April 2026

I Underperformed the Market by Half This Year

SCHD is up 13%. I'm up 5.5%. Here's why I'm not changing my strategy.

Let me be completely honest with you.

SCHD is up about 13% year-to-date. My portfolio — running the wheel strategy with covered calls and cash-secured puts — is up 5.5%. That includes options income and dividends.

I captured roughly half of what a simple buy-and-hold investor made this year.

On a $1.9M portfolio, that's roughly $86,000 I "left on the table."

And I'm fine with it.

Here's why.

The Doubt Crept In

I'd be lying if I said I didn't question everything this month. When you watch SCHD run from $29 to $32 while you're sitting in cash-secured puts, waiting to be assigned, it stings.

I asked myself the hard question:

"Am I picking up pennies while everyone else gets rich? Should I just hold SCHD and VTI, sell shares when I need income, and stop overcomplicating things?"

It's a fair question. So I did the math.

The Math: Two Different Games

Here's what buy-and-hold would have looked like for me this year:

Buy-and-hold wins on total return. Not even close.

But look at the income method. To cover my ~$155K annual expenses with buy-and-hold, I'd need to:

• Collect ~$60K in dividends
• Sell ~$95K in shares

Those shares are gone forever. They don't compound. They don't pay future dividends. They don't generate future options premium.

With the wheel, I generated $74K in income so far this year — and I haven't sold a single share.

The Question I Should Be Asking

I realized I was measuring success by the wrong metric.

I'm not trying to maximize wealth. I'm trying to live off my wealth — sustainably, for decades, without depleting it.

Those are two completely different games.

What I Actually Care About

My income machine generated $74K in four months. I paid all my expenses. My principal is intact. The shares I own will continue generating dividends and options premium next year, and the year after that, and the year after that.

That's the game I'm playing.

The 20-Year View

Let's zoom out. If I needed $100K/year in income and chose to sell shares instead of running the wheel:

• Year 1: Sell $100K in shares
• Year 5: Sold $500K in shares
• Year 10: Sold $1M in shares
• Year 20: Sold $2M in shares

Those shares, if held and compounded at 8% annually, would have grown to approximately $4.9 million.

Instead, they're gone. Spent on groceries and electric bills.

With the wheel, I generate income from assets I never sell. The shares stay. They compound. They keep producing.

When the Wheel Loses

I want to be honest about when this strategy underperforms:

I'm living through the worst possible environment for this strategy. A raging bull market with suppressed volatility.

When the Wheel Wins

But markets aren't always like this:

In 2022, SCHD dropped 15%. My premiums cushioned the fall. I got paid to hold. I didn't panic sell.

The wheel is an income strategy, not a growth strategy. It's designed for consistency, not maximum returns.

The Tradeoff I'm Making

Let me be explicit about the deal I've made with myself:

That's not a mistake. That's a choice.

What I Track Now

I've stopped comparing my total return to SCHD. Different games, different scoreboards.

Instead, I track this:

If my income grows 5-7% per year, I'm winning. That's my scoreboard now.

Should You Run the Wheel?

If your goal is maximum wealth accumulation, probably not. Just buy SCHD and VTI and hold forever. You'll likely end up with more money.

But if your goal is:

• Living off your portfolio without depleting it
• Consistent monthly income
• Sleeping well in any market
• Never being forced to sell at the bottom

Then the wheel makes sense — even when it underperforms.

The Bottom Line

SCHD is up 13%. I'm up 5.5%.

But SCHD's gain doesn't pay my mortgage. My premium income does.

The buy-and-hold crowd had a great year. I had a paycheck every month.

We're not playing the same game.

That's the tradeoff. I made it with eyes wide open. And I'd make it again.