Which is cheaper, BALQ or GPIQ?

BALQ charges 0.35% a year and GPIQ charges 0.29%, so GPIQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

BALQ vs GPIQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return

BALQ and GPIQ both write options for income.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $43m for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF and $6.4bn for Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF.

BALQ on its own →GPIQ on its own →

At a glance

10.0%

BALQ cash paid, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

10.9%

GPIQ cash paid, 1 year

+15.6%

BALQ total return, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

+13.0%

GPIQ 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.

GPIQ · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 0.7 pts ahead of QQQ

GPIQ

+13.0%

QQQ

+12.3%

0.7 pts ahead of QQQ

GPIQ over 1 year: paid 10.9%, price +1.7%, total +13.0%, QQQ +12.3%, +0.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

GPIQ

+13.0%

10.9% of it arrived as cash

0.7 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.7 pts ahead of QQQ

GPIQ over 1 year: paid 10.9%, price +1.7%, total +13.0%, QQQ +12.3%, +0.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

GPIQ

+13.0%

10.9% as cash

0.7 pts ahead of QQQ

10.9% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. GPIQ over 1 year: paid 10.9%, price +1.7%, total +13.0%, QQQ +12.3%, +0.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

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

Pair scorecard

GPIQ costs 0.06 points a year less; GPIQ is far larger, $6.4bn against $43m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALQ vs GPIQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	BALQ	GPIQ
Paid and earned
Measure	BALQ	GPIQ
Total return, 1 year	not published	+13.0%
Price change	rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025)	rose 1.7% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	BALQ	GPIQ
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Measure	BALQ	GPIQ
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.29%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$43m	$6.4bn
Holdings
Measure	BALQ	GPIQ
Holdings in common	58%

Method

What they share

58%

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and GPIQ hold 58% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

58% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BALQ GPIQ

NVIDIA 8.33% 7.47%

APPLE 7.82% 6.59%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.74% 5.62%

AMAZON.COM INC 5.04% 4.20%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.10% 4.10%

MICROSOFT 7.46% 3.95%

TESLA INC 2.88% 3.17%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.09% 2.77%

ALPHABET CLASS A 2.75% 3.54%

BROADCOM INC 2.99% 2.68%

ALPHABET CLASS C 2.44% 2.56%

WALMART 2.97% 2.12%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BALQ

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.10%

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP 0.82%

VALERO ENERGY CORP 0.79%

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC 0.74%

LOCKHEED MARTIN 0.65%

MORGAN STANLEY 0.63%

MERCK & CO INC 0.57%

TJX 0.55%

Only in GPIQ

KLA CORP 1.74%

SANDISK CORP 1.48%

PALO ALTO NETWORKS INC 1.30%

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC 1.23%

MARVELL TECHNOLOGY INC 1.11%

LINDE PLC 1.11%

WESTERN DIGITAL CORP 0.98%

CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS INC 0.95%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly GPIQ Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly

Issuer iShares Goldman Sachs

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.5% 10.5%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.29%

Cash paid, 1 year 10.0% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) 10.9%

Price change, 1 year +5.1% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +1.7%

Total return, 1 year +15.6% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +13.0%

Benchmark return, 1 year +11.5% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +12.3%

Ahead or behind +4.1 pts (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +0.7 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 97% not published

Age 336 days 3.0 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $43m $6.4bn

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 GPIQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	BALQ	GPIQ	BALQ	GPIQ	BALQ	GPIQ
3 months	−3.8%	−2.6%	2.1%	2.6%	−0.3 pts	+0.8 pts
6 months	+1.3%	+0.5%	5.2%	5.3%	+1.7 pts	+0.9 pts
1 year	–	+13.0%	–	10.9%	–	+0.7 pts
3 years	–	+80.0%	–	38.3%	–	−11.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · GPIQ Oct 2023	+15.6%	+91.4%	10.0%	40.7%	+4.1 pts	−13.4 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.

GPIQ

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, GPIQ paid 10.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.0%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.7 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 10.5%, paid monthly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or GPIQ?: BALQ charges 0.35% a year and GPIQ charges 0.29%, so GPIQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALQ vs QYLD BALQ vs QQQI BALQ vs FTQI BALQ vs JEPQ GPIQ vs KIQQ GPIQ vs QDTE GPIQ vs QYLD GPIQ vs QQQI

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →BALQ on its own →GPIQ on its own →BALQ dividend history →BALQ holdings →GPIQ dividend history →GPIQ 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 ↗

GPIQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GPIQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Goldman Sachs website ↗

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 GPIQ, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-gpiq

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