Data as of .
BALQ vs CAIQ: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and CAIQ both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and CAIQ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in BALQ | Only in CAIQ |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA 8.62% | Calamos Tax-Aware Collateral ETF 100.00% |
| APPLE 7.63% | |
| MICROSOFT 6.72% | |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06% | |
| AMAZON.COM INC 4.76% | |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.31% | |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44% | |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31% |
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 Apr 30, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | CAIQ | BALQ | CAIQ | BALQ | CAIQ | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | −0.5% | 2.8% | 4.3% | +1.9 pts | +1.9 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +16.5% | 6.5% | 9.5% | +3.0 pts | −7.7 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +16.7% | 8.5% | 13.7% | +5.3 pts | −7.0 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | CAIQ Calamos Nasdaq Autocallable Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | Calamos |
| Strategy | covered call | option income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 17.9% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.74% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 13.7% (since launch on Nov 20, 2025) |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | +2.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +16.7% (since launch on Nov 20, 2025) |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +23.6% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −7.0 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 289 days | 302 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $167m |
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.
CAIQ in plain words
Over the period since launch on Nov 20, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, CAIQ paid 13.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 2.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.7%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +23.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 7.0 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 17.9%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or CAIQ?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and CAIQ charges 0.74%, so BALQ 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, BALQ against CAIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-caiq Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.