Strategy Shares Gold Enhanced Yield ETF

Strategy Shares Gold Enhanced Yield ETF (GOLY), from Rational Advisors, is an actively managed fund. It pairs investment-grade corporate bond ETFs and Treasury bills with gold futures exposure held through swaps, and it sells put options, mainly on gold futures. It aims for monthly income plus gold-linked growth and had a trailing yield of 8.89% as of October 27, 2026. The costs are a 0.90% expense ratio and sharp swings.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, GOLY returned -24.0%, 8th of 8 among similar funds.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2025 (+58.0%); its best was 2025 (+58.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 39.6% (Feb 27, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026), not yet recovered.

As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 8 securities; the ten largest made up 100.24% of assets.

The bonds mature in 0.6 years on average (weighted by size), with an average coupon of 0%.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $25.9M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -0.51%, -11.88%, -1.56%.

GOLY has three parts, and its manager, Rational Advisors, makes the choices instead of following an index. At least 80% of net assets must provide gold exposure. The fund measures this by the notional (face) value of its derivatives, not their market value. That is why its holdings list looks like a bond fund's. As of July 31, 2026, about 79% sat in corporate bond ETFs. The largest were the iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF (23.5%) and the SPDR Portfolio Intermediate Term Corporate Bond ETF (19.2%). About 21% was in Treasury bills. Two total return swaps supplied the gold exposure.

The bond part holds investment-grade debt (rated BBB-/Baa3 or better) with at least 18 months to maturity. The manager screens issuers on debt levels, interest coverage and cash, and sells any bond that falls below investment grade. The gold part tracks near-month gold futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Those contracts are "rolled" into later ones before they expire, and the price gaps from rolling flow into returns.

The third part mainly sells put options on gold futures. It collects premiums, which pay off when prices hold steady or rise but lose money when prices fall. It may also go long or short energy and precious metals futures. These positions sit in a subsidiary that holds cash and Treasuries as collateral. Because futures involve leverage, small price moves can have outsized effects. Turnover was 100%.

• GOLY charges 0.9% a year, versus an average of 0.86% for the similar funds below (6th of 8, cheapest first).
• Of that, 0.79% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• 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).

Its gold futures, sold puts and 35.6% volatility over the year to October 27, 2026 make it a small add-on position, not a foundation.

GOLY launched in May 2021, so it has no record from the 2008 or 2020 crashes. In 2022 it lost 19.8%, its worst full calendar year in the prospectus, including a 14.7% drop in the second quarter alone. It gained 57.44% in 2025. Then it fell 39.6% from February 27 to October 23, 2026, and had not recovered as of October 27, 2026. Anyone drawing cash during a slump like that would be selling shares at low prices. The trailing yield was 8.89% as of October 27, 2026, paid monthly. Option income is usually taxed as ordinary income, and a high payout does not protect the share price. Costs are 0.90% a year, or $92 in the first year on $10,000 under the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict future ones, and any plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by other buffer (defined-outcome) funds, largest first.