Which is cheaper, BALQ or SPIN?

BALQ charges 0.35% a year and SPIN charges 0.25%, so SPIN is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

BALQ vs SPIN: Dividend Yield & Total Return

BALQ and SPIN both write options for income.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $43m for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF and $45m for State Street US Equity Premium Income ETF.

BALQ on its own →SPIN on its own →

At a glance

10.0%

BALQ cash paid, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

5.1%

SPIN cash paid, 1 year

+15.6%

BALQ total return, since launch, Dec 3, 2025

+9.3%

SPIN 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%

10.0% cash

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.

SPIN · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 5.5 pts behind SPY

SPIN

+9.3%

SPY

+14.8%

5.5 pts behind SPY

SPIN over 1 year: paid 5.1%, price +3.9%, total +9.3%, SPY +14.8%, −5.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

SPIN

+9.3%

5.1% of it arrived as cash

5.5 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

5.5 pts behind SPY

SPIN over 1 year: paid 5.1%, price +3.9%, total +9.3%, SPY +14.8%, −5.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

SPIN

+9.3%

5.5 pts behind SPY

5.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. SPIN over 1 year: paid 5.1%, price +3.9%, total +9.3%, SPY +14.8%, −5.5 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +15.6%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

SPIN costs 0.10 points a year less.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

BALQ vs SPIN: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	BALQ	SPIN
Paid and earned
Measure	BALQ	SPIN
Total return, 1 year	not published	+9.3%
Price change	rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025)	rose 3.9% (1 year)
Return of capital, issuer estimate	97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment	97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	BALQ	SPIN
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Measure	BALQ	SPIN
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.25%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$43m	$45m
Holdings
Measure	BALQ	SPIN
Holdings in common	48%

Method

What they share

48%

By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and SPIN hold 48% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

48% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first BALQ SPIN

NVIDIA 8.33% 9.22%

MICROSOFT 7.46% 7.47%

APPLE 7.82% 6.03%

AMAZON.COM INC 5.04% 4.87%

BROADCOM INC 2.99% 3.37%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.09% 2.93%

ALPHABET CLASS A 2.75% 4.59%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 4.74% 2.50%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.10% 1.94%

APPLIED MATERIAL INC 1.71% 1.41%

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP 0.82% 0.74%

WALMART 2.97% 0.74%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in BALQ

CISCO SYSTEMS INC 2.30%

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.10%

INTEL CORPORATION 1.71%

QUALCOMM 1.18%

VALERO ENERGY CORP 0.79%

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC 0.74%

INTUIT 0.72%

ADOBE INC 0.71%

Only in SPIN

ELI LILLY + CO 2.50%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 2.28%

JPMORGAN CHASE + CO 2.13%

JOHNSON + JOHNSON 1.87%

VISA INC CLASS A SHARES 1.73%

AMPHENOL CORP CL A 1.41%

HOME DEPOT INC 1.39%

EMERSON ELECTRIC CO 1.30%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly SPIN State Street US Equity Premium Income ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly

Issuer iShares State Street

Strategy covered call covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) S&P 500 (SPY)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 8.5% 5.5%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.25%

Cash paid, 1 year 10.0% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) 5.1%

Price change, 1 year +5.1% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +3.9%

Total return, 1 year +15.6% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +9.3%

Benchmark return, 1 year +11.5% (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) +14.8%

Ahead or behind +4.1 pts (since launch, Dec 3, 2025) −5.5 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 97% 97%

Age 336 days 2.2 years

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $43m $45m

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 SPIN: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	BALQ	SPIN	BALQ	SPIN	BALQ	SPIN
3 months	−3.8%	+0.8%	2.1%	0.9%	−0.3 pts	+0.9 pts
6 months	+1.3%	+6.0%	5.2%	1.9%	+1.7 pts	+1.0 pts
1 year	–	+9.3%	–	5.1%	–	−5.5 pts
Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · SPIN Sep 2024	+15.6%	+30.3%	10.0%	16.0%	+4.1 pts	−12.9 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.

SPIN

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SPIN paid 5.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.9%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.3%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.5 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.5%, paid monthly. State Street estimates that 97% of the distribution paid Nov 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which is cheaper, BALQ or SPIN?: BALQ charges 0.35% a year and SPIN charges 0.25%, so SPIN is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BALQ vs SEPI BALQ vs NLSI BALQ vs TPRY BALQ vs GPIX SPIN vs ROCQ SPIN vs KIQQ SPIN vs QDTE SPIN vs FTQI

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →S&P 500 (SPY) →All income ETFs ranked by the Distribution Coverage Score →How the scores are computed →BALQ on its own →SPIN on its own →BALQ dividend history →BALQ holdings →SPIN dividend history →SPIN 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 ↗

SPIN filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SPIN prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SPIN 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

State Street website ↗

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

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