Data as of .
BALQ vs QVOL: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and QVOL both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and QVOL hold 53% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALQ | QVOL |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | 8.62% | 8.53% |
| MICROSOFT | 6.72% | 5.05% |
| AMAZON.COM INC | 4.76% | 7.61% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY | 5.06% | 4.53% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES | 4.31% | 6.17% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A | 3.44% | 4.70% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A | 3.31% | 3.14% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C | 3.09% | 4.69% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.99% | 3.42% |
| INTEL CORPORATION | 2.62% | 3.01% |
| APPLE | 7.63% | 2.33% |
| APPLIED MATERIAL INC | 1.90% | 1.52% |
| Only in BALQ | Only in QVOL |
|---|---|
| TESLA INC 2.73% | ASML Holding NV 2.25% |
| BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 2.70% | Netflix Inc 1.90% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP 2.61% | Fortinet Inc 1.66% |
| WALMART INC 2.36% | AppLovin Corp 1.43% |
| PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 1.96% | Booking Holdings Inc 1.40% |
| CASH COLLATERAL MSFUT USD 1.46% | QUALCOMM Inc 1.22% |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 0.83% | Autodesk Inc 1.17% |
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 0.82% | Texas Instruments Inc 1.15% |
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 May 31, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | QVOL | BALQ | QVOL | BALQ | QVOL | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | −3.7% | 2.8% | 3.0% | +1.9 pts | −1.2 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | not published | 6.5% | not published | +3.0 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +4.3% | 8.5% | 4.2% | +5.3 pts | +2.1 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | QVOL Infrastructure Capital Nasdaq Option Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | Infrastructure Capital |
| Strategy | covered call | option income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 12.6% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.82% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 4.2% (since launch on May 12, 2026) |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | 0.0% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +4.3% (since launch on May 12, 2026) |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +2.1% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | +2.1 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 289 days | 129 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $8m |
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.
QVOL in plain words
Over the period since launch on May 12, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026, QVOL paid 4.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +4.3%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +2.1% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 2.1 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.6%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or QVOL?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and QVOL charges 0.82%, 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 QVOL, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-qvol Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.