BALQ vs VAIE: Dividend Yield & Total Return
BALQ and VAIE both write options for income. Net assets: $36m on Oct 20, 2026 for iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF, and $67m on Oct 19, 2026 for VegaShares US Equity Autocallable Income ETF.
BALQ costs 0.39 points a year less; VAIE is 1.8 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| BALQ | VAIE | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.74% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 19, 2026 | $36m | $67m |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ | not published |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| Price change | rose 10.2% (since Dec 3, 2025) | fell 3.6% (since May 12, 2026) |
4.7 pts ahead of QQQ
BALQ since launch: paid 9.3%, price +10.2%, total +20.3%, QQQ +15.6%, +4.7 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
QQQ
+15.6%
BALQ
+20.3%
9.3% of it arrived as cash
4.7 pts ahead of QQQ
Total return, distributions reinvested
4.7 pts ahead of QQQ
BALQ since launch: paid 9.3%, price +10.2%, total +20.3%, QQQ +15.6%, +4.7 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
QQQ
+15.6%
BALQ
+20.3%
4.7 pts ahead of QQQ
9.3% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. BALQ since launch: paid 9.3%, price +10.2%, total +20.3%, QQQ +15.6%, +4.7 pts. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
Not measured
VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
VAIE
+3.3%
6.8% as cash
Total return, distributions reinvested
Not measured
VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
VAIE
+3.3%
6.8% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. VAIE since launch: paid 6.8%, price −3.6%, total +3.3%, not measured against a benchmark. Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
Figures to Oct 20, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | BALQ | VAIE | BALQ | VAIE | BALQ | VAIE |
| 3 months | +1.7% | +2.5% | 2.3% | 4.1% | +0.4 pts | not measured |
| 6 months | +13.9% | – | 5.6% | – | +2.3 pts | – |
| Since launch Not the same days: BALQ Dec 2025 · VAIE May 2026 | +20.3% | +3.3% | 9.3% | 6.8% | +4.7 pts | not measured |
Source: ETFIQ. – means no data for this window, usually because the fund is younger than it. Open this comparison in the app →
On the same fields
As of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid is what the fund distributed over the window, as a share of its price at the start. Payout rate is its latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.
About BALQ
Over the period from its first trade on Dec 3, 2025 to Oct 20, 2026, BALQ paid 9.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 10.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +20.3%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +15.6% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.7 pts. At its price on Oct 20, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.0%, paid monthly.
About VAIE
Over the period from its first trade on May 12, 2026 to Oct 20, 2026, VAIE paid 6.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 3.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.3%. At its price on Oct 20, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 16.8%, paid weekly.
Questions people ask
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How this is computed
Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
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ETFIQ, BALQ against VAIE, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-vaie
ETFIQ. (Oct 20, 2026). BALQ against VAIE. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-vaie
[BALQ against VAIE (ETFIQ, Oct 20, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-vaie)
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