Which is cheaper, BALQ or OEI?

BALQ charges 0.35% a year and OEI charges 1.02%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

BALQ vs OEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

BALQ and OEI both write options for income.

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Net assets: $43m on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF, and $46m on Jul 31, 2026 for Optimized Equity Income ETF.

BALQ on its own →OEI on its own →

At a glance

10.0%

BALQ cash paid, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

9.2%

OEI cash paid, 1 year

+15.6%

BALQ total return, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

+12.9%

OEI 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.

OEI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 1.9 pts behind SPY

OEI

+12.9%

SPY

+14.8%

1.9 pts behind SPY

OEI over 1 year: paid 9.2%, price +3.0%, total +12.9%, SPY +14.8%, −1.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

OEI

+12.9%

9.2% of it arrived as cash

1.9 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.9 pts behind SPY

OEI over 1 year: paid 9.2%, price +3.0%, total +12.9%, SPY +14.8%, −1.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

OEI

+12.9%

9.2% cash

1.9 pts behind SPY

9.2% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. OEI over 1 year: paid 9.2%, price +3.0%, total +12.9%, SPY +14.8%, −1.9 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

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

Pair scorecard

BALQ costs 0.67 points a year less.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALQ vs OEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	BALQ	OEI
Paid and earned
Measure	BALQ	OEI
Total return, 1 year	not published	+12.9%
Price change	rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025)	rose 3.0% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	BALQ	OEI
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	BALQ	OEI
Expense ratio	0.35%	1.02%
Net assets, BALQ as of Nov 3, 2026 and OEI as of Jul 31, 2026	$43m	$46m
Holdings
Measure	BALQ	OEI
Holdings in common	54%

Method

What they share

54%

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and OEI hold 54% 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

54% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BALQ OEI

NVIDIA 8.33% 8.22%

MICROSOFT 7.46% 5.93%

AMAZON.COM INC 5.04% 4.51%

APPLE 7.82% 4.23%

BROADCOM INC 2.99% 3.01%

ALPHABET CLASS A 2.75% 3.44%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.74% 2.54%

ALPHABET CLASS C 2.44% 2.76%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.09% 2.15%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.10% 1.54%

CISCO SYSTEMS INC 2.30% 1.52%

TESLA INC 2.88% 1.44%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BALQ

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.10%

VALERO ENERGY CORP 0.79%

LOCKHEED MARTIN 0.65%

NEUROCRINE BIOSCIENCES 0.48%

TRANSDIGM GROUP 0.48%

MKS 0.44%

UNITED PARCEL SERVICE INC CLASS B 0.43%

PHILLIPS 66 0.42%

Only in OEI

Johnson & Johnson 2.08%

ExxonMobil Holdings Corp 2.04%

Booking Holdings Inc 1.86%

Eli Lilly & Co 1.78%

JPMorgan Chase & Co 1.63%

Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.58%

Mastercard Inc 1.55%

General Electric Co 1.39%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly OEI Optimized Equity Income ETF · Option income on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer iShares Core Alternative

Strategy covered call option income

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

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.5% 9.6%

Expense ratio 0.35% 1.02%

Cash paid, 1 year 10.0% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) 9.2%

Price change, 1 year +5.1% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +3.0%

Total return, 1 year +15.6% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +12.9%

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

Ahead or behind +4.1 pts (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) −1.9 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 97% not published

Age 336 days 1.0 years

Net assets, BALQ as of Nov 3, 2026 and OEI as of Jul 31, 2026 $43m $46m

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 OEI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	BALQ	OEI	BALQ	OEI	BALQ	OEI
3 months	−3.8%	+3.3%	2.1%	2.4%	−0.3 pts	+3.4 pts
6 months	+1.3%	+6.3%	5.2%	4.7%	+1.7 pts	+1.3 pts
1 year	–	+12.9%	–	9.2%	–	−1.9 pts
Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · OEI Oct 2025	+15.6%	+15.0%	10.0%	9.4%	+4.1 pts	−1.1 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.

OEI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, OEI paid 9.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.9 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.6%, paid monthly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or OEI?: BALQ charges 0.35% a year and OEI charges 1.02%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALQ vs SPIN BALQ vs XRMI BALQ vs BIGY BALQ vs WDTE OEI vs ROCQ OEI vs KIQQ OEI vs QDTE OEI 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 →OEI on its own →BALQ dividend history →BALQ holdings →OEI dividend history →OEI 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 ↗

OEI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

OEI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Core Alternative 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 OEI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-oei

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