Test Aaron vs The Middle Path 269

How $10,000 would have grown in each — compared across total return, income, NAV, and risk.

Compared over their common history since Jan 2026.

Judge on

Window

Test Aaron

High riskMedium reward

7.7%

yield · $64/mo per $10k

WinnerThe Middle Path 269

Medium riskLow reward

3.4%

yield · $29/mo per $10k

The Middle Path 269 wins on total return (2–0, full common history).

Growth of $10,000 (dividends reinvested)

Test AaronThe Middle Path 269Distributions reinvested · hypothetical, fixed weights

Total Return0–2

4.7%

Total Ret.

5.7%

13.5%

CAGR

16.5%

Income3–0

7.7%

Yield

3.4%

$64

Income

$29

0.41

Steadiness

0.76

Principal / NAV0–2

1.6%

NAV

4.5%

-5.3%

Max DD

-4.0%

Risk1–3

3.9

Risk-Adj.

5.1

2.82

Sortino

3.30

7.5%

Volatility

8.5%

3.6

Safety

2.5

Holdings overlap

0% overlap

Test Aaron only

JEPI 40%QQQH 40%SCHD 20%

Shared

No shared holdings

The Middle Path 269 only

FDL 13%SCHH 13%BKLN 13%CGCP 13%IDV 13%JAAA 13%VNQ 12%IYR 12%

The risk-first read

The Middle Path 269 wins. Test Aaron dangles a bigger 7.7% headline yield, but after NAV erosion its total return (4.7%) trails The Middle Path 269's 5.7% — and at a higher risk tier (3.6 vs 2.5). The classic yield trap.

Get one battle like this in your inbox every week

The Dividend Brief — free, risk-first, 2-min read.

Run your own matchups

Filter 30 portfolios by risk and reward and let the data crown a champion.

Growth is a hypothetical, fixed-weight backtest with distributions reinvested at ex-date since Jan 2026 — no fees or taxes; past performance doesn't predict future results. How these numbers are computed. Not investment advice.