Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

BALQ vs IQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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BALQ and IQQQ both write options for income.

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Net assets: $43m on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF, and $380m on Nov 4, 2026 for ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF.

At a glance
10.0%
BALQ cash paid, since launch, Dec 3, 2025
6.8%
IQQQ cash paid, 1 year
+15.6%
BALQ total return, since launch, Dec 3, 2025
+7.4%
IQQQ 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.
IQQQ · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 4.9 pts behind QQQ
IQQQ
+7.4%
QQQ
+12.3%

4.9 pts behind QQQ

IQQQ over 1 year: paid 6.8%, price +0.5%, total +7.4%, QQQ +12.3%, −4.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

IQQQ

+7.4%

6.8% of it arrived as cash

4.9 pts behind QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.9 pts behind QQQ

IQQQ over 1 year: paid 6.8%, price +0.5%, total +7.4%, QQQ +12.3%, −4.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

IQQQ

+7.4%

4.9 pts behind QQQ

6.8% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. IQQQ over 1 year: paid 6.8%, price +0.5%, total +7.4%, QQQ +12.3%, −4.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

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

Pair scorecard

BALQ costs 0.20 points a year less; IQQQ is 8.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALQ vs IQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureBALQIQQQ
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 yearnot published+7.4%
Price changerose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025)rose 0.5% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment93% of the Nov 6, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkNasdaq-100, measured through QQQNasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.35%0.55%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026$43m$376m
Holdings
Holdings in common53%

Method

Risk and return

Dec 12, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 46 weekly returns
BALQ IQQQ
Return
Total return edge BALQ +16.8% +8.3%
Price return edge BALQ +7.0% +2.6%
Risk
Max drawdown edge IQQQ (slight) −9.3% −8.9%
Reading

From Dec 2025 to Oct 2026, BALQ returned more: +16.8% to +8.3%. IQQQ fell slightly less at its worst: −8.9% to −9.3%.

Full scorecard

3 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: BALQ vs IQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureBALQIQQQEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+16.8%+8.3%BALQPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Price return+7.0%+2.6%BALQPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Max drawdown−9.3%−8.9%IQQQ (slight)Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 46 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

53%

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and IQQQ hold 53% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

53% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BALQ IQQQ
NVIDIA 8.33% 7.26%
APPLE 7.82% 6.32%
MICROSOFT 7.46% 5.12%
MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.74% 4.06%
AMAZON.COM INC 5.04% 3.80%
ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.10% 2.88%
ALPHABET CLASS A 2.75% 2.69%
TESLA INC 2.88% 2.50%
ALPHABET CLASS C 2.44% 2.49%
BROADCOM INC 2.99% 2.39%
META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.09% 2.30%
WALMART 2.97% 1.92%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in BALQ
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.10%
APPLIED MATERIAL INC 1.71%
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%
Only in IQQQ
Applied Materials, Inc. 1.36%
Netflix, Inc. 1.28%
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. 1.17%
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. 1.03%
Texas Instruments, Inc. 0.89%
Crowdstrike Holdings, Inc. 0.88%
Amgen, Inc. 0.87%
Sandisk Corp. 0.87%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly IQQQ ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying monthly
Strategy covered call option income
Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 8.5% 6.1%
Expense ratio 0.35% 0.55%
Cash paid, 1 year 10.0% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) 6.8%
Price change, 1 year +5.1% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +0.5%
Total return, 1 year +15.6% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +7.4%
Benchmark return, 1 year +11.5% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +12.3%
Ahead or behind +4.1 pts (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) −4.9 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 97% 93%
Age 336 days 2.6 years
Net assets, BALQ as of Nov 3, 2026 and IQQQ as of Nov 4, 2026 $43m $380m

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 IQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowBALQIQQQBALQIQQQBALQIQQQ
3 months−3.8%−4.4%2.1%1.5%−0.3 pts−0.9 pts
6 months+1.3%−2.6%5.2%3.4%+1.7 pts−2.3 pts
1 year–+7.4%–6.8%–−4.9 pts
Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · IQQQ Mar 2024+15.6%+44.2%10.0%25.6%+4.1 pts−13.8 pts

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Client brief

No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for BALQ.

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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.

IQQQ

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, IQQQ paid 6.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +7.4%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 4.9 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.1%, paid monthly. ProShares estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Nov 6, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or IQQQ?
BALQ charges 0.35% a year and IQQQ charges 0.55%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, BALQ against IQQQ, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-iqqq

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