Data as of .
BALQ vs XSPI: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and XSPI both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and XSPI hold 55% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BALQ | XSPI |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | 8.62% | 8.50% |
| APPLE | 7.63% | 7.83% |
| MICROSOFT | 6.72% | 5.80% |
| AMAZON.COM INC | 4.76% | 3.94% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A | 3.44% | 3.24% |
| BROADCOM INC | 2.99% | 2.65% |
| ALPHABET CLASS C | 3.09% | 2.57% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A | 3.31% | 2.25% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY | 5.06% | 1.75% |
| TESLA INC | 2.73% | 1.59% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES | 4.31% | 1.40% |
| INTEL CORPORATION | 2.62% | 0.79% |
| Only in BALQ | Only in XSPI |
|---|---|
| BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY 2.70% | Berkshire Hathaway Inc 1.47% |
| CASH COLLATERAL MSFUT USD 1.46% | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 1.47% |
| SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 0.82% | Eli Lilly & Co 1.42% |
| SS AND C TECHNOLOGIES HOLDINGS 0.59% | SPX US 10/16/26 C7500 1.39% |
| ZSCALER 0.45% | ExxonMobil Holdings Corp 1.08% |
| ASTERA LABS 0.36% | Johnson & Johnson 1.02% |
| LIBERTY MEDIA SERIES C 0.35% | Visa Inc 0.94% |
| SENTINELONE INC CLASS A 0.34% | Mastercard Inc 0.71% |
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 Sep 18, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BALQ | XSPI | BALQ | XSPI | BALQ | XSPI | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +3.7% | 2.8% | 4.2% | +1.9 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | +20.0% | 6.5% | 9.2% | +3.0 pts | +1.9 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | +11.6% | 8.5% | 11.1% | +5.3 pts | +0.2 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | XSPI NEOS Boosted S&P 500(R) High Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | NEOS |
| Strategy | covered call | option income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 17.1% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.98% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 11.1% (since launch on Feb 3, 2026) |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | −0.3% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | +11.6% (since launch on Feb 3, 2026) |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +11.3% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | +0.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 99% |
| Age | 289 days | 227 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $113m |
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.
XSPI in plain words
Over the period since launch on Feb 3, 2026 to Sep 18, 2026, XSPI paid 11.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +11.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +11.3% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 17.1%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Jul 10, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, BALQ or XSPI?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and XSPI charges 0.98%, so BALQ 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 XSPI, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-xspi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.