Data as of .
BALI vs FGSI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year BALI paid 8.5% of its price in cash against FGSI’s 8.1%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: BALI scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALI and FGSI hold 16% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALI | FGSI |
|---|---|---|
| MICROSOFT | 5.07% | 2.45% |
| NVIDIA | 7.36% | 2.15% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.25% | 1.90% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A | 1.80% | 2.03% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP | 1.64% | 1.85% |
| ELI LILLY | 1.15% | 1.93% |
| NETFLIX | 0.51% | 2.04% |
| GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP | 0.48% | 1.87% |
| PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A | 0.48% | 2.63% |
| AMPHENOL CORP CLASS A | 0.46% | 2.01% |
| COMFORT SYSTEMS USA | 0.46% | 1.95% |
| FORTINET | 0.42% | 2.06% |
| Only in BALI | Only in FGSI |
|---|---|
| APPLE 6.15% | Newmont Corporation 2.70% |
| AMAZON.COM INC 3.29% | Arista Networks, Inc. 2.32% |
| BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 2.91% | DexCom, Inc. 2.28% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 2.70% | Intuitive Surgical, Inc. 2.22% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C 2.38% | Target Corporation 2.22% |
| EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 1.74% | ResMed Inc. 2.21% |
| BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B 1.69% | Garmin Ltd. 2.15% |
| CHEVRON 1.65% | Incyte Corporation 2.09% |
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
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALI | FGSI | BALI | FGSI | BALI | FGSI | |
| 3 months | +4.0% | +2.4% | 2.0% | 2.1% | +1.8 pts | +0.2 pts |
| 6 months | +17.3% | +10.0% | 4.7% | 4.4% | −0.8 pts | −8.0 pts |
| 1 year | +18.5% | +5.3% | 8.5% | 8.1% | +2.0 pts | −11.3 pts |
| Since launch | +76.3% | +11.9% | 29.2% | 9.8% | −8.0 pts | −14.3 pts |
| BALI iShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | FGSI FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | First Trust |
| Strategy | covered call | option income |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 7.5% | 8.6% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.85% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% | 8.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | +9.2% | −3.2% |
| Total return, 1 year | +18.5% | +5.3% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | +2.0 pts | −11.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 1086 days | 449 days |
| Net assets | $1.5bn | $2m |
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.
FGSI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, FGSI paid 8.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 3.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.3%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.6%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, BALI or FGSI?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, BALI paid 8.5% of its starting price in cash and FGSI paid 8.1%, so BALI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, BALI or FGSI?
- With every distribution reinvested, BALI returned +18.5% and FGSI returned +5.3% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so BALI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, BALI or FGSI?
- BALI charges 0.35% a year and FGSI charges 0.85%, 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.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, BALI against FGSI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/bali-vs-fgsi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.