Last month, my 37-ETF income portfolio paid me $4,167.34. I didn't sell a single share to get that money. I didn't do any trading. I didn't time the market or watch tickers all day. I just held my positions, and the income hit my brokerage account automatically — like clockwork. Every. Single. Month.
$4,167.34 in April 2026 alone. Annualized, that's just under $50,000 a year in passive distributions. And I built this entire portfolio in under a year.
I'm not telling you this to brag. I'm telling you this because it's exactly why I started The Yield Letter. Most income investing content is theoretical. What you almost never find is someone willing to open their actual portfolio — all 37 positions — and show you exactly what's working, what's not, and why. That's what this newsletter is.
Welcome to Issue #1. Let's get into it.
The Yield Snapshot — April 2026 Portfolio Income
Here's what my 37-ETF portfolio paid me in April 2026. I'm featuring my top 3 holdings by cost basis — where I have the most capital invested. These aren't necessarily my highest yielders percentage-wise, but they represent the core of my income engine.
Total distributions received: $4,167.34
Active ETF positions: 37
Portfolio age: under 1 year
My top 3 holdings by cost basis — JEPQ, JEPI, and QQQI — generated a combined $438.56 in April alone. Here's the exact breakdown:
Ticker | ETF Name | Shares | Dist Received | April Income | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
JEPQ | JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium | 300 | $0.5586 / share | $167.58 | 10.48% |
JEPI | JPMorgan Equity Premium Income | 300 | $0.4205 / share | $126.15 | 8.33% |
QQQI | NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income | 230 | $0.06297 / share | $144.83 | 13.87% |
Distribution per share calculated from April 2026 actual distributions received. Yields are approximate trailing rates and vary monthly.
The remaining $3,728.78 came from my other 34 ETF positions — a deliberately diversified mix of covered call strategies, high-yield income funds, and dividend-focused ETFs. I'll be featuring different positions in future issues, giving you a complete picture of the full portfolio over time.