Data as of .
BALQ vs OEI: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and OEI both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and OEI hold 55% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALQ | OEI |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | 8.62% | 8.32% |
| MICROSOFT | 6.72% | 5.99% |
| AMAZON.COM INC | 4.76% | 4.56% |
| APPLE | 7.63% | 4.28% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A | 3.44% | 3.48% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.99% | 3.04% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C | 3.09% | 2.79% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY | 5.06% | 2.57% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A | 3.31% | 2.18% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES | 4.31% | 1.56% |
| CISCO SYSTEMS INC | 2.15% | 1.54% |
| TESLA INC | 2.73% | 1.46% |
| Only in BALQ | Only in OEI |
|---|---|
| BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 2.70% | Johnson & Johnson 2.10% |
| CASH COLLATERAL MSFUT USD 1.46% | ExxonMobil Holdings Corp 2.07% |
| SANDISK 1.19% | Booking Holdings Inc 1.89% |
| MARVELL TECHNOLOGY 1.04% | Eli Lilly & Co 1.80% |
| WESTERN DIGITAL CORP 0.85% | JPMorgan Chase & Co 1.65% |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 0.83% | Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.60% |
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 0.82% | Mastercard Inc 1.57% |
| MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC 0.61% | General Electric Co 1.41% |
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 Jul 31, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | OEI | BALQ | OEI | BALQ | OEI | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +4.8% | 2.8% | 2.3% | +1.9 pts | +2.5 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +12.5% | 6.5% | 4.9% | +3.0 pts | −5.6 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +14.4% | 8.5% | 8.6% | +5.3 pts | −0.9 pts |
| 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), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 9.2% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 1.02% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 8.6% (since launch on Oct 22, 2025) |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | +5.2% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +14.4% (since launch on Oct 22, 2025) |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +15.3% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −0.9 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 289 days | 331 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $46m |
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.
OEI in plain words
Over the period since launch on Oct 22, 2025 to Sep 18, 2026, OEI paid 8.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 5.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +14.4%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +15.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 0.9 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.2%, 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
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 OEI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-oei Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.