Data as of .
BALQ vs TCAL: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and TCAL both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and TCAL hold 9% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALQ | TCAL |
|---|---|---|
| AMAZON.COM INC | 4.76% | 1.53% |
| COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP | 2.61% | 1.20% |
| CISCO SYSTEMS INC | 2.15% | 1.14% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES | 4.31% | 1.04% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.99% | 0.95% |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP | 0.83% | 1.60% |
| WALMART INC | 2.36% | 0.77% |
| ABBOTT LABORATORIES | 0.33% | 1.08% |
| MORGAN STANLEY | 0.33% | 0.37% |
| MCDONALDS CORP | 0.30% | 1.70% |
| MERCK & CO INC | 0.29% | 0.39% |
| UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC | 0.29% | 0.50% |
| Only in BALQ | Only in TCAL |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA 8.62% | DANAHER CORP 2.01% |
| APPLE 7.63% | WATERS CORP 1.97% |
| MICROSOFT 6.72% | VERALTO CORP 1.87% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06% | WASTE CONNECTIONS INC 1.80% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44% | YUM BRANDS INC 1.72% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31% | VISA INC-CLASS A SHARES 1.69% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C 3.09% | LINDE PLC 1.63% |
| TESLA INC 2.73% | NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 1.56% |
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 | TCAL | BALQ | TCAL | BALQ | TCAL | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +4.2% | 2.8% | 3.5% | +1.9 pts | +1.9 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +5.3% | 6.5% | 6.3% | +3.0 pts | −12.7 pts |
| 1 year | not published | +3.0% | not published | 11.4% | not published | −13.5 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +3.9% | 8.5% | 15.2% | +5.3 pts | −32.7 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | TCAL T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Premium Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | T. Rowe Price |
| Strategy | covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 9.4% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.34% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 11.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | −8.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +3.0% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −13.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 289 days | 540 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $276m |
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.
TCAL in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, TCAL paid 11.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 8.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.0%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 13.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.4%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or TCAL?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and TCAL charges 0.34%, so TCAL 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 TCAL, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-tcal Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.