OMAH Turned Buffett’s No-Dividend Portfolio Into a 15% Payout. Is It Income or Financial Sleight of Hand?
Warren Buffett refuses to pay a dividend, yet one ETF promises investors a 15% annual payout built entirely around his portfolio. Understanding where that money actually comes from changes everything about how you should evaluate it.
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Warren Buffett has spent decades explaining why Berkshire (NYSE:BRK-A | BRK-A Price Prediction, NYSE:BRK-B) retains capital rather than distributing it, and the VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF (NYSEARCA:OMAH) exists to reverse that decision for investors who want monthly checks.
OMAH holds Berkshire itself, along with roughly 20 prominent Berkshire portfolio stocks tracked by VistaShares, and then layers an actively managed options overlay to chase a 15% annualized distribution target set by VistaShares.
Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett have no affiliation with OMAH and do not endorse or sponsor it; the 15% figure is a target the fund can meet or miss, not a guarantee, according to VistaShares.
The dividends generated by the underlying stocks do not come close to supporting a double-digit payout, so the yield gap must come from elsewhere.
How the Payout Machine Actually Works
The overlay sells short-dated call options against positions the fund already owns. Buyers pay a premium for the right to purchase those shares at a set price, and OMAH keeps the premium whether the option is exercised or expires worthless.
That cash funds the monthly distribution, most recently $0.22963 per share for the August 24, 2026 ex-date, with a trailing twelve-month total of $2.8089.
Option premium differs from dividend income. Dividends flow from corporate earnings, while option premiums come from selling away a slice of the portfolio’s own future upside. When Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) or Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL) rallies past a written strike price, the fund forfeits any gains above that price.
Reading the August Return-of-Capital Estimate
VistaShares estimated the entire August distribution as a return of capital. That label is a tax classification that describes how the IRS treats the payment. A return of capital reduces an investor’s cost basis, defers the tax bill, and increases the eventual gain on sale.
OMAH’s April 2026 filing showed $748.6 million in net assets and a portfolio reflecting its Berkshire-adjacent basket, including sizable positions in Apple, Berkshire itself, American Express (NYSE:AXP), Occidental (NYSE:OXY), Alphabet, and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO).
The overlay is visibly active: the filing lists written calls on Alphabet, Amazon, Berkshire, Apple, and others, generating the premium that feeds the distribution engine.
If NAV were being steadily gutted to fund payouts, total return would show it. So far it has not, which suggests the ROC label reflects accounting more than decay.
Compared With Just Owning Berkshire
The uncomfortable comparison is with Berkshire Hathaway itself, which charges no expense ratio, pays no distribution, and has returned 80% over the past five years. Year to date, it is up about 1%, and over one year, roughly 1%.
An investor who wants monthly cash from a Berkshire-style portfolio can hold BRK.B and sell a fixed dollar amount of shares each month, paying long-term capital gains rates on the realized portion. That homemade dividend costs zero in fund fees.
OMAH charges a 0.98% net expense ratio to run the overlay, which must earn back that fee and outperform manual share selling to justify itself. Against a plain dividend ETF, the pitch is different: OMAH offers a higher headline yield and Berkshire-flavored exposure but caps upside and hands investors a tax-deferred slice of their own capital every month.
If you are weighing this against a broader income-first plan, we walked through the mix, the payment calendar, and the withdrawal order in a free guide to building a paycheck portfolio from ordinary savings.
Verdict on OMAH
OMAH is legitimate financial engineering. It suits a narrow investor: someone who wants a stable monthly check from a Berkshire-adjacent portfolio, values automation over manual share sales, and has accepted that the 15 in VistaShares’ Target 15 name will cost meaningful upside plus almost 1% a year in fees.
Anyone who wants Buffett’s actual compounding should own Berkshire directly and sell shares when cash is needed. That path is cheaper, more tax-efficient on gains, and does not require trusting an overlay to keep earning its keep.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.