Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
BALQ vs SIXH: Dividend Yield & Total Return
BALQ and SIXH both write options for income.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about BALQ and SIXH
Net assets: $43m on Nov 3, 2026 for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF, and $603m on Aug 31, 2026 for ETC 6 Meridian Hedged Equity-Index Option Strategy ETF.
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, 2026.5.5 pts ahead of its own holdings
SIXH over 1 year: paid 2.1%, price +21.2%, total +23.5%, its own holdings +18.0%, +5.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
its own holdings
+18.0%
SIXH
+23.5%
5.5 pts ahead of its own holdings
Total return, distributions reinvested
5.5 pts ahead of its own holdings
SIXH over 1 year: paid 2.1%, price +21.2%, total +23.5%, its own holdings +18.0%, +5.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
its own holdings
+18.0%
SIXH
+23.5%
2.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +23.5%. SIXH over 1 year: paid 2.1%, price +21.2%, total +23.5%, its own holdings +18.0%, +5.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Both charts share one scale, 0 to +23.5%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
BALQ costs 0.34 points a year less.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | BALQ | SIXH |
|---|---|---|
| Paid and earned | ||
| Total return, 1 year | not published | +23.5% |
| Price change | rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025) | rose 21.2% (1 year) |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ | its own holdings |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.69% |
| Net assets, BALQ as of Nov 3, 2026 and SIXH as of Aug 31, 2026 | $43m | $603m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 25% | |
Risk and return
Dec 12, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 46 weekly returnsFrom Dec 2025 to Oct 2026, SIXH returned slightly more: +18.5% to +16.8%. SIXH fell less at its worst: −3.4% to −9.3%.
Full scorecard
3 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | BALQ | SIXH | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +16.8% | +18.5% | SIXH (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Price return | +7.0% | +16.4% | SIXH | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Max drawdown | −9.3% | −3.4% | SIXH | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 46 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and SIXH hold 25% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.
half
25% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
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
| Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | BALQ | SIXH | BALQ | SIXH | BALQ | SIXH |
| 3 months | −3.8% | +6.0% | 2.1% | 0.5% | −0.3 pts | +1.8 pts |
| 6 months | +1.3% | +10.3% | 5.2% | 1.0% | +1.7 pts | +3.5 pts |
| 1 year | – | +23.5% | – | 2.1% | – | +5.5 pts |
| 3 years | – | +47.6% | – | 6.8% | – | not measured |
| Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · SIXH May 2020 | +15.6% | +104.1% | 10.0% | 16.7% | +4.1 pts | not measured |
– means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →
No client brief for this pair: ETFIQ prints no one-year total return for BALQ.
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.
SIXH
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SIXH paid 2.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 21.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +23.5%. SIXH's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Aug 31, 2026) returned +18.0% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 5.5 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 3.2%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
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 SIXH, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-sixh
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). BALQ against SIXH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-sixh
[BALQ against SIXH (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-sixh)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.