3 ETFs to Turn $78k Into $500 in Monthly Income

Locking in exchange-traded funds with high dividend yields is a very good idea in this environment, especially as the market is convinced that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates more seriously in September.

The recent inflation report did not show tariffs significantly impacting prices. This should lead Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to give the go-ahead for two or more rate cuts this year. And each interest rate cut will also cause the yield of Treasurys to go down accordingly. Currently, the 10-year Treasury yields 4.2% risk-free rate. This ends up driving down the value of dividend stocks and dividend ETFs.

Once this risk-free rate goes down with interest rate cuts, dividend ETFs should see a lot more demand. Here are three that have sustainable yields and can get you $500 every month. The blended dividend yield is 7.7% annually. All of them pay monthly, so investors would need $77,922.08 to get $500 per month if you invest equal amounts in all three.

Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF (GPIQ)

Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF (NASDAQ:GPIQ) is an actively managed fund that gives you exposure to the Nasdaq-100 index with a dynamic options strategy that also gives you monthly income. The ETF invests at least 80% of its assets in equities from the Nasdaq-100, and it sells covered call options on them on a portion of its holdings to collect premiums, which it then uses to pay its holders.

You forego some upside, but this solid ETF should keep churning out payouts. The tech sector has turned into the economy’s driving force and has outperformed every other sector for nearly three decades. The future looks even brighter due to AI spilling over into every other sector. White-collar work is expected to be dominated by AI, and even blue-collar work will see AI making inroads with the robotics boom.

The top holdings here are as follows:

Performance-wise, GPIQ has delivered a year-to-date total return of about 10.7%. It comes with a dividend yield of 10.39%. The net expense ratio is 0.29%, or $29 per $10,000 invested. This is quite cheap for an actively managed ETF.

Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund (RQI)

This is a closed-end instead of an ETF, but it operates similarly and worth looking into. The Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund (NYSE:RQI) focuses on real estate investment trusts (REITs) and similar securities. It puts at least 80% of its assets into real estate income stocks. It then passes on the cash flows to its holders without directly owning properties.

Its top holdings are as follows:

Some investors may immediately get spooked after hearing real estate or REIT, but in 2025, it’s as risky as any other industry. The standards are much harsher for mortgages, and real estate has survived the pandemic and its ripple effects. Several banks ended up failing, but real estate has shown no sign of a collapse. Instead, things are only looking up due to the return to office trend and the significant demand for houses.

RQI spins off a yield of 7.63%. The biggest drawback, however, is the 3.78% expense ratio. However, this is due to the increased interest expense of 2.4% at the moment. Management fees plus “other” expenses get you a 1.38% expense ratio. The expenses are deducted from the fund’s assets.

In my opinion, this setup makes the high yield on RQI even more impressive, as it can keep paying high yields despite the expenses tied to its active management and leverage strategy. Plus, once interest rates go down, so will the expenses. RQI could bounce back to its pre-pandemic price of ~$14 long-term.

Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF (JAAA)

Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF (NYSEARCA:JAAA) is another actively-managed ETF that invests in high-quality collateralized loan obligations (CLOs). These loans are rated AAA, which is the highest possible rating. This makes it more likely that the ETF (and its holders) will get their money back, plus interest.

JAAA’s portfolio is heavily concentrated in securitized assets.

Here are the top holdings:

These are floating-rate CLOs with maturities stretching into the 2030s, backed by broad pools of corporate loans.

JAAA gets you a 5.09% yield with a net annual expense ratio of 0.20%. The ETF itself has been very stable and has consistently paid high yields.

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