximate as of early 2026; verify on YieldMax (Tidal Investments / Tidal Trust II)'s fund page):

NVDY is a YieldMax single-stock option-income ETF that sells call options tied to NVIDIA (NVDA) to produce very large, frequent distributions. It is an income product, not a leveraged bet. The headline yield is inflated by option premiums and often includes return of capital. Selling calls caps your upside in NVDA rallies and the share price can erode, so total return can trail simply holding NVDA.

In its favour: it gives you synthetic covered-call income on NVIDIA (NVDA) exposure in one ticker at a approximately 0.99% to 1.27% (the fund's stated total annual expense ratio has been reported around 1.27% gross, with figures near 0.99% to 1.01% commonly cited; high relative to plain index ETFs) expense ratio, which is simple to hold and cheap to own.

• Cost vs alternatives: approximately 0.99% to 1.27% (the fund's stated total annual expense ratio has been reported around 1.27% gross, with figures near 0.99% to 1.01% commonly cited; high relative to plain index ETFs) is the fee; compare it to funds tracking a similar index.
• Concentration: check how much of NVDY sits in its largest holdings (NVDA).
• Overlap: if you already own a broad-market fund, you may already hold much of this.
• Tracking scope: NVDY only gives you synthetic covered-call income on NVIDIA (NVDA); it will not capture what sits outside that index.

The useful question is rarely “will NVDY go up?” It is “does this exposure fit my plan, at a cost I am happy with, without doubling up on what I already own?” Walnut connects your real brokerage so you can see exactly how NVDY would overlap with your current holdings, analyze it by chatting through Claude or ChatGPT, and place any trade yourself. You stay in control.

The bottom line: NVDY is a low-cost core building block for synthetic covered-call income on NVIDIA (NVDA) exposure, not a tactical bet on a single name. If you want synthetic covered-call income on NVIDIA (NVDA) exposure and the approximately 0.99% to 1.27% (the fund's stated total annual expense ratio has been reported around 1.27% gross, with figures near 0.99% to 1.01% commonly cited; high relative to plain index ETFs) fee is competitive for you, it does its job well. If you already own that exposure through another fund, adding it mostly doubles a fee without adding diversification. Decide from your goal and your existing holdings, not from where the market sat last week. Walnut is not an investment adviser.