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Hamilton U.S. Equity YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF (SMAX.TO) Alternatives

ETF · Currency in CAD · Last updated Jun 4, 2026

SMAX is designed for attractive monthly income, while providing exposure to a portfolio of primarily large-cap U.S. equity securities. To reduce volatility and augment dividend income, SMAX will employ an active covered call strategy.

Hamilton U.S. Equity YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF (SMAX.TO) belongs to the Derivative Income category. Below you'll find alternative ETFs from the same category, ranked by key criteria, plus funds that investors commonly compare with SMAX.TO. Use the tables to find lower-cost options, better risk-adjusted returns, or a closer substitute for your current allocation.

Cheapest Alternatives to SMAX.TO

SMAX.TO charges 0.65% annually. There are 37 ETFs in the Derivative Income category with lower expense ratios, going as low as 0.04%.

SymbolNameExpense RatioAUMInception
USCL.TO
Global X Enhanced S&P 500 Covered Call ETF0.04%249.48MJul 2023SMAX.TO vs USCL.TO
ECHI.TO
Ninepoint Enhanced Canadian HighShares ETF0.29%—Aug 2025SMAX.TO vs ECHI.TO
EQLI.TO
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Income Advantage ETF0.29%155.19MNov 2025SMAX.TO vs EQLI.TO
JEPQ.TO
JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income Active ETF0.35%136.22MSep 2024SMAX.TO vs JEPQ.TO
JEPI.TO
JPMorgan US Equity Premium Income Active ETF0.35%—Sep 2024SMAX.TO vs JEPI.TO

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to SMAX.TO

SMAX.TO has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 94. There are 5 ETFs in the Derivative Income category with higher risk-adjusted ranks, going as high as 98.

SymbolNameRisk / Return RankAUMInception
HLIF.TO
Harvest Canadian Equity Income Leaders ETF Class A
98
—Jun 2022SMAX.TO vs HLIF.TO
CBNK.TO
Mulvihill Canadian Bank Enhanced Yield ETF
96
—Feb 2022SMAX.TO vs CBNK.TO
BANK.TO
Evolve Canadian Banks and Lifecos Enhanced Yield I...
96
1.08BFeb 2022SMAX.TO vs BANK.TO
BKCL.TO
Global X Enhanced Equal Weight Canadian Banks Cove...
95
187.53MJul 2023SMAX.TO vs BKCL.TO
BKCC.TO
Global X Equal Weight Canadian Bank Covered Call E...
95
370.01MMay 2011SMAX.TO vs BKCC.TO

Top Performing SMAX.TO Alternatives (YTD)

SMAX.TO is at 18.79% YTD. There are 18 ETFs in the Derivative Income category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 60.76%.

SymbolNameYTD ReturnAUMInception
YAVG.NEO
Broadcom (AVGO) Yield Shares Purpose ETF
60.76%
—Feb 2025SMAX.TO vs YAVG.NEO
AVGY.TO
Harvest Broadcom Enhanced High Income Shares ETF -...
43.57%
—Mar 2025SMAX.TO vs AVGY.TO
CNQE.TO
Harvest CNQ Enhanced High Income Shares ETF
36.84%
—Aug 2025SMAX.TO vs CNQE.TO
ENCL.TO
Global X Enhanced Canadian Oil and Gas Equity Cove...
36.58%
286.32MOct 2023SMAX.TO vs ENCL.TO
QDAY.NEO
Hamilton EnhancedTechnology DayMAX™ ETF
31.76%
—Jul 2025SMAX.TO vs QDAY.NEO

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to SMAX.TO

SMAX.TO has 12.36% 1-year volatility. There are 28 ETFs in the Derivative Income category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 1.66%.

SymbolNameVolatility 1YAUMInception
HBIL.TO
Hamilton U.S. T-Bill YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF (CAD Hedg...1.66%235.30MSep 2024SMAX.TO vs HBIL.TO
HPYM.TO
Harvest Premium Yield 7-10 Year Treasury ETF - Cla...4.55%226.83MJan 2024SMAX.TO vs HPYM.TO
UMAX.TO
Hamilton Utilities YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF6.65%1.34BJun 2023SMAX.TO vs UMAX.TO
HLIF.TO
Harvest Canadian Equity Income Leaders ETF Class A6.84%—Jun 2022SMAX.TO vs HLIF.TO
ZWU.TO
BMO Covered Call Utilities ETF7.59%2.17BOct 2011SMAX.TO vs ZWU.TO

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to SMAX.TO

SMAX.TO has a 1-year max drawdown of -6.42%. There are 14 ETFs in the Derivative Income category with shallower 1-year drawdowns, going as shallow as -0.95%.

SymbolNameMax Drawdown 1YAUMInception
HBIL.TO
Hamilton U.S. T-Bill YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF (CAD Hedg...
-0.95%
235.30MSep 2024SMAX.TO vs HBIL.TO
HLIF.TO
Harvest Canadian Equity Income Leaders ETF Class A
-3.09%
—Jun 2022SMAX.TO vs HLIF.TO
HPYM.TO
Harvest Premium Yield 7-10 Year Treasury ETF - Cla...
-3.85%
226.83MJan 2024SMAX.TO vs HPYM.TO
HUTE.TO
Harvest Equal Weight Global Utilities Enhanced Inc...
-4.57%
97.17MOct 2022SMAX.TO vs HUTE.TO
ZWU.TO
BMO Covered Call Utilities ETF
-4.86%
2.17BOct 2011SMAX.TO vs ZWU.TO

Other ETFs from Hamilton Capital

The 10 most viewed Hamilton Capital ETFs shown here include HDIV.TO, HMAX.TO, HYLD.TO and span 6 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $2B.

SymbolNameCategoryRisk / Return RankYTD ReturnAUMInception
HDIV.TO
Hamilton Enhanced Multi-Sector Covered Call ETFDerivative Income
92
16.21%
1.63BJul 2021SMAX.TO vs HDIV.TO
HMAX.TO
Hamilton Canadian Financials YIELD MAXIMIZER ETFDerivative Income
91
11.17%
2.34BJan 2023SMAX.TO vs HMAX.TO
HYLD.TO
Hamilton Enhanced U.S. Covered Call ETFDerivative Income
75
15.73%
1.29BFeb 2022SMAX.TO vs HYLD.TO
HCAL.TO
Hamilton Enhanced Canadian Bank ETFLeveraged Equities
96
23.54%
959.30MOct 2020SMAX.TO vs HCAL.TO
QMAX.TO
Hamilton Technology YIELD MAXIMIZER ETFTechnology Equities, Derivative Income
52
22.06%
973.00MOct 2023SMAX.TO vs QMAX.TO
CDAY.NEO
Hamilton Enhanced Canadian Equity DayMAX ETFDerivative Income, Canada Equities—
13.70%
242.10MJul 2025SMAX.TO vs CDAY.NEO
AMAX.TO
Hamilton Gold Producer YIELD MAXIMIZER ETFGold, Derivative Income
32
-1.05%
519.30MFeb 2024SMAX.TO vs AMAX.TO
SDAY.NEO
Hamilton Enhanced U.S. Equity DayMAX™ ETFDerivative Income—
9.14%
—Jul 2025SMAX.TO vs SDAY.NEO
CMVP.TO
HAMILTON CHAMPIONS Canadian Dividend Index ETF Cla...Canada Equities
79
11.91%
—Jan 2025SMAX.TO vs CMVP.TO
EMAX.TO
Hamilton Energy YIELD MAXIMIZER ETFEnergy Equities, Derivative Income
70
30.76%
476.70MFeb 2024SMAX.TO vs EMAX.TO

Often Compared With SMAX.TO

Investors most often compare SMAX.TO with HHIS.TO, VFV.TO, JEPQ. These 20 comparison targets span 11 categories, based on PortfoliosLab usage data.

SymbolNameCategoryRisk / Return RankYTD ReturnAUMInception
HHIS.TO
Harvest Diversified High Income Shares ETFDerivative Income
32
9.32%
1.82BJan 2025SMAX.TO vs HHIS.TO
VFV.TO
Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETFS&P 500
74
12.30%
32.85BNov 2012SMAX.TO vs VFV.TO
JEPQ
JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETFNasdaq-100, Derivative Income
74
9.54%
39.63BMay 2022SMAX.TO vs JEPQ
JEPI
JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETFDividend, Derivative Income
26
0.15%
44.59BMay 2020SMAX.TO vs JEPI
BIGY.TO
Evolve US Equity UltraYield ETFLarge Cap Blend Equities—
-3.71%
—Sep 2025SMAX.TO vs BIGY.TO
ZSP.TO
BMO S&P 500 Index ETFS&P 500
72
12.15%
23.82BNov 2012SMAX.TO vs ZSP.TO
ETSX.TO
Evolve S&P/TSX 60 Enhanced Yield Fund CAD UnhedgedLarge Cap Blend Equities
77
7.88%
204.58MJan 2023SMAX.TO vs ETSX.TO
QQQM
Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETFNasdaq-100
74
21.39%
96.91BOct 2020SMAX.TO vs QQQM
QQQY
Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETFNasdaq-100, Options Trading, Dividend
74
19.07%
189.73MSep 2023SMAX.TO vs QQQY
FMAX.TO
Hamilton U.S. Financials Yield Maximizer ETFFinancials Equities
9
-7.25%
172.90MFeb 2024SMAX.TO vs FMAX.TO
HPYT.TO
Harvest Premium Yield Treasury ETF ADerivative Income
18
0.02%
385.04MMay 2024SMAX.TO vs HPYT.TO
QQQY.TO
Evolve NASDAQ Technology Enhanced Yield Index FundNasdaq-100, Derivative Income
77
20.66%
135.24MOct 2025SMAX.TO vs QQQY.TO
XEQT.TO
iShares Core Equity ETF PortfolioGlobal Equities
75
12.29%
18.41BAug 2019SMAX.TO vs XEQT.TO
XUS.TO
iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETFS&P 500
73
12.21%
12.60BApr 2013SMAX.TO vs XUS.TO
HTAE.TO
Harvest Tech Achievers Enhanced Income ETF - Class...Technology Equities
66
32.62%
110.66MOct 2022SMAX.TO vs HTAE.TO
XYLD
Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETFDerivative Income, S&P 500
82
4.96%
3.17BJun 2013SMAX.TO vs XYLD
ENCC.TO
Global X Canadian Oil and Gas Equity Covered Call ...Derivative Income, Energy Equities
85
29.01%
759.08MApr 2011SMAX.TO vs ENCC.TO
UTES.TO
Evolve Canadian Utilities Enhanced Yield Index Fun...Derivative Income
75
12.58%
405.53MSep 2024SMAX.TO vs UTES.TO
ZWC.TO
BMO CA High Dividend Covered Call ETFDerivative Income
92
11.12%
2.30BFeb 2017SMAX.TO vs ZWC.TO
OEF
iShares S&P 100 ETFLarge Cap Growth Equities
64
9.51%
20.67BOct 2000SMAX.TO vs OEF

Compare SMAX.TO with Any Fund or Stock

Compare SMAX.TO with any ETF, mutual fund, or stock using PortfoliosLab's comparison tool.

 

Diversifiers

Pair SMAX.TO with funds that move differently

Hamilton U.S. Equity YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF alternatives help with substitution. Diversifiers are the next step when you want funds with lower historical correlation to SMAX.TO.

Explore SMAX.TO Diversifiers