Which is cheaper, BALQ or JEPI?

BALQ and JEPI both charge 0.35% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

BALQ vs JEPI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

BALQ and JEPI both write options for income.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $43m for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF and $46.1bn for JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF.

BALQ on its own →JEPI on its own →

At a glance

10.0%

BALQ cash paid, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

8.1%

JEPI cash paid, 1 year

+15.6%

BALQ total return, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

+12.0%

JEPI 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.

JEPI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 2.8 pts behind SPY

JEPI

+12.0%

SPY

+14.8%

2.8 pts behind SPY

JEPI over 1 year: paid 8.1%, price +3.4%, total +12.0%, SPY +14.8%, −2.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

JEPI

+12.0%

8.1% of it arrived as cash

2.8 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

2.8 pts behind SPY

JEPI over 1 year: paid 8.1%, price +3.4%, total +12.0%, SPY +14.8%, −2.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

JEPI

+12.0%

8.1% cash

2.8 pts behind SPY

8.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. JEPI over 1 year: paid 8.1%, price +3.4%, total +12.0%, SPY +14.8%, −2.8 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

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

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.35% a year; JEPI is far larger, $46.1bn against $43m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALQ vs JEPI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	BALQ	JEPI
Paid and earned
Measure	BALQ	JEPI
Total return, 1 year	not published	+12.0%
Price change	rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025)	rose 3.4% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	BALQ	JEPI
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	BALQ	JEPI
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$43m	$46.1bn
Holdings
Measure	BALQ	JEPI
Holdings in common	23%

Method

What they share

23%

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and JEPI hold 23% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

23% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BALQ JEPI

MICROSOFT 7.46% 1.93%

APPLE 7.82% 1.86%

AMAZON.COM INC 5.04% 1.81%

NVIDIA 8.33% 1.73%

COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP 3.46% 1.72%

BROADCOM INC 2.99% 1.69%

ALPHABET CLASS A 2.75% 1.67%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.09% 1.66%

LAM RESEARCH 1.64% 1.16%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.74% 0.92%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.10% 0.89%

WALMART 2.97% 0.87%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BALQ

ALPHABET CLASS C 2.44%

CISCO SYSTEMS INC 2.30%

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.10%

QUALCOMM 1.18%

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP 0.82%

VALERO ENERGY CORP 0.79%

INTUIT 0.72%

ADOBE INC 0.71%

Only in JEPI

MASTERCARD INC COMMON 1.99%

VISA INC COMMON STOCK USD 1.88%

NEXTERA ENERGY INC 1.81%

3M CO COMMON STOCK USD 1.80%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON COMMON 1.75%

PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL INC 1.72%

EOG RESOURCES INC COMMON 1.67%

TRANE TECHNOLOGIES PLC 1.63%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly JEPI JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF · Writes calls through equity-linked notes (ELNs) on the S&P 500, paying monthly

Issuer iShares JPMorgan

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.5% 7.1%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.35%

Cash paid, 1 year 10.0% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) 8.1%

Price change, 1 year +5.1% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +3.4%

Total return, 1 year +15.6% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +12.0%

Benchmark return, 1 year +11.5% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +14.8%

Ahead or behind +4.1 pts (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) −2.8 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 97% not published

Age 336 days 6.5 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $43m $46.1bn

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 JEPI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	BALQ	JEPI	BALQ	JEPI	BALQ	JEPI
3 months	−3.8%	+3.3%	2.1%	1.8%	−0.3 pts	+3.4 pts
6 months	+1.3%	+7.3%	5.2%	3.9%	+1.7 pts	+2.3 pts
1 year	–	+12.0%	–	8.1%	–	−2.8 pts
3 years	–	+37.9%	–	25.2%	–	−45.1 pts
Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · JEPI May 2020	+15.6%	+102.1%	10.0%	62.2%	+4.1 pts	−82.3 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.

JEPI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, JEPI paid 8.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.0%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 2.8 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.1%, paid monthly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or JEPI?: BALQ and JEPI both charge 0.35% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALQ vs SPYI BALQ vs DIVO BALQ vs GPIX BALQ vs XYLD JEPI vs IQQQ JEPI vs XQQI JEPI vs ROCQ JEPI vs KIQQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →S&P 500 (SPY) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →BALQ on its own →JEPI on its own →BALQ dividend history →BALQ holdings →JEPI dividend history →JEPI 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 ↗

JEPI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

JEPI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

JPMorgan 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 JEPI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-jepi

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