Data as of .
BALQ vs SCLZ: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and SCLZ both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and SCLZ hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALQ | SCLZ |
|---|---|---|
| AMAZON.COM INC | 4.76% | 3.75% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.99% | 4.71% |
| CISCO SYSTEMS INC | 2.15% | 3.01% |
| TESLA INC | 2.73% | 1.80% |
| WALMART INC | 2.36% | 1.48% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP | 2.61% | 0.90% |
| MCDONALDS CORP | 0.30% | 0.78% |
| CATERPILLAR INC | 0.29% | 1.84% |
| ALTRIA GROUP INC | 0.22% | 0.41% |
| FREEPORT MCMORAN INC | 0.14% | 0.10% |
| Only in BALQ | Only in SCLZ |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA 8.62% | MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC 7.89% |
| APPLE 7.63% | APPLE INC 6.15% |
| MICROSOFT 6.72% | NVIDIA CORP 5.99% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06% | ALPHABET INC 5.18% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.31% | ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC 5.14% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44% | ELI LILLY & COMPANY 3.86% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31% | MICROSOFT CORP 3.71% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C 3.09% | JP MORGAN CHASE & COMPANY 3.50% |
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 Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | SCLZ | BALQ | SCLZ | BALQ | SCLZ | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +2.9% | 2.8% | 2.1% | +1.9 pts | −3.6 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +14.2% | 6.5% | 3.8% | +3.0 pts | +1.6 pts |
| 1 year | not published | +13.2% | not published | 8.4% | not published | −14.0 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +36.5% | 8.5% | 19.6% | +5.3 pts | −6.3 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | SCLZ Swan Enhanced Dividend Income ETF Dividend stocks with call overlay on SCHD, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | Swan |
| Strategy | covered call | dividend stocks with call overlay |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | US dividend stocks (SCHD), used as the dividend proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 8.5% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.79% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 8.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | +4.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +13.2% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +27.2% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −14.0 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 289 days | 934 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $20m |
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.
SCLZ in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SCLZ paid 8.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.2%. US dividend stocks (SCHD), used as the dividend proxy returned +27.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 14.0 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.5%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or SCLZ?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and SCLZ charges 0.79%, 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 SCLZ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-sclz Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.