Which is cheaper, BALQ or OCTH?

BALQ charges 0.35% a year and OCTH charges 0.79%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

BALQ vs OCTH: Dividend Yield & Total Return

BALQ and OCTH both write options for income.

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Net assets: $43m on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF, and $16m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Premium Income 20 Barrier ETF - October.

BALQ on its own →OCTH on its own →

At a glance

10.0%

BALQ cash paid, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

6.5%

OCTH cash paid, 1 year

+15.6%

BALQ total return, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

+7.5%

OCTH 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.

OCTH · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 7.3 pts behind SPY

OCTH

+7.5%

SPY

+14.8%

7.3 pts behind SPY

OCTH over 1 year: paid 6.5%, price +0.8%, total +7.5%, SPY +14.8%, −7.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

OCTH

+7.5%

6.5% of it arrived as cash

7.3 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

7.3 pts behind SPY

OCTH over 1 year: paid 6.5%, price +0.8%, total +7.5%, SPY +14.8%, −7.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

OCTH

+7.5%

7.3 pts behind SPY

6.5% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. OCTH over 1 year: paid 6.5%, price +0.8%, total +7.5%, SPY +14.8%, −7.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

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

Pair scorecard

BALQ costs 0.44 points a year less; BALQ is 2.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALQ vs OCTH: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	BALQ	OCTH
Paid and earned
Measure	BALQ	OCTH
Total return, 1 year	not published	+7.5%
Price change	rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025)	rose 0.8% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment	51% of the Oct 2, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	BALQ	OCTH
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	BALQ	OCTH
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.79%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$43m	$16m
Holdings
Measure	BALQ	OCTH
Holdings in common	0%

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and OCTH hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BALQ OCTH

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BALQ

NVIDIA 8.33%

APPLE 7.82%

MICROSOFT 7.46%

AMAZON.COM INC 5.04%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.74%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.10%

COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP 3.46%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.09%

Only in OCTH

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly OCTH Innovator Premium Income 20 Barrier ETF - October · Defined income on SPY, paying quarterly

Issuer iShares Innovator

Strategy covered call defined income

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

Pays monthly quarterly

Payout rate, annualized 8.5% 6.4%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.79%

Cash paid, 1 year 10.0% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) 6.5%

Price change, 1 year +5.1% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +0.8%

Total return, 1 year +15.6% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +7.5%

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

Ahead or behind +4.1 pts (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) −7.3 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 97% 51%

Age 336 days 3.1 years

Net assets, BALQ as of Nov 3, 2026 and OCTH as of Nov 4, 2026 $43m $16m

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 OCTH: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	BALQ	OCTH	BALQ	OCTH	BALQ	OCTH
3 months	−3.8%	+1.2%	2.1%	1.6%	−0.3 pts	+1.4 pts
6 months	+1.3%	+2.9%	5.2%	3.2%	+1.7 pts	−2.2 pts
1 year	–	+7.5%	–	6.5%	–	−7.3 pts
3 years	–	+22.0%	–	20.4%	–	−60.9 pts
Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · OCTH Oct 2023	+15.6%	+23.8%	10.0%	20.7%	+4.1 pts	−62.2 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.

OCTH

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, OCTH paid 6.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +7.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 7.3 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.4%, paid quarterly. Innovator estimates that 51% of the distribution paid Oct 2, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or OCTH?: BALQ charges 0.35% a year and OCTH charges 0.79%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALQ vs ISPY BALQ vs FTHI BALQ vs XYLD BALQ vs GPIX OCTH vs XQQI OCTH vs ROCQ OCTH vs QDTE OCTH vs FTQI

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 →OCTH on its own →BALQ dividend history →BALQ holdings →OCTH dividend history →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 ↗

OCTH filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

OCTH prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

OCTH 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Innovator page for OCTH ↗

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 OCTH, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-octh

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