Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
BALQ vs PCOV: Dividend Yield & Total Return
BALQ and PCOV both write options for income.
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Net assets: $43m on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF, and $10m on Nov 2, 2026 for Principal Equity Premium Income ETF.
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.Not measured
PCOV since launch: paid 1.9%, price −2.0%, total −0.1%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
PCOV
−0.1%
Total return, distributions reinvested
Not measured
PCOV since launch: paid 1.9%, price −2.0%, total −0.1%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
PCOV
−0.1%
1.9% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. PCOV since launch: paid 1.9%, price −2.0%, total −0.1%, not measured against a benchmark. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
PCOV costs 0.01 points a year less; BALQ is 4.3 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | BALQ | PCOV |
|---|---|---|
| Paid and earned | ||
| Price change | rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025) | fell 2.0% (since Aug 19, 2026) |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ | not published |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.34% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $43m | $10m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
Side by side
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
| Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | BALQ | PCOV | BALQ | PCOV | BALQ | PCOV |
| 3 months | −3.8% | – | 2.1% | – | −0.3 pts | – |
| 6 months | +1.3% | – | 5.2% | – | +1.7 pts | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · PCOV Aug 2026 | +15.6% | −0.1% | 10.0% | 1.9% | +4.1 pts | not measured |
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No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for BALQ or PCOV.
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.
PCOV
Over the period from its first trade on Aug 19, 2026 to Nov 4, 2026, PCOV paid 1.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 2.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −0.1%. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 7.2%, paid periodically.
Questions people ask
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How this is computed
Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, BALQ against PCOV, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-pcov
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). BALQ against PCOV. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-pcov
[BALQ against PCOV (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-pcov)
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