YieldMax ETFs are owned by their shareholders. The funds themselves are sponsored and advised by Tidal Investments LLC, with ZEGA Financial hired as sub-adviser to run the options trading. Neither firm owns the money inside the funds; both are paid service providers to a trust that holds the assets on behalf of the people who buy shares on the open market.1U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tidal Trust II Form N-1A
Tidal Investments, the Sponsor and Adviser
Tidal Investments LLC, formerly known as Toroso Investments, LLC, is the registered investment adviser for the YieldMax lineup.2U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tidal Commodities Trust I Form S-4/A SEC filings describe Tidal as having “overall responsibility for the general management and administration” of the funds, which are registered under both the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 through a trust called Tidal Trust II.1U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tidal Trust II Form N-1A
Tidal is part of the broader Tidal Financial Group, a white-label ETF platform. As of mid-2026, the platform manages over 410 ETFs in partnership with more than 90 issuers and is responsible for over $80 billion in total assets under service.3Tidal Financial Group. Tidal Financial Group It handles fund registration, board governance, regulatory compliance, financial reporting, and the operational machinery that keeps an ETF listed and trading. YieldMax is one of many brands that plugs into this platform rather than building its own trust from scratch.
Each fund pays Tidal a unitary management fee calculated daily and paid monthly, out of which Tidal covers virtually all fund expenses except a few excluded costs.1U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tidal Trust II Form N-1A Tidal pays ZEGA’s sub-advisory fee from that same pool, so shareholders see one consolidated expense ratio rather than separate line items for each service provider. The expense ratio for individual YieldMax ETFs runs approximately 0.99%, based on the acquired fund fees reported in SEC filings for YieldMax’s fund-of-funds products.4U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. YieldMax Form 497K
ZEGA Financial, the Sub-Adviser Running the Trades
ZEGA Financial is where the actual trading happens. Tidal holds the legal title of investment adviser; ZEGA serves as sub-adviser with hands-on responsibility for selecting and executing the options trades that generate income.5U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tidal Trust II Form 485APOS ZEGA designed the synthetic covered call approach used across the YieldMax family and also manages positions for ETFs under other brands including Defiance and NicholasX.
As a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, ZEGA owes a fiduciary duty to the funds it manages. The SEC has interpreted that duty as comprising both a duty of care and a duty of loyalty.6Securities and Exchange Commission. Commission Interpretation Regarding Standard of Conduct for Investment Advisers In practice, ZEGA must put the fund’s interests ahead of its own when making trading decisions, disclosing conflicts, and selecting counterparties for options contracts.
Jay Pestrichelli and the Portfolio Team
Jay Pestrichelli is the most visible figure behind YieldMax’s investment approach. He co-founded ZEGA Financial in 2011 and serves as its managing director. Before ZEGA, he spent 12 years in the online brokerage industry, including 11 years managing the active trading business at TD Ameritrade.5U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Tidal Trust II Form 485APOS That derivatives background shaped the synthetic covered call strategies the funds use today.
Pestrichelli serves as portfolio manager for over 30 actively managed ETFs across multiple brands, not just YieldMax. His team handles the day-to-day decisions about which options contracts to sell, at what strike prices, and when to roll or close positions during volatile markets. Trading decisions come from a small, specialized team rather than an automated system.
Where the Fund Assets Actually Sit
When you buy shares of a YieldMax ETF, you acquire a proportional interest in the pool of options contracts, Treasury securities, and cash held by that specific fund. Tidal and ZEGA are hired service providers. They manage and administer the assets, but those assets live in a legally separate trust for the benefit of investors.
Federal regulations require registered investment companies to hold their assets with a qualified custodian, defined as a bank or other authorized person under Section 17(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940.7eCFR. 17 CFR 270.17f-4 – Custody of Investment Company Assets The separation between the people who make trading decisions and the institution that holds the money is one of the core investor protections in the ETF structure. If ZEGA or Tidal went bankrupt tomorrow, the fund assets would not be part of their bankruptcy estate.
What a YieldMax Share Does Not Make You an Owner Of
Buying a YieldMax ETF is not the same as owning the underlying company whose name is on the fund. The strategy uses options contracts to create synthetic exposure to the underlying company’s price movements, then sells call options on top of that position to generate income.8YieldMax ETFs. QDTY – YieldMax ETFs The SEC-filed prospectus states the trade-off plainly: the strategy “will cap its potential gains” if the underlying security increases in value, while the fund “is subject to all potential losses” if shares decrease.4U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. YieldMax Form 497K You own a slice of a trust running a specific options strategy. You do not own the stock.