Data as of .
BALQ vs OCTJ: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and OCTJ both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and OCTJ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in BALQ | Only in OCTJ |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA 8.62% | TREASURY BILL 98.69% |
| APPLE 7.63% | TREASURY BILL 1.31% |
| MICROSOFT 6.72% | |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06% | |
| AMAZON.COM INC 4.76% | |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.31% | |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44% | |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31% |
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 Apr 30, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | OCTJ | BALQ | OCTJ | BALQ | OCTJ | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +1.1% | 2.8% | 1.3% | +1.9 pts | −1.1 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +4.0% | 6.5% | 2.7% | +3.0 pts | −14.1 pts |
| 1 year | not published | +5.5% | not published | 5.2% | not published | −11.1 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +18.9% | 8.5% | 15.9% | +5.3 pts | −66.0 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | OCTJ Innovator Premium Income 30 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 | 8.9% | 5.3% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.79% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 5.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | +0.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +5.5% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −11.1 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 289 days | 1082 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $15m |
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.
OCTJ in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, OCTJ paid 5.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.1 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.3%, paid quarterly.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or OCTJ?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and OCTJ charges 0.79%, 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 OCTJ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-octj Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.