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Data as of .

BALQ vs SIXH: which paid, and which earned it?

BALQ and SIXH both write options for income.

iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF and ETC 6 Meridian Hedged Equity-Index Option Strategy ETF.

8.5%BALQ cash paid, 1 year
2.0%SIXH cash paid, 1 year
+21.4%BALQ total return, 1 year
+16.3%SIXH total return, 1 year
BALQ5.3 pts ahead of QQQ · since launch to Sep 18, 2026
QQQ+16.1%BALQ+21.4%8.5% of it arrived as cash5.3 pts ahead of QQQTotal return, distributions reinvestedQQQ+16.1%BALQ+21.4%5.3 pts ahead of QQQ
SIXHAbout even with SPY · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
SPY+16.6%SIXH+16.3%about even with SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+16.6%SIXH+16.3%about even with SPY

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and SIXH hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions BALQ and SIXH both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingBALQSIXH
BROADCOM INC2.99%1.35%
AMAZON.COM INC4.76%1.29%
WALMART INC2.36%1.11%
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC0.52%3.77%
CATERPILLAR INC0.29%1.24%
MERCK & CO INC0.29%1.37%
ALTRIA GROUP INC0.22%4.83%
Only in each
Only in BALQOnly in SIXH
NVIDIA 8.62%Philip Morris International Inc. 4.07%
APPLE 7.63%SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 3.74%
MICROSOFT 6.72%AT&T INC. 3.59%
MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06%QUALCOMM INCORPORATED 3.53%
ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.31%Pepsico, Inc. 3.44%
ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44%LAM RESEARCH CORPORATION 3.11%
META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31%NVIDIA CORPORATION 2.67%
ALPHABET CLASS C 3.09%COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY 2.66%

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

BALQ and SIXH over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
BALQSIXHBALQSIXHBALQSIXH
3 months−0.5%+4.5%2.8%0.5%+1.9 pts+2.2 pts
6 months+27.2%+7.4%6.5%0.9%+3.0 pts−10.6 pts
1 yearnot published+16.3%not published2.0%not published−0.3 pts
3 yearsnot published+43.8%not published6.6%not published−34.6 pts
Since launch+21.4%+96.3%8.5%16.0%+5.3 pts−88.5 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
BALQ and SIXH on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
BALQ
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF
Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly
SIXH
ETC 6 Meridian Hedged Equity-Index Option Strategy ETF
Option income on SPY, paying monthly
IssueriSharesExchange Traded Concepts
Strategycovered calloption income
BenchmarkNasdaq-100 (QQQ)S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy
Paysmonthlymonthly
Payout rate, annualized8.9%0.4%
Expense ratio0.35%0.69%
Cash paid, 1 year8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025)2.0%
Price change, 1 year+11.9%+14.1%
Total return, 1 year+21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025)+16.3%
Benchmark return, 1 year+16.1%+16.6%
Ahead or behind+5.3 pts−0.3 pts
Return of capital, latest estimatenot publishednot published
Age289 days2321 days
Net assets$29m$543m

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.

SIXH in plain words

Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SIXH paid 2.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 14.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.3%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 0.4%, paid monthly.

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or SIXH?
BALQ charges 0.35% a year and SIXH charges 0.69%, 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.

BALQ against SIXH, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, BALQ against SIXH, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-sixh Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources