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Data as of .

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

BALQ and GPIQ both write options for income.

iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF and Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETF.

8.5%BALQ cash paid, 1 year
11.0%GPIQ cash paid, 1 year
+21.4%BALQ total return, 1 year
+21.4%GPIQ total return, 1 year
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
GPIQAbout even with QQQ · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
QQQ+21.8%GPIQ+21.4%11.0% of it arrived as cashabout even with QQQTotal return, distributions reinvestedQQQ+21.8%GPIQ+21.4%about even with QQQ

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and GPIQ hold 63% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions BALQ and GPIQ both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingBALQGPIQ
NVIDIA8.62%7.48%
APPLE7.63%6.59%
MICRON TECHNOLOGY5.06%5.62%
AMAZON.COM INC4.76%4.20%
ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES4.31%4.11%
MICROSOFT6.72%3.96%
ALPHABET CLASS A3.44%3.54%
META PLATFORMS CLASS A3.31%2.78%
TESLA INC2.73%3.17%
BROADCOM INC2.99%2.69%
INTEL CORPORATION2.62%3.01%
ALPHABET CLASS C3.09%2.57%
Only in each
Only in BALQOnly in GPIQ
BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 2.70%KLA CORP 1.74%
CASH COLLATERAL MSFUT USD 1.46%PALO ALTO NETWORKS INC 1.30%
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 0.83%TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC 1.23%
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 0.82%LINDE PLC 1.11%
CHEVRON 0.72%CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS INC 0.95%
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP 0.71%SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY HOLDINGS PLC 0.90%
SS AND C TECHNOLOGIES HOLDINGS 0.59%NETFLIX INC 0.89%
COCA-COLA 0.56%ANALOG DEVICES INC 0.89%

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 Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.

Performance, window by window

BALQ and GPIQ over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
BALQGPIQBALQGPIQBALQGPIQ
3 months−0.5%−1.7%2.8%2.5%+1.9 pts+0.8 pts
6 months+27.2%+20.5%6.5%5.9%+3.0 pts−3.7 pts
1 yearnot published+21.4%not published11.0%not published−0.4 pts
Since launch+21.4%+98.3%8.5%38.2%+5.3 pts−15.0 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
BALQ and GPIQ on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
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
IssueriSharesGoldman Sachs
Strategycovered callcovered call
BenchmarkNasdaq-100 (QQQ)Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
Paysmonthlymonthly
Payout rate, annualized8.9%10.5%
Expense ratio0.35%0.29%
Cash paid, 1 year8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025)11.0%
Price change, 1 year+11.9%+9.3%
Total return, 1 year+21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025)+21.4%
Benchmark return, 1 year+16.1%+21.8%
Ahead or behind+5.3 pts−0.4 pts
Return of capital, latest estimatenot publishednot published
Age289 days1058 days
Net assets$29m$5.8bn

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.

GPIQ in plain words

Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, GPIQ paid 11.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 9.3%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Sep 18, 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

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.

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

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources