Data as of .
BALQ vs JEPQ: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and JEPQ both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and JEPQ hold 13% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALQ | JEPQ |
|---|---|---|
| AMAZON.COM INC | 4.76% | 3.67% |
| TESLA INC | 2.73% | 2.39% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.99% | 2.16% |
| WALMART INC | 2.36% | 1.79% |
| CISCO SYSTEMS INC | 2.15% | 1.34% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP | 2.61% | 1.16% |
| WESTERN DIGITAL CORP | 0.85% | 0.50% |
| ADOBE INC | 0.68% | 0.24% |
| UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC | 0.29% | 0.16% |
| Only in BALQ | Only in JEPQ |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA 8.62% | NVIDIA Corp. 6.68% |
| APPLE 7.63% | Apple, Inc. 5.83% |
| MICROSOFT 6.72% | Micron Technology, Inc. 5.58% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06% | Alphabet, Inc. 5.05% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.31% | Microsoft Corp. 3.90% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44% | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 3.87% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31% | Lam Research Corp. 2.89% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C 3.09% | Meta Platforms, Inc. 2.38% |
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
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | JEPQ | BALQ | JEPQ | BALQ | JEPQ | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +1.6% | 2.8% | 3.3% | +1.9 pts | +4.1 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +15.1% | 6.5% | 6.7% | +3.0 pts | −9.2 pts |
| 1 year | not published | +18.5% | not published | 11.9% | not published | −3.2 pts |
| 3 years | not published | +73.0% | not published | 37.2% | not published | −25.1 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +91.7% | 8.5% | 49.2% | +5.3 pts | −33.0 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | JEPQ JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | JPMorgan |
| Strategy | covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 13.6% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.35% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 11.9% |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | +5.7% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +18.5% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −3.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 289 days | 1598 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $43.0bn |
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.
JEPQ in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, JEPQ paid 11.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 5.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 13.6%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or JEPQ?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and JEPQ charges 0.35%, so BALQ 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.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, BALQ against JEPQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-jepq Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.