Data as of .
BALQ vs YQQQ: which paid, and which earned it?
BALQ and YQQQ both write options for income.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BALQ and YQQQ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in BALQ | Only in YQQQ |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA 8.62% | United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 28.76% |
| APPLE 7.63% | United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 28.59% |
| MICROSOFT 6.72% | United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 17.25% |
| MICRON TECHNOLOGY 5.06% | United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 13.01% |
| AMAZON.COM INC 4.76% | United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 7.09% |
| ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.31% | First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 5.94% |
| ALPHABET CLASS A 3.44% | QQQ 10/16/2026 720.02 P 1.66% |
| META PLATFORMS CLASS A 3.31% | QQQ US 09/25/26 P690 0.06% |
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 | YQQQ | BALQ | YQQQ | BALQ | YQQQ | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +5.8% | 2.8% | 6.5% | +1.9 pts | +8.3 pts |
| 6 months | +27.2% | −13.9% | 6.5% | 10.8% | +3.0 pts | −38.2 pts |
| 1 year | not published | −3.5% | not published | 23.1% | not published | −25.3 pts |
| Since launch | +21.4% | −17.6% | 8.5% | 37.0% | +5.3 pts | −71.2 pts |
| BALQ iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | YQQQ YieldMax(R) Short N100 Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on QQQ, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | YieldMax |
| Strategy | covered call | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.9% | 21.3% |
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 1.11% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | 23.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | +11.9% | −25.7% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.4% (since launch on Dec 3, 2025) | −3.5% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.1% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | +5.3 pts | −25.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 0% |
| Age | 289 days | 764 days |
| Net assets | $29m | $27m |
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.
YQQQ in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, YQQQ paid 23.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 25.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −3.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 25.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 21.3%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Sep 18, 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 YQQQ?
- BALQ charges 0.35% a year and YQQQ charges 1.11%, 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 YQQQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/balq-vs-yqqq Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.