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

ETF · Currency in CAD · Last updated Jul 1, 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 38 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%246.61MJul 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
HBIL.TO
Hamilton U.S. T-Bill YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF (CAD Hedg...0.35%227.40MSep 2024SMAX.TO vs HBIL.TO
JEPQ.TO
JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income Active ETF0.35%136.22MSep 2024SMAX.TO vs JEPQ.TO

Best Risk-Adjusted Alternatives to SMAX.TO

SMAX.TO has a PortfoliosLab risk / return rank of 92. There are 11 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
98
—Feb 2022SMAX.TO vs CBNK.TO
BANK.TO
Evolve Canadian Banks and Lifecos Enhanced Yield I...
97
1.20BFeb 2022SMAX.TO vs BANK.TO
ZWB.TO
BMO Covered Call Canadian Banks ETF
97
4.68BJan 2011SMAX.TO vs ZWB.TO
BKCL.TO
Global X Enhanced Equal Weight Canadian Banks Cove...
97
200.19MJul 2023SMAX.TO vs BKCL.TO

Top Performing SMAX.TO Alternatives (YTD)

SMAX.TO is at 18.78% YTD. There are 18 ETFs in the Derivative Income category with higher YTD returns, going as high as 42.99%.

SymbolNameYTD ReturnAUMInception
CBNK.TO
Mulvihill Canadian Bank Enhanced Yield ETF
42.99%
—Feb 2022SMAX.TO vs CBNK.TO
QDAY.NEO
Hamilton EnhancedTechnology DayMAX™ ETF
32.71%
—Jul 2025SMAX.TO vs QDAY.NEO
TXF.TO
CI Tech Giants Covered Call Common
29.94%
802.07MOct 2011SMAX.TO vs TXF.TO
EMCL.NEO
Global X Enhanced MSCI Emerging Markets Covered Ca...
29.58%
7.25MMay 2024SMAX.TO vs EMCL.NEO
BANK.TO
Evolve Canadian Banks and Lifecos Enhanced Yield I...
29.36%
1.20BFeb 2022SMAX.TO vs BANK.TO

Lowest Volatility Alternatives to SMAX.TO

SMAX.TO has 12.94% 1-year volatility. There are 36 ETFs in the Derivative Income category with lower 1-year volatility, going as low as 1.63%.

SymbolNameVolatility 1YAUMInception
HBIL.TO
Hamilton U.S. T-Bill YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF (CAD Hedg...1.63%227.40MSep 2024SMAX.TO vs HBIL.TO
HPYM.TO
Harvest Premium Yield 7-10 Year Treasury ETF - Cla...4.67%230.93MJan 2024SMAX.TO vs HPYM.TO
ZPH.TO
BMO US Put Write Hedged to CAD ETF6.42%—Feb 2017SMAX.TO vs ZPH.TO
UMAX.TO
Hamilton Utilities YIELD MAXIMIZER ETF7.01%1.40BJun 2023SMAX.TO vs UMAX.TO
HLIF.TO
Harvest Canadian Equity Income Leaders ETF Class A7.02%—Jun 2022SMAX.TO vs HLIF.TO

Lowest Drawdown Alternatives to SMAX.TO

SMAX.TO has a 1-year max drawdown of -7.33%. There are 23 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%
227.40MSep 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...
-3.87%
230.93MJan 2024SMAX.TO vs HPYM.TO
ZWU.TO
BMO Covered Call Utilities ETF
-4.86%
2.25BOct 2011SMAX.TO vs ZWU.TO
DXQ.TO
Dynamic Active Enhanced Yield Covered Options ETF
-5.11%
—Sep 2022SMAX.TO vs DXQ.TO

Other ETFs from Hamilton Capital

The 10 most viewed Hamilton Capital ETFs shown here include HMAX.TO, HYLD.TO, HCAL.TO and span 9 categories. AUM among these funds goes as high as $2B.

SymbolNameCategoryRisk / Return RankYTD ReturnAUMInception
HMAX.TO
Hamilton Canadian Financials Yield Maximizer ETFDerivative Income
96
18.60%
2.49BJan 2023SMAX.TO vs HMAX.TO
HYLD.TO
Hamilton Enhanced U.S. Covered Call ETFDerivative Income
76
16.58%
1.29BFeb 2022SMAX.TO vs HYLD.TO
HCAL.TO
Hamilton Enhanced Canadian Bank ETFFinancials Equities, Canada Equities, Leveraged Equities
98
40.08%
1.08BOct 2020SMAX.TO vs HCAL.TO
QMAX.TO
Hamilton Technology YIELD MAXIMIZER ETFTechnology Equities, Derivative Income
54
26.12%
989.00MOct 2023SMAX.TO vs QMAX.TO
CDAY.NEO
Hamilton Enhanced Canadian Equity DayMAX ETFDerivative Income, Canada Equities—
16.27%
242.10MJul 2025SMAX.TO vs CDAY.NEO
AMAX.TO
Hamilton Gold Producer YIELD MAXIMIZER ETFGold, Derivative Income, Precious Metals
25
-10.22%
466.30MFeb 2024SMAX.TO vs AMAX.TO
CMVP.TO
HAMILTON CHAMPIONS Canadian Dividend Index ETF Cla...Canada Equities
93
16.48%
—Jan 2025SMAX.TO vs CMVP.TO
SDAY.NEO
Hamilton Enhanced U.S. Equity DayMAX™ ETFDerivative Income—
16.31%
—Jul 2025SMAX.TO vs SDAY.NEO
EMAX.TO
Hamilton Energy YIELD MAXIMIZER ETFEnergy Equities, Derivative Income
59
20.41%
477.70MFeb 2024SMAX.TO vs EMAX.TO
SMVP.TO
HAMILTON CHAMPIONS U.S. Dividend Index ETF (CAD He...Large Cap Blend Equities
39
9.20%
—Jan 2025SMAX.TO vs SMVP.TO

Often Compared With SMAX.TO

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

SymbolNameCategoryRisk / Return RankYTD ReturnAUMInception
HDIV.TO
Hamilton Enhanced Canadian Covered Call ETFDerivative Income
95
18.53%
1.71BJul 2021SMAX.TO vs HDIV.TO
HHIS.TO
Harvest Diversified High Income Shares ETFDerivative Income
20
5.64%
1.74BJan 2025SMAX.TO vs HHIS.TO
VFV.TO
Vanguard S&P 500 Index ETFS&P 500
79
13.60%
32.85BNov 2012SMAX.TO vs VFV.TO
JEPQ
JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETFNasdaq-100, Derivative Income
73
10.73%
39.26BMay 2022SMAX.TO vs JEPQ
JEPI
JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETFDividend, Derivative Income
27
2.09%
44.50BMay 2020SMAX.TO vs JEPI
BIGY.TO
Evolve US Equity UltraYield ETFDerivative Income—
-14.74%
—Sep 2025SMAX.TO vs BIGY.TO
ZSP.TO
BMO S&P 500 Index ETFS&P 500
79
13.62%
23.98BNov 2012SMAX.TO vs ZSP.TO
ETSX.TO
Evolve S&P/TSX 60 Enhanced Yield Fund CAD UnhedgedDerivative Income, Canada Equities
83
8.58%
211.12MJan 2023SMAX.TO vs ETSX.TO
FMAX.TO
Hamilton U.S. Financials Yield Maximizer ETFFinancials Equities
12
-2.41%
188.20MFeb 2024SMAX.TO vs FMAX.TO
QQQM
Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETFNasdaq-100
67
20.09%
97.55BOct 2020SMAX.TO vs QQQM
QQQY
Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options Income ETFNasdaq-100, Options Trading, Dividend
69
19.13%
184.23MSep 2023SMAX.TO vs QQQY
BKCC.TO
Global X Equal Weight Canadian Bank Covered Call E...Derivative Income
97
22.59%
402.94MMay 2011SMAX.TO vs BKCC.TO
OEF
iShares S&P 100 ETFLarge Cap Blend Equities
51
7.19%
19.62BOct 2000SMAX.TO vs OEF
SMH
VanEck Semiconductor ETFSemiconductors, Technology Equities
95
82.13%
70.88BDec 2011SMAX.TO vs SMH
XEQT.TO
iShares Core Equity ETF PortfolioGlobal Equities
85
14.14%
19.45BAug 2019SMAX.TO vs XEQT.TO
QQQY.TO
Evolve NASDAQ Technology Enhanced Yield Index FundNasdaq-100, Derivative Income
65
18.33%
130.23MOct 2025SMAX.TO vs QQQY.TO
HPYT.TO
Harvest Premium Yield Treasury ETF ADerivative Income
13
0.57%
377.33MMay 2024SMAX.TO vs HPYT.TO
XYLD
Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETFDerivative Income, S&P 500
86
5.99%
3.14BJun 2013SMAX.TO vs XYLD
HTAE.TO
Harvest Tech Achievers Enhanced Income ETF - Class...Technology Equities
56
32.54%
104.75MOct 2022SMAX.TO vs HTAE.TO
XUS.TO
iShares Core S&P 500 Index ETFS&P 500
78
13.63%
12.59BApr 2013SMAX.TO vs XUS.TO

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