Data as of .
BALQ vs SDTY: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and SDTY both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and SDTY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in BALQ | Only in SDTY |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA 8.62% | SPX 12/18/2026 1200.26 C 88.32% |
| APPLE 7.63% | First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 8.93% |
| MICROSOFT 6.72% | United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 2.55% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06% | United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 0.10% |
| AMAZON.COM INC 4.76% | United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 0.09% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.31% | |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44% | |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31% |
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 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | SDTY | BALQ | SDTY | BALQ | SDTY | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +3.2% | 2.8% | 5.9% | +1.9 pts | +1.0 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +16.5% | 6.5% | 13.7% | +3.0 pts | −1.6 pts |
| 1 year | not published | +15.8% | not published | 24.4% | not published | −0.8 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +22.3% | 8.5% | 35.4% | +5.3 pts | −5.8 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | SDTY YieldMax(R) S&P 500 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF 0DTE covered call on SPY, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | YieldMax |
| Strategy | covered call | 0DTE covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 19.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 1.08% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 24.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | −10.8% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +15.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −0.8 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 289 days | 589 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $28m |
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.
SDTY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SDTY paid 24.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 10.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 0.8 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.8%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 17, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or SDTY?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and SDTY charges 1.08%, 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 SDTY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-sdty Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.