Madison Covered Call ETF

Madison Covered Call ETF (CVRD) is an actively managed fund that holds 30 to 60 large and mid-sized dividend-paying stocks picked by Madison and writes call options on many of them. Writing them brings in extra income but caps the fund's gains when stocks rally; its yield over the year to October 27, 2026, was 7.54%, paid quarterly. Its 0.90% expense ratio is well above the 0.49% average of similar options-income funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, CVRD returned +6.7%, 3rd of 6 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2024 (+4.9%); its best was 2025 (+5.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 18% (Dec 2, 2024 to Apr 8, 2025), recovered by Jul 1, 2025.

As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 35 securities; the ten largest made up 38.87% of assets. It also reported 3.84% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.

By sector

• Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $1.8M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +4.64%, +0.23%, -4.87%.

CVRD tracks no index. Its advisor, Madison Asset Management, picks 30 to 60 of its highest-conviction stocks: financially strong, well-positioned companies priced reasonably against long-term earnings growth. At least 65% of net assets go to large, S&P 500-sized companies; the rest can be mid-sized, and up to 15% can be foreign. As of June 30, 2026, it held 35 stocks, led by Palo Alto Networks (4.8%) and Archer-Daniels-Midland (4.5%).

The fund writes covered calls (options on shares it owns) across much of the portfolio. It earns a payment (the premium) for giving another investor the right to purchase a stock at a set price, the strike, before a set date. Premiums partly cushion price drops, but if a stock climbs past the strike, the fund forgoes the gain above it while keeping the risk of loss. How many it writes depends on market conditions.

Up to 20% of net assets may go to writing puts, which can oblige the fund to purchase more of a stock at the strike price. To hedge, it may also hold index puts, which gain when markets fall, and puts on individual holdings, each capped at 2% of total assets. Madison's "Participate and Protect" approach aims to capture most of a rally and less of a fall, with no guarantee.

• CVRD charges 0.9% a year, versus an average of 0.49% for the similar funds below (6th of 6, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $92 in the first year and $1,108 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It pairs a stock portfolio with written call options to generate cash, and its yield over the past year was 7.54%, paid quarterly, as of October 27, 2026.

CVRD's main appeal is income: its yield over the past year was 7.54% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. Much of that income comes from option premiums, which vary and are usually taxed as ordinary income. Launched in August 2023, it has no record in the 2008, 2020 or 2022 downturns. Even its weaker full calendar year, 2024, gained 5.48%. Its deepest drop was 18%, between December 2, 2024, and April 8, 2025; it regained its prior high by July 1, 2025. Withdrawals near that low would have come out of a shrunken balance, since premiums soften falls only partly.

Costs are high: 0.90% a year, or $1,108 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example, versus a 0.49% average among similar funds. Past results don't predict the future, and a sound plan looks at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).