Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
BALQ vs ULTY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
BALQ and ULTY both write options for income.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $43m for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF and $576m for YieldMax Ultra Option Income 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% 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, 2026.4.4 pts ahead of its own holdings
ULTY over 1 year: paid 46.0%, price −55.5%, total −12.4%, its own holdings −16.8%, +4.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
its own holdings
−16.8%
ULTY
−12.4%
4.4 pts ahead of its own holdings
Total return, distributions reinvested
4.4 pts ahead of its own holdings
ULTY over 1 year: paid 46.0%, price −55.5%, total −12.4%, its own holdings −16.8%, +4.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
its own holdings
−16.8%
ULTY
−12.4%
46.0% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. ULTY over 1 year: paid 46.0%, price −55.5%, total −12.4%, its own holdings −16.8%, +4.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
BALQ costs 0.95 points a year less; ULTY is 13.4 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | BALQ | ULTY |
|---|---|---|
| Paid and earned | ||
| Total return, 1 year | not published | −12.4% |
| Price change | rose 5.1% (since Dec 3, 2025) | fell 55.5% (1 year) |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 97% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment | 100% 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% | 1.30% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $43m | $576m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 22% | |
Risk and return
Dec 12, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 46 weekly returnsFrom Dec 2025 to Oct 2026, BALQ returned more: +16.8% to −2.0%. BALQ fell less at its worst: −9.3% to −12.5%.
Full scorecard
3 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | BALQ | ULTY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +16.8% | −2.0% | BALQ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Price return | +7.0% | −44.9% | BALQ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Max drawdown | −9.3% | −12.5% | BALQ | 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 ULTY hold 22% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.
half
22% 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 | ULTY | BALQ | ULTY | BALQ | ULTY |
| 3 months | −3.8% | −8.3% | 2.1% | 14.3% | −0.3 pts | +3.4 pts |
| 6 months | +1.3% | −9.9% | 5.2% | 26.6% | +1.7 pts | +1.6 pts |
| 1 year | – | −12.4% | – | 46.0% | – | +4.4 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · ULTY Feb 2024 | +15.6% | −1.9% | 10.0% | 87.9% | +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.
ULTY
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, ULTY paid 46.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 55.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −12.4%. ULTY's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Nov 2, 2026) returned −16.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.4 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 60.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Nov 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).
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.
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ETFIQ, BALQ against ULTY, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-ulty
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). BALQ against ULTY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-ulty
[BALQ against ULTY (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-ulty)
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