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Data as of .

BALI vs BALQ: which paid, and which earned it?

BALI and BALQ both write options for income.

iShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF and iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF.

8.5%BALI cash paid, 1 year
8.5%BALQ cash paid, 1 year
+18.5%BALI total return, 1 year
+21.4%BALQ total return, 1 year
BALI2 pts ahead of SPY · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
SPY+16.6%BALI+18.5%8.5% of it arrived as cash2 pts ahead of SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+16.6%BALI+18.5%2 pts ahead of SPY
BALQ5.3 pts ahead of QQQ · since launch to Sep 18, 2026
QQQ+16.1%BALQ+21.4%8.5% of it arrived as cash5.3 pts ahead of QQQTotal return, distributions reinvestedQQQ+16.1%BALQ+21.4%5.3 pts ahead of QQQ

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, BALI and BALQ hold 54% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions BALI and BALQ both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingBALIBALQ
NVIDIA7.36%8.62%
APPLE6.15%7.63%
MICROSOFT5.07%6.72%
AMAZON.COM INC3.29%4.76%
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY2.91%2.70%
ALPHABET CLASS A2.70%3.44%
ALPHABET CLASS C2.38%3.09%
BROADCOM INC2.25%2.99%
META PLATFORMS CLASS A1.80%3.31%
COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP1.64%2.61%
MICRON TECHNOLOGY1.50%5.06%
ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES1.30%4.31%
Only in each
Only in BALIOnly in BALQ
EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 1.74%WALMART INC 2.36%
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B 1.69%SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 0.82%
VISA CLASS A 1.55%GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP 0.71%
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 1.20%MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC 0.61%
ELI LILLY 1.15%SS AND C TECHNOLOGIES HOLDINGS 0.59%
BANK OF AMERICA 0.86%PARKER-HANNIFIN 0.37%
GILEAD SCIENCES 0.73%DTE ENERGY 0.34%
AMETEK INC 0.71%MORGAN STANLEY 0.33%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 18, 2026.

Performance, window by window

BALI and BALQ over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
BALIBALQBALIBALQBALIBALQ
3 months+4.0%−0.5%2.0%2.8%+1.8 pts+1.9 pts
6 months+17.3%+27.2%4.7%6.5%−0.8 pts+3.0 pts
1 year+18.5%not published8.5%not published+2.0 ptsnot published
Since launch+76.3%+21.4%29.2%8.5%−8.0 pts+5.3 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
BALI and BALQ on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BALI
iShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF
Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
BALQ
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF
Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly
IssueriSharesiShares
Strategycovered callcovered call
BenchmarkS&P 500 (SPY)Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
Paysmonthlymonthly
Payout rate, annualized7.5%8.9%
Expense ratio0.35%0.35%
Cash paid, 1 year8.5%8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025)
Price change, 1 year+9.2%+11.9%
Total return, 1 year+18.5%+21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025)
Benchmark return, 1 year+16.6%+16.1%
Ahead or behind+2.0 pts+5.3 pts
Return of capital, latest estimatenot publishednot published
Age1086 days289 days
Net assets$1.5bn$29m

BALI in plain words

Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, BALI paid 8.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 9.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 2.0 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.5%, paid monthly.

BALQ in plain words

Over the period since launch on Dec 3, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, BALQ paid 8.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 11.9%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +21.4%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +16.1% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 5.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.9%, paid monthly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALI or BALQ?
BALI charges 0.35% a year and BALQ charges 0.35%, so BALI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

BALI against BALQ, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, BALI against BALQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/bali-vs-balq Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources