SQY vs. TLT

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about YieldMax SQ Option Income Strategy ETF (SQY) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT).

SQY and TLT are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. SQY is an actively managed fund by YieldMax. It was launched on Oct 10, 2023. TLT is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. It was launched on Jul 22, 2002.

Performance

SQY vs. TLT - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in YieldMax SQ Option Income Strategy ETF (SQY) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

SQY vs. TLT - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023
SQY YieldMax SQ Option Income Strategy ETF	-11.39%	-29.43%	21.72%	44.45%
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	0.17%	4.25%	-8.05%	12.87%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, SQY achieves a -11.39% return, which is significantly lower than TLT's 0.17% return.

SQY

• 1D: 3.97%
• 1M: -4.70%
• YTD: -11.39%
• 6M: -19.31%
• 1Y: -3.80%
• 3Y*: —
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

TLT

• 1D: -0.10%
• 1M: -4.23%
• YTD: 0.17%
• 6M: -0.87%
• 1Y: -0.49%
• 3Y*: -2.78%
• 5Y*: -5.85%
• 10Y*: -1.38%

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

SQY vs. TLT - Expense Ratio Comparison

SQY has a 1.01% expense ratio, which is higher than TLT's 0.15% expense ratio.

SQY

YieldMax SQ Option Income Strategy ETF

TLT

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Return for Risk

SQY vs. TLT — Risk / Return Rank

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

SQY

SQY Risk / Return Rank: 11
SQY Sharpe Ratio Rank: 10
SQY Sortino Ratio Rank: 13
SQY Omega Ratio Rank: 13
SQY Calmar Ratio Rank: 9
SQY Martin Ratio Rank: 9

TLT

TLT Risk / Return Rank: 12
TLT Sharpe Ratio Rank: 11
TLT Sortino Ratio Rank: 10
TLT Omega Ratio Rank: 10
TLT Calmar Ratio Rank: 14
TLT Martin Ratio Rank: 13

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.

SQY vs. TLT - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for YieldMax SQ Option Income Strategy ETF (SQY) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT). 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.

	SQY	TLT	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	-0.08	-0.04	-0.04
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	0.19	0.02	+0.17
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.03	1.00	+0.03
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	-0.15	0.05	-0.20
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	-0.35	0.11	-0.47
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

SQY vs. TLT - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current SQY Sharpe Ratio is -0.08, which is lower than the TLT Sharpe Ratio of -0.04. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of SQY and TLT, 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

	SQY	TLT	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	-0.08	-0.04	-0.04
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	—	-0.37	—
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	—	-0.09	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.09	0.26	-0.17

Correlation

The correlation between SQY and TLT is 0.18, 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

SQY vs. TLT - Dividend Comparison

SQY's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 109.04%, more than TLT's 4.49% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
SQY YieldMax SQ Option Income Strategy ETF	109.04%	95.35%	62.54%	9.85%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF	4.49%	4.43%	4.30%	3.38%	2.67%	1.50%	1.50%	2.27%	2.63%	2.43%	2.60%	2.61%

Drawdowns

SQY vs. TLT - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum SQY drawdown since its inception was -52.30%, which is greater than TLT's maximum drawdown of -48.35%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for SQY and TLT.

Drawdown Indicators

	SQY	TLT	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-52.30%	-48.35%	-3.95%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-37.72%	-9.23%	-28.49%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	—	-43.70%	—
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	—	-48.35%	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-44.36%	-40.17%	-4.19%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-20.73%	-13.62%	-7.11%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	15.80%	4.38%	+11.42%

Volatility

SQY vs. TLT - Volatility Comparison

YieldMax SQ Option Income Strategy ETF (SQY) has a higher volatility of 11.80% compared to iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) at 3.71%. This indicates that SQY's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than TLT based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	SQY	TLT	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	11.80%	3.71%	+8.09%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	32.56%	6.61%	+25.95%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	45.37%	11.44%	+33.93%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	42.80%	15.90%	+26.90%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	42.80%	14.93%	+27.87%