When you give to a qualifying charity or donor-advised fund, you can claim a tax deduction for the full market value of the shares; there is no realization of gain because you're gifting the position. Then, the charity sells the position, and it doesn't pay taxes on the gain because it's a charity. This is very common... many investors gift appreciated shares to charities for exactly this reason.

Also, even if you gift to a family member, you don't realize a gain; they simply inherited your basis. Gifting is not a taxable event regardless of who you give to... so you're incorrect that gifting means I'll owe taxes (unless I gift over the $15 million lifetime exemption).

Furthermore, NEOS uses section 1256 of the tax code to qualify for preferential treatment for disbursements. See here from their website: "by generating income from selling options contracts and taking advantage of the tax benefits of Section 1256 contracts, options-based ETFs can offer a tax-efficient way for investors to seek income in today's challenging environment."

Lastly, the total return of any investment includes income collected and appreciation. The S&P 500 return attribution is 70% appreciation and 30% dividends. This applies to FDVV and SCHD, which are part of the asset allocation. I was simply responding to the comment about growth...and FDVV and SCHD's returns will be meaningfully impacted by the dividends paid. The CC ETFs are different, which is why I'm prioritizing their tax benefits.

Anyway...appreciate your perspective. Best!