Data as of .
BALQ vs KYLD: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and KYLD both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and KYLD hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALQ | KYLD |
|---|---|---|
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES | 4.31% | 6.21% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.99% | 5.17% |
| INTEL CORPORATION | 2.62% | 6.19% |
| Only in BALQ | Only in KYLD |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA 8.62% | TREASURY BILL 12.96% |
| APPLE 7.63% | TREASURY BILL 11.01% |
| MICROSOFT 6.72% | Global X Silver Miners ETF 7.09% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06% | VanEck Gold Miners ETF/USA 6.38% |
| AMAZON.COM INC 4.76% | Howmet Aerospace Inc 5.97% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44% | Teradyne Inc 5.77% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31% | BWX Technologies Inc 5.38% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C 3.09% | AppLovin Corp 5.32% |
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 May 31, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | KYLD | BALQ | KYLD | BALQ | KYLD | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | −6.3% | 2.8% | 5.6% | +1.9 pts | −8.5 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +24.4% | 6.5% | 14.1% | +3.0 pts | +6.4 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +2.0% | 8.5% | 20.9% | +5.3 pts | −10.9 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | KYLD Kurv High Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | Kurv |
| Strategy | covered call | option income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 25.6% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 1.00% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 20.9% (since launch on Oct 31, 2025) |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | −20.5% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +2.0% (since launch on Oct 31, 2025) |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +12.9% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −10.9 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 289 days | 322 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $49m |
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.
KYLD in plain words
Over the period since launch on Oct 31, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, KYLD paid 20.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 20.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +2.0%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +12.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.9 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 25.6%, paid weekly. Kurv estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 3, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or KYLD?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and KYLD charges 1.00%, 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 KYLD, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-kyld Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.