ETF Evaluator:
Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Derivative Income Over the Last Year
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ETF Details
Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF Overview
Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF (GIAX) is an actively managed Nontraditional Equity Derivative Income exchange-traded fund (ETF). Nicholas Wealth Management launched the ETF in 2024.
The investment seeks current income; the secondary investment objective being capital appreciation.
The fund’s strategy includes two components: (i) holding shares of unaffiliated passively managed ETFs that seek to provide exposure to a range of global equity securities (“Index ETFs”) and (ii) selling daily index credit call spreads (“Index Call Spreads”) on equity securities or equity indices. The fund is non-diversified.
About Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF (GIAX)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 1.22 years: Jay Pestrichelli (2024), Scott Snyder (2026), Quinn Berry (2026) and David Nicholas (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 1 primary benchmark: S&P 500 (TR) (1970) index with a weighting of 100%. Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF has 89 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 58.8% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Nontraditional Equity ETF group. Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF has 23.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 75.4% There is 23.2% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF has 1.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $101 million in total assets, which is below the $727 million average for the Derivative Income category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
GIAX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Derivative Income category. Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF has an expense ratio of 1.03%, which is 24% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 85%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 69% for the Derivative Income category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF returned -10.7%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Derivative Income category had an average return of -1.5%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF has a trailing yield of 15.42%, which is below the 19.96% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income weekly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
Nicholas Global Equity and Income ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 5.7%, 3.2 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 8.1% over the past year (grade of D).
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GIAX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| GIAX Return (NAV) | -10.7% | 0.3% | 8.1% | na | na | na |
| GIAX Return (Price) | -10.9% | 0.5% | 8.4% | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | 0.168% | -0.152% | -0.305% | na | na | na |
| Derivative Income Avg | -1.5% | 0.6% | 11.2% | 13.7% | 8.8% | 7.5% |
| GIAX Grade (NAV) | F | D | D | na | na | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -9.2% | -0.3% | -3.1% | na | na | na |
| GIAX Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 5.7% | na | na | na |
GIAX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| GIAX Return (NAV) | 5.7% | 11.5% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| GIAX Return (Price) | 5.4% | 11.7% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | -0.057% | 0.017% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Derivative Income Avg | 2.6% | 10.6% | 18.5% | 17.5% | -11.3% | 19.4% | 1.4% | 19.2% | -7.1% | 12.1% | 8.7% |
| GIAX Grade (NAV) | C | C | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 3.2% | 1.0% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | na |
| R-Squared: | na |
| Standard Deviation: | na |
| Category Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Rating: | |
| Total Risk Index: | na |
| Total Risk Rating: | |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 15.4% |
| Total Assets: | $ 102 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 102 Mil |
| Turnover: | 85.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 1.03% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | S&P 500 (TR) (1970) |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Weekly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 2.0 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 1.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Pestrichelli Jay (2024), Nicholas David (2024), Snyder Scott (2026), Berry Quinn (2026) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 89 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 58.8% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 23.2% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 75.4% |
| Foreign Stock: | 23.2% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | -0.2% |
| Cash: | 1.6% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Nicholas Wealth Management |
| Phone Number: | 855-563-6900 |
| Website: | |
| Inception Date: | July 29, 2024 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 1.03% (Rating: High) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.83% |
