Which is cheaper, BALQ or FGSI?

BALQ charges 0.35% a year and FGSI charges 0.85%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

BALQ vs FGSI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

BALQ and FGSI both write options for income.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $43m for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF and $2.0m for FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF.

BALQ on its own →FGSI on its own →

At a glance

10.0%

BALQ cash paid, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

8.3%

FGSI cash paid, 1 year

+15.6%

BALQ total return, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

+9.0%

FGSI total return, 1 year

BALQ · since launch to Nov 4, 2026 4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

BALQ

+15.6%

QQQ

+11.5%

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

BALQ since launch: paid 10.0%, price +5.1%, total +15.6%, QQQ +11.5%, +4.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+11.5%

BALQ

+15.6%

10.0% of it arrived as cash

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

BALQ since launch: paid 10.0%, price +5.1%, total +15.6%, QQQ +11.5%, +4.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+11.5%

BALQ

+15.6%

10.0% cash

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

10.0% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. BALQ since launch: paid 10.0%, price +5.1%, total +15.6%, QQQ +11.5%, +4.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

FGSI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 About even with FTGS

FGSI

+9.0%

FTGS

+8.8%

About even with FTGS

FGSI over 1 year: paid 8.3%, price +0.2%, total +9.0%, FTGS +8.8%, +0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

FTGS

+8.8%

FGSI

+9.0%

8.3% of it arrived as cash

about even with FTGS

Total return, distributions reinvested

About even with FTGS

FGSI over 1 year: paid 8.3%, price +0.2%, total +9.0%, FTGS +8.8%, +0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

FTGS

+8.8%

FGSI

+9.0%

8.3% cash

about even with FTGS

8.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. FGSI over 1 year: paid 8.3%, price +0.2%, total +9.0%, FTGS +8.8%, +0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

BALQ costs 0.50 points a year less; BALQ is far larger, $43m against $2.0m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALQ vs FGSI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	BALQ	FGSI
Paid and earned
Measure	BALQ	FGSI
Total return, 1 year	not published	+9.0%
Price change	rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025)	rose 0.2% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment	53% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	BALQ	FGSI
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	First Trust Growth Strength ETF, measured through FTGS
Cost and size
Measure	BALQ	FGSI
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.85%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$43m	$2.0m
Holdings
Measure	BALQ	FGSI
Holdings in common	9%

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and FGSI hold 9% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

9% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BALQ FGSI

BROADCOM INC 2.99% 2.02%

NVIDIA 8.33% 1.93%

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 2.02% 1.88%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.09% 1.73%

INTUIT 0.72% 2.11%

INCYTE CORP 0.31% 2.07%

ARISTA NETWORKS 0.27% 1.91%

COMFORT SYSTEMS USA 0.21% 1.79%

SALESFORCE 0.21% 1.84%

NEWMONT 0.10% 1.80%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BALQ

APPLE 7.82%

MICROSOFT 7.46%

AMAZON.COM INC 5.04%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.74%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.10%

COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP 3.46%

WALMART 2.97%

TESLA INC 2.88%

Only in FGSI

Vertiv Holdings Co (Class A) 2.28%

Eli Lilly and Company 2.25%

United Therapeutics Corporation 2.25%

Blackstone Inc. 2.21%

Delta Air Lines, Inc. 2.20%

Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. 2.18%

General Dynamics Corporation 2.16%

S&P Global Inc. 2.16%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly FGSI FT Vest Growth Strength & Target Income ETF · Writes calls on the S&P 500, measured against The Growth Strength Index, paying monthly

Issuer iShares First Trust

Strategy covered call option income

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.5% 8.3%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.85%

Cash paid, 1 year 10.0% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) 8.3%

Price change, 1 year +5.1% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +0.2%

Total return, 1 year +15.6% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +9.0%

Benchmark return, 1 year +11.5% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +8.8%

Ahead or behind +4.1 pts (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +0.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 97% 53%

Age 336 days 1.4 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $43m $2.0m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price. Payout rate: the latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.

Window by window

Window by window: BALQ vs FGSI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	BALQ	FGSI	BALQ	FGSI	BALQ	FGSI
3 months	−3.8%	−2.2%	2.1%	2.0%	−0.3 pts	+0.6 pts
6 months	+1.3%	+6.3%	5.2%	4.3%	+1.7 pts	+0.2 pts
1 year	–	+9.0%	–	8.3%	–	+0.2 pts
Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · FGSI Jun 2025	+15.6%	+13.6%	10.0%	11.3%	+4.1 pts	−0.7 pts

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Alert

About each fund

BALQ

Over the period from its first trade on Dec 3, 2025 to Nov 4, 2026, BALQ paid 10.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 5.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +11.5% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.5%, paid monthly. iShares estimates that 97% of the distribution paid Nov 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

FGSI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FGSI paid 8.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.0%. First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) returned +8.8% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.3%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 53% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or FGSI?: BALQ charges 0.35% a year and FGSI charges 0.85%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALQ vs TPAY BALQ vs ODTE BALQ vs KIQQ BALQ vs XVSP FGSI vs IQQQ FGSI vs XQQI FGSI vs ROCQ FGSI vs KIQQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →First Trust Growth Strength ETF (FTGS) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →BALQ on its own →FGSI on its own →BALQ dividend history →BALQ holdings →FGSI dividend history →FGSI holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

BALQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

BALQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

BALQ 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

iShares page for BALQ ↗

FGSI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FGSI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

FGSI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for FGSI ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BALQ against FGSI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-fgsi

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.