NEW YORK, Dec. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- YieldMax® ETFs today announced a series of strategic updates to the YieldMax® Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF (ULTY).
ULTY Overview and Core Purpose
ULTY is an actively managed exchange traded fund that seeks to generate current income and provide exposure to select U.S. equities through a portfolio enhanced by option strategies. Currently, the Fund typically invests across 15 to 30 underlying securities selected for implied volatility potential of their options prices. The strategy aims to generate options premiums while offering participation in the share price changes of selected equities. The following updates reflect an evolution of ULTY’s approach.
Portfolio Construction Updates
YieldMax® is implementing refinements to ULTY’s equity portfolio. The new approach introduces a more balanced model that includes expanded exposure to underlying reference assets.
High volatility equities will continue to serve as the primary engine for generating options premiums engine. While past performance is no guarantee of futures results, many of these names have historically produced attractive option premium levels, which are essential to elevated distribution levels.
Lower volatility large cap companies will also be added to seek to provide more NAV stability and create a more resilient long-term base.
Together, the enhanced structure seeks to balance options premium generation with a smoother investor experience. The Fund’s combined equity portfolio also aims to expand its investment across sectors, industries, and other asset classes where possible.
Option Strategy Expansion
Adjustments to ULTY’s options strategies are being introduced with the goal of managing downside risk more effectively while improving the capture of potential upside gains. To accomplish this, the portfolio management team will incorporate:
- Selective hedging strategies to reduce the severity of market declines; and
- Leveraged options strategies that seek to capture more upside during market advances.
These adjustments are intended to reduce the severity of drawdowns without compromising ULTY’s objectives and reflect YieldMax’s commitment to responsible risk management.
Distribution Outlook
With the inclusion of lower volatility names and more protective option positioning, future distribution levels may be somewhat lower than previous levels and less predictable. This adjustment reflects the Fund’s goal of balancing attractive cash flow with greater long-term stability and upside capture potential.
Distributions and Total Return
Every ETF that pays a distribution experiences a decline in its net asset value (NAV) on the ex-dividend date. This is not a defect of the ETF but rather a fundamental feature (the NAV must decline by the amount of the distribution because cash leaves the ETF’s portfolio to be delivered to investors).
Evaluating an ETF solely by its price return fails to reflect the additional (and sometimes considerable) value generated by its distributions. This is especially true of ETFs that use option income strategies to generate current income. A more accurate assessment would be to evaluate an ETF by its total return, which captures both price changes and distributions.
Commitment to Investors
These updates reaffirm ULTY’s core value proposition. The Fund remains committed to seeking to provide attractive distribution levels while enhancing portfolio balance and improving long-term experience for investors.
The YieldMax team continues to evolve and refine its approach in response to market dynamics always grounded in transparency and disciplined active management.
For more information on YieldMax strategies visit www.YieldMaxETFs.com
Risk Information
Before investing you should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. This and other information is in the Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus. Please read the prospectuses carefully before you invest.
Investments involve risk. Principal loss is possible.
None of the Fund, Tidal Trust II, or Tidal Investments LLC (the “Adviser”) is affiliated, connected, or associated with any underlying issuer.
Derivatives Risk:
Derivatives are financial instruments deriving value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates, or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks beyond those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments. Risks include market-related factors, imperfect correlation with underlying investments or the Fund’s other portfolio holdings, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation, and legal restrictions.
The Fund’s use of options contracts involves risks not associated with traditional securities. Options can be highly volatile and influenced by changes in the value or volatility of the Underlying Security, market conditions, and time to expiration. Certain options may exhibit imperfect correlation to the Underlying Security, may be difficult to value or close out, and may expire worthless. Because the Fund seeks continuous exposure through “rolling” options positions, it may incur losses when expiring options do not generate sufficient proceeds to acquire new contracts.
The Fund is also subject to counterparty and clearing-member risks. Cleared options require the Fund to transact through third-party clearing members, and margin posted for such transactions is held in commingled accounts that may be used to cover losses of other customers if a clearing member defaults. In the event of a clearing-member insolvency, the Fund may recover only a pro rata share of customer assets. A limited number of clearing members may be willing to transact with the Fund, which could affect the Fund’s ability to maintain its investment strategy.
Equity Securities Risk. The Fund may invest in equity securities, including shares of exchange-traded products (ETPs) such as ETFs and closed-end funds, which are traded on exchanges and may experience price movements that differ from the value of their underlying holdings. Equity investments are subject to market risk and may decline in value due to issuer-specific events, market volatility, or economic and political developments. The Fund may invest in companies of any market capitalization, including large-, mid-, small-, and micro-capitalization issuers, each of which may react differently to market conditions and may present varying degrees of liquidity, volatility, and business risk. Smaller-capitalization companies, in particular, may have more limited financial resources, trade in lower volumes, and be more susceptible to adverse developments, which may increase the Fund’s overall volatility. In addition, when the Fund invests in ETPs, the Fund indirectly bears a proportionate share of the ETP’s expenses and may be affected by premiums, discounts, or liquidity constraints associated with those products.
Distribution Risk:
The Fund aims to provide weekly or monthly income, but there is no guarantee of distribution in any given period. Monthly or weekly distributions may consist of capital returns, potentially reducing the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time. This could lead to significant losses for investors, especially as returns exclude dividends paid by the Underlying Securities, resulting in lesser income compared to a direct investment in the Underlying Securities.
NAV Erosion Risk Due to Distributions:
When the Fund makes a distribution, its NAV typically drops by the distribution amount on the related ex-dividend date. Repetitive distributions may significantly erode the Fund’s NAV and trading price over time, potentially resulting in notable losses for investors.
Hedging Strategy Risks: The Fund’s hedging techniques may not be effective in all scenarios and may not fully offset losses from the Fund’s options premium generations strategy. Futures, options, and Underlying ETFs used by the Fund to seek to mitigate market volatility risks may not perform as intended. There can be no assurance that the Fund’s hedging strategy will be effective. It may expose the Fund to losses to which it would not have otherwise been exposed if did not employ hedging.
High Portfolio Turnover Risk:
The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses.
Leverage Risk: As part of the Fund’s principal investment strategy, the Fund may employe options strategies that provide the economic effect of financial leverage by creating additional investment exposure to the Underlying Security(ies), as well as the potential for greater loss. The net asset value of the Fund while employing leverage will be more volatile and sensitive to market movements.
Management Risk: The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed portfolio. In managing the Fund’s investment portfolio, the portfolio managers will apply investment techniques and risk analyses that may not produce the desired result. There can be no guarantee that the Fund will meet its investment objectives.
Newer Fund Risk:
The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with a limited operating history. Prospective investors do have only a limited track record on which to base their investment decisions.
Operational Risk. The Fund is subject to risks arising from various operational factors, including, but not limited to, human error, processing and communication errors, errors of the Fund’s service providers, counterparties or other third-parties, failed or inadequate processes and technology or systems failures. The Fund relies on third-parties for a range of services, including custody. Any delay or failure relating to engaging or maintaining such service providers may affect the Fund’s ability to meet its investment objective. Although the Fund and Adviser seek to reduce these operational risks through controls and procedures, there is no way to completely protect against such risks.
Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risk is greater for the Fund as each will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts. Markets for securities or financial instruments could be disrupted by a number of events, including, but not limited to, an economic crisis, natural disasters, epidemics/pandemics, new legislation or regulatory changes inside or outside the United States. Illiquid securities may be difficult to value, especially in changing or volatile markets. If The Fund is forced to sell an illiquid security at an unfavorable time or price, The Fund may be adversely impacted. Certain market conditions or restrictions, such as market rules related to short sales, may prevent The Fund from limiting losses, realizing gains or achieving a high correlation with the Underlying Security. There is no assurance that a security that is deemed liquid when purchased will continue to be liquid. Market illiquidity may cause losses for The Fund.
Non-Diversification Risk. Because the Fund is “non-diversified,” it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers than if it was a diversified fund. As a result, a decline in the value of an investment in a single issuer or a smaller number of issuers could cause the Fund’s overall value to decline to a greater degree than if the Fund held a more diversified portfolio.
YieldMax® and YieldMax® Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF are the exclusive trademarks of Tidal Investments LLC, ZEGA Financial, LLC, Lucania Investments LLC, and Level ETF Ventures LLC. All rights in trademarks are reserved by their respective owners.
The Fund is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is not affiliated with the Adviser.
