Which is cheaper, BALQ or RDVI?

BALQ charges 0.35% a year and RDVI charges 0.75%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

BALQ vs RDVI: Dividend Yield & Total Return

BALQ and RDVI both write options for income.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $43m for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF and $3.9bn for FT Vest Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF.

BALQ on its own →RDVI on its own →

At a glance

10.0%

BALQ cash paid, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

9.1%

RDVI cash paid, 1 year

+15.6%

BALQ total return, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

+22.0%

RDVI 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%

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.

RDVI · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 About even with RDVY

RDVI

+22.0%

RDVY

+22.2%

About even with RDVY

RDVI over 1 year: paid 9.1%, price +12.2%, total +22.0%, RDVY +22.2%, −0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

RDVY

+22.2%

RDVI

+22.0%

9.1% of it arrived as cash

about even with RDVY

Total return, distributions reinvested

About even with RDVY

RDVI over 1 year: paid 9.1%, price +12.2%, total +22.0%, RDVY +22.2%, −0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

RDVY

+22.2%

RDVI

+22.0%

about even with RDVY

9.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +22.2%. RDVI over 1 year: paid 9.1%, price +12.2%, total +22.0%, RDVY +22.2%, −0.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +22.2%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

BALQ costs 0.40 points a year less; RDVI is far larger, $3.9bn against $43m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALQ vs RDVI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	BALQ	RDVI
Paid and earned
Measure	BALQ	RDVI
Total return, 1 year	not published	+22.0%
Price change	rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025)	rose 12.2% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment	40% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	BALQ	RDVI
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF, measured through RDVY
Cost and size
Measure	BALQ	RDVI
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.75%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$43m	$3.9bn
Holdings
Measure	BALQ	RDVI
Holdings in common	19%

Method

What they share

19%

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and RDVI hold 19% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

19% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BALQ RDVI

MICROSOFT 7.46% 2.16%

COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP 3.46% 2.02%

NVIDIA 8.33% 2.00%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.09% 1.89%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.74% 1.83%

APPLIED MATERIAL INC 1.71% 1.97%

LAM RESEARCH 1.64% 1.84%

APPLE 7.82% 1.63%

ALPHABET CLASS A 2.75% 1.57%

INTUIT 0.72% 0.49%

QUALCOMM 1.18% 0.49%

CISCO SYSTEMS INC 2.30% 0.48%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BALQ

AMAZON.COM INC 5.04%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.10%

BROADCOM INC 2.99%

WALMART 2.97%

TESLA INC 2.88%

ALPHABET CLASS C 2.44%

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.10%

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 2.02%

Only in RDVI

The Travelers Companies, Inc. 2.39%

Accenture plc 2.35%

Visa Inc. (Class A) 2.35%

Veralto Corporation 2.34%

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. 2.32%

The Allstate Corporation 2.23%

Expedia Group, Inc. 2.17%

Chubb Limited 2.16%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly RDVI FT Vest Rising Dividend Achievers Target Income ETF · Writes calls on the S&P 500, measured against the Nasdaq US Rising Dividend Achievers Index, paying monthly

Issuer iShares First Trust

Strategy covered call dividend stocks with call overlay

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.5% 8.3%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.75%

Cash paid, 1 year 10.0% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) 9.1%

Price change, 1 year +5.1% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +12.2%

Total return, 1 year +15.6% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +22.0%

Benchmark return, 1 year +11.5% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +22.2%

Ahead or behind +4.1 pts (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) −0.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 97% 40%

Age 336 days 4.0 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $43m $3.9bn

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 RDVI: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	BALQ	RDVI	BALQ	RDVI	BALQ	RDVI
3 months	−3.8%	−1.9%	2.1%	2.0%	−0.3 pts	+0.6 pts
6 months	+1.3%	+7.9%	5.2%	4.3%	+1.7 pts	+0.1 pts
1 year	–	+22.0%	–	9.1%	–	−0.2 pts
3 years	–	+76.0%	–	30.9%	–	−6.4 pts
Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · RDVI Oct 2022	+15.6%	+106.5%	10.0%	43.0%	+4.1 pts	−8.4 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.

RDVI

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, RDVI paid 9.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 12.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +22.0%. First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) returned +22.2% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.3%, paid monthly. First Trust estimates that 40% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or RDVI?: BALQ charges 0.35% a year and RDVI charges 0.75%, so BALQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALQ vs KNG BALQ vs SDVD BALQ vs FEPI BALQ vs PAPI RDVI vs IQQQ RDVI vs XQQI RDVI vs ROCQ RDVI vs KIQQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →First Trust Rising Dividend Achievers ETF (RDVY) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →BALQ on its own →RDVI on its own →BALQ dividend history →BALQ holdings →RDVI dividend history →RDVI 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 ↗

RDVI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

RDVI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

RDVI 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

First Trust page for RDVI ↗

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 RDVI, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-rdvi

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