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BALQ

GradeANASDAQ Global Market

iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF

Option Income · IShares · Inception 2025-12-01 · SEC filings

$57.16−0.43 (−0.75%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:20 PM EDT

History starts Dec 4, 2025.History starts Dec 4, 2025.
Intraday session: down, 46 prints from 57.60 to 57.16. Range 56.91 to 57.65. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$57.00$57.40$57.6010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.35%
Fund size
$30M
1Y return
—
Yield · Last 12 months
Data unavailable
Holdings
110
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$57.33
52W range
low $44.52high $58.29

The ETF.net BALQ Grade

A

72/ 100

Rank 8 of 31 in Nasdaq-100 Option Income⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for BALQ. Scores out of 100: Cost 87, Risk 37, Mission 100, Tradability 51, Holdings 55, Durability 51. Strongest: Mission (100). Weakest: Risk (37). Leans toward Mission.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 72 of 100 sits in the A band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    AScore 87
    Category rank3/31 · top 10%

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    AScore 100
    Category rank1/19 · top 5%

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    DScore 37
    Category rank21/30 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 51
    Category rank13/31 · top 42%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 55
    Category rank13/23 · mid-pack

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    CScore 51
    Category rank16/31 · mid-pack

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on BALQ

ETF.net Research

ABlackRock's late entry into the crowded Nasdaq-100 income ring, and it competes on price at 0.35% a year. Holds stocks, sells index calls for premium, then buys index futures to keep some of the upside those calls give away.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks current income while considering capital appreciation. Its actively managed strategy holds equities, writes Nasdaq-100 Index call options, and buys Nasdaq-100 Index futures.

Why people hold it

  1. 010.35% a year sits well under the typical Nasdaq-100 income fund and matches the cheapest large names in the group, GPIQ and JEPQ.
  2. 02The futures sleeve is the twist: it writes Nasdaq-100 calls for premium, then buys Nasdaq-100 futures to add back exposure those calls sold off.ishares.com
  3. 03Actively managed, not a fixed monthly formula. Managers set the option book and the equity sleeve, roughly 110 positions.
  4. 04Income is the stated first job, with capital appreciation a secondary consideration, and the fund's income policy is monthly.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Launched December 2025, so there is no long record of how this option book behaves through a real Nasdaq drawdown.
  2. 02Small and thinly traded next to the established names here, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads.
  3. 03The fund discloses that payouts can include return of capital, meaning part of a distribution may be your own money coming back.ishares.com

BALQ Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 5:16 AM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
110
Top-10 weight
50%
Largest holding
NVDA8.6%

Geography

  • United States99.31%
  • Bermuda0.29%
  • Sweden0.17%
  • Australia0.13%
  • Cayman Islands0.10%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 8.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001NVDANVIDIA8.62%11,294$3M828
002AAPLAPPLE7.63%6,610$2M707
003MSFTMICROSOFT6.72%3,961$2M792
004MUMICRON TECHNOLOGY5.06%1,449$1M655
005AMZNAMAZON.COM INC4.76%5,458$1M720
006AMDADVANCED MICRO DEVICES4.31%2,240$1M618
007GOOGLALPHABET CLASS A3.44%2,864$1M704
008METAMETA PLATFORMS CLASS A3.31%1,449$965K683
009GOOGALPHABET CLASS C3.09%2,615$901K471
010AVGOBROADCOM INC2.99%2,434$870K732
011TSLATESLA INC2.73%2,178$793K509
012—BLK CSH FND TREASURY SL AGENCY2.70%785,896$786K440
013INTCINTEL CORPORATION2.62%7,019$762K492
014COSTCOSTCO WHOLESALE CORP2.61%850$761K465
015WMTWALMART INC2.36%6,437$687K462

Showing 1–15 of 114 holdings

BALQ Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

BALQ$12,551
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,430
Dec 31, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. BALQ $12,551. SPY $11,430. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$8,899$10,860$12,821Dec 2025May 2026Sep 2026

Dec 31, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for BALQ. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodBALQ
Year to date+25.5%
1 month+4.9%
3 months+2.6%
1 yearFund is under 1 year old—
3 yearsFund is under 3 years old—per year
5 yearsFund is under 5 years old—per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old—per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for BALQ
YearReturn barBALQ
2026 YTD+25.5%
2025−0.4%

History from Dec 4, 2025

BALQ in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on BALQ yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

BALQ Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Sep 22, 2026.
Data unavailableLast 12 months
Payout per share
Data unavailableLast 12 months
Last payment
$0.41 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Monthly

Distribution data unavailable.

Distribution history

2025–2026

One bar per payment. 9 payments from 2025 to 2026 YTD. Dec 30, 2025 $0.47; Feb 2, 2026 $0.35; Mar 2, 2026 $0.43; Apr 1, 2026 $0.55; May 1, 2026 $0.37; Jun 1, 2026 $0.49; Jul 1, 2026 $0.69; Aug 3, 2026 $0.51; Sep 1, 2026 $0.41. Use the arrow keys to read each point.20252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Sep 1, 2026Sep 4, 2026$0.41
Aug 3, 2026Aug 6, 2026$0.51
Jul 1, 2026Jul 7, 2026$0.69
Jun 1, 2026Jun 4, 2026$0.49
May 1, 2026May 6, 2026$0.37
Apr 1, 2026Apr 7, 2026$0.55
Mar 2, 2026Mar 5, 2026$0.43
Feb 2, 2026Feb 5, 2026$0.35
Dec 30, 2025Jan 5, 2026$0.47

BALQ Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
—
Launched Dec 2025; fills in after 12 months
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
—
Launched Dec 2025; fills in after 12 months
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
—
Launched Dec 2025; fills in after 12 months
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
1.45
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

BALQ Cost

Expense ratio0.35%
  • The middle half of Nasdaq-100 Option Income funds
  • Median 0.74%

2 of the 31 Nasdaq-100 Option Income funds charge less.

BALQ costs $35.00 a year on $10,000. The median Nasdaq-100 Option Income fund costs $74.00.