Data as of .
BALQ vs QUSA: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and QUSA both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and QUSA hold 40% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALQ | QUSA |
|---|---|---|
| MICROSOFT | 6.83% | 6.08% |
| APPLE | 7.72% | 5.99% |
| NVIDIA | 8.58% | 5.78% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A | 3.43% | 4.28% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.93% | 4.70% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP | 2.63% | 4.40% |
| WALMART INC | 2.38% | 4.17% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A | 3.45% | 2.22% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C | 3.11% | 1.84% |
| LAM RESEARCH | 1.83% | 3.47% |
| APPLIED MATERIAL INC | 1.80% | 2.61% |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP | 0.84% | 1.76% |
| Only in BALQ | Only in QUSA |
|---|---|
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.91% | Berkshire Hathaway Inc 5.35% |
| AMAZON.COM INC 4.75% | Eli Lilly & Co 4.24% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.23% | Netflix Inc 3.79% |
| BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 3.15% | Visa Inc 3.37% |
| TESLA INC 2.76% | Blackrock Inc 2.99% |
| INTEL CORPORATION 2.65% | Johnson & Johnson 2.93% |
| CISCO SYSTEMS INC 2.19% | GE AEROSPACE 2.75% |
| PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 1.96% | KLA CORP 2.69% |
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 Sep 17, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | QUSA | BALQ | QUSA | BALQ | QUSA | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | −1.9% | 2.8% | 3.6% | +1.9 pts | −3.6 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +10.4% | 6.5% | 7.8% | +3.0 pts | −4.3 pts |
| 1 year | not published | +3.5% | not published | 13.8% | not published | −11.7 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +4.9% | 8.5% | 15.1% | +5.3 pts | −25.8 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | QUSA VistaShares Target 15 USA Quality Income ETF Covered call on QUAL, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | VistaShares |
| Strategy | covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | USA Quality (QUAL), used as the quality proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 15.3% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.97% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 13.8% |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | −11.0% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +3.5% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +15.2% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −11.7 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 289 days | 500 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $22m |
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.
QUSA in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QUSA paid 13.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 11.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.5%. USA Quality (QUAL), used as the quality proxy returned +15.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.7 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 15.3%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or QUSA?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and QUSA charges 0.97%, 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 QUSA, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-qusa Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.