LQDW vs. JEPI

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF (LQDW) and JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI).

LQDW and JEPI are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. LQDW is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the CBOE LQD BuyWrite Index. It was launched on Aug 18, 2022. JEPI is an actively managed fund by JPMorgan. It was launched on May 20, 2020.

Performance

LQDW vs. JEPI - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF (LQDW) and JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

LQDW vs. JEPI - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022
LQDW iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF	0.09%	9.05%	2.60%	3.99%	-6.78%
JEPI JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF	0.46%	8.09%	12.57%	9.83%	0.02%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, LQDW achieves a 0.09% return, which is significantly lower than JEPI's 0.46% return.

LQDW

• 1D: 0.08%
• 1M: -1.23%
• YTD: 0.09%
• 6M: 1.24%
• 1Y: 6.04%
• 3Y*: 3.62%
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

JEPI

• 1D: 0.27%
• 1M: -4.29%
• YTD: 0.46%
• 6M: 3.19%
• 1Y: 8.06%
• 3Y*: 9.67%
• 5Y*: 8.32%
• 10Y*: —

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

LQDW vs. JEPI - Expense Ratio Comparison

LQDW has a 0.34% expense ratio, which is lower than JEPI's 0.35% expense ratio.

JEPI

JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF

LQDW

iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF

Return for Risk

LQDW vs. JEPI — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

LQDW

LQDW Risk / Return Rank: 74
LQDW Sharpe Ratio Rank: 73
LQDW Sortino Ratio Rank: 71
LQDW Omega Ratio Rank: 79
LQDW Calmar Ratio Rank: 73
LQDW Martin Ratio Rank: 74

JEPI

JEPI Risk / Return Rank: 34
JEPI Sharpe Ratio Rank: 31
JEPI Sortino Ratio Rank: 31
JEPI Omega Ratio Rank: 37
JEPI Calmar Ratio Rank: 31
JEPI Martin Ratio Rank: 40

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

LQDW vs. JEPI - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF (LQDW) and JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	LQDW	JEPI	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.37	0.61	+0.75
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	1.86	0.95	+0.91
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.31	1.16	+0.15
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	1.99	0.79	+1.20
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	8.21	3.83	+4.37
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

LQDW vs. JEPI - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current LQDW Sharpe Ratio is 1.37, which is higher than the JEPI Sharpe Ratio of 0.61. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of LQDW and JEPI, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	LQDW	JEPI	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.37	0.61	+0.75
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	—	0.76	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.42	1.04	-0.62

Correlation

The correlation between LQDW and JEPI is 0.34, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

LQDW vs. JEPI - Dividend Comparison

LQDW's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 14.96%, more than JEPI's 8.46% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020
LQDW iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF	14.96%	16.02%	15.74%	19.28%	8.85%	0.00%	0.00%
JEPI JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF	8.46%	8.25%	7.33%	8.40%	11.68%	6.59%	5.79%

Drawdowns

LQDW vs. JEPI - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum LQDW drawdown since its inception was -9.20%, smaller than the maximum JEPI drawdown of -13.71%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for LQDW and JEPI.

Drawdown Indicators

	LQDW	JEPI	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-9.20%	-13.71%	+4.51%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-3.14%	-10.28%	+7.14%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	—	-13.71%	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-1.49%	-4.53%	+3.04%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-2.42%	-2.07%	-0.35%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	0.76%	2.12%	-1.36%

Volatility

LQDW vs. JEPI - Volatility Comparison

The current volatility for iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF (LQDW) is 2.27%, while JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI) has a volatility of 3.90%. This indicates that LQDW experiences smaller price fluctuations and is considered to be less risky than JEPI based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	LQDW	JEPI	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	2.27%	3.90%	-1.63%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	2.79%	6.36%	-3.57%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	4.44%	13.24%	-8.80%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	5.55%	11.06%	-5.51%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	5.55%	10.88%	-5.33%