BALI vs FTHI: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF

BALIACboe

First Trust BuyWrite Income ETF

FTHIBNasdaq

Overlap

44.2%by weight

Expense ratio

BALI −0.40pt a year

BALI0.35%FTHI0.75%

Avg volume · 30D

FTHI 1.9×the volume

BALI373KFTHI726K

3Y return · a year

BALI +5.9pt

BALI+19.5%FTHI+13.6%

BALI vs FTHI Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+15.8%BALI+7.0%FTHI

Expense ratio: BALI 0.35%, better; FTHI 0.75%
Fund size: BALI $1.5B; FTHI $2.5B
1Y total return: BALI +15.8%, better; FTHI +7.0%
Yield (12M): BALI 7.94%; FTHI 9.16%, better
Holdings: BALI 193; FTHI 188
Avg volume (30D): BALI 373K sh; FTHI 726K sh, better
NAV per share: BALI $32.85; FTHI $22.60
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for BALI, FTHI, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	BALI	FTHI
Cost30% weight	A79Higher	D38
Mission25% weight	A100Higher	A90
Risk15% weight	B60Higher	C45
Tradability15% weight	A84Higher	A78
Holdings10% weight	A83	A86Higher
Durability5% weight	A85	A94Higher

Rank among S&P 500 Option Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. BALI and FTHI are both graded against the same 51 S&P 500 Option Income funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

S&P 500 Option Income⁠

Category · 51 funds

See all 51 ›

BALI ranks 1st and FTHI 18th of 51 funds in the S&P 500 Option Income Category.

Rank 1ABALIiShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETFScore 82
Rank 1ACSHINeos Enhanced Income Cash Alternative ETFScore 82
Rank 17BISPYProShares S&P 500 High Income ETFScore 66
Rank 18BFTHIFirst Trust BuyWrite Income ETFScore 65
Rank 18BSPYHNEOS S&P 500 Hedged Equity Income ETFScore 65

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

BALIAiShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF

FTHIBFirst Trust BuyWrite Income ETF

In short

BALI BlackRock's active answer to the covered-call crowd: roughly 200 hand-picked U.S. large caps, calls written on the S&P 500 itself rather than single stocks, monthly payouts, at well under the typical fee in its peer group.

FTHI One of the original covered call income ETFs (2014): an actively picked US stock portfolio with S&P 500 calls sold over the top on 25% to 75% of the fund, so part of the upside stays unsold. Pays monthly.

Stated mandate

BALI BALI seeks consistent income with lower volatility than the broader U.S. equity market. It primarily holds U.S. large-cap equities, sells calls on a large-cap equity index, and uses related index futures to pursue premium income and capital appreciation.

FTHI The Fund seeks current income and, secondarily, capital appreciation. It invests in U.S.-listed equities across market capitalizations and writes covered call options on the S&P 500 Index to generate additional cash flow.

Why people hold it

BALI 0.35% a year against a 0.60% median for S&P 500 option-income funds, and below what XYLD (0.60%) or SPYI (0.68%) charge for similar work.
Actively run, not a mechanical buy-write: about 200 large caps picked by the manager, index calls sold on top, index futures used alongside.ishares.com
Pays monthly, and the mandate chases capital appreciation as well as premium, so the stock sleeve is not just collateral for the options.
Does what its documents say it does, and stands among the stronger implementations in the S&P 500 option-income group.

FTHI The overlay is a dial, not a switch. The prospectus sets call notional generally between 25% and 75% of the fund, so managers can sell less premium and leave more equity upside open.sec.gov
Underneath the options sits a real stock portfolio, roughly 190 US-listed names across market caps chosen by the manager, not a copy of the index it writes calls on.ftportfolios.com
Calls are laddered across expirations under one year, struck at-the-money to slightly out-of-the-money, and premiums feed a monthly distribution.sec.gov
Live since January 2014, well before the derivative income boom, and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively. One of the stronger builds in a crowded S&P 500 income group.

Worth knowing

BALI Selling index calls swaps part of a big rally for premium. The design targets lower volatility than the broad market, not maximum upside.
Distributions can include return of capital, meaning part of a payout may be your own money coming back rather than fund earnings.ishares.com
Launched in 2023, so the track record is short, and it trades at moderate volume rather than with the tightest spreads in the category.

FTHI At 0.75% a year it sits above the 0.60% typical for its peer group, and index-rules rivals like IVVW (0.25%) and GPIX (0.35%) charge far less for S&P 500 call income.
The calls are on the S&P 500 while the stock sleeve is its own selection, so the two can drift apart. The prospectus notes those index calls are technically uncovered.sec.gov
Selling calls trades away part of a rally for cash today, and the filings flag active trading that can push portfolio turnover past 100% a year.sec.gov

Full BALI profile⁠

Full FTHI profile⁠

BALI vs FTHI Holdings

How BALI and FTHI differ

Overlap by weight

44.2%

Shared holdings make up 58.4% of BALI and 57.1% of FTHI.

About this figure: BALI earns income from options, which aren’t counted.

FTHI earns income from options, which aren’t counted.

Level by level

Holdings54 in both44.2%
Countryby domicile91.4%
Sector11 Sectors92.1%
Asset classStocks100%

Sector

Sector weights in BALI and FTHI, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	BALI	FTHI
Real Estate	FTHI +2.7 points	0.8%	3.5%
Health Care	BALI +2.4 points	12.0%	9.6%
Consumer Discretionary	BALI +2.2 points	9.3%	7.1%
Communication	BALI +2.1 points	8.5%	6.4%
Consumer Staples	FTHI +1.6 points	6.9%	8.5%
Financials	FTHI +1.3 points	11.2%	12.5%
Utilities	BALI +1.1 points	2.8%	1.7%
Materials	FTHI +1.0 points	1.6%	2.6%
Energy	FTHI +0.5 points	4.9%	5.4%
Industrials	FTHI +0.4 points	8.2%	8.6%
Technology	FTHI +0.4 points	33.8%	34.2%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in BALI and FTHI, widest gap first
Country	Gap	BALI	FTHI
United States	BALI +8.6 points	99.4%	90.8%
Netherlands	FTHI +2.1 points	0.4%	2.5%
United Kingdom	FTHI +2.0 points	0.2%	2.2%
Canada	FTHI +1.4 points	0.0%	1.4%
Switzerland	FTHI +1.3 points	0.0%	1.3%
Other countries (11)	FTHI +1.8 points	0.1%	1.9%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

BALI35.4%
FTHI36.4%

Securities held

BALI190
FTHI186

Asset class

BALI: Stocks
FTHI: Stocks

Holdings

Only in BALI136
In both54
Only in FTHI132

Only in BALI

136 securities, 38.2% of BALI by weight

Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B1.98%
Procter & Gamble1.74%
Visa Class A1.72%
Pfizer1.29%
UnitedHealth Group1.07%
Abbott Laboratories1.02%
Verizon Communications Inc0.99%
Lockheed Martin0.92%
Cardinal Health0.84%
Airbnb Class A0.77%
Pepsico0.72%
3M0.68%
Ametek Inc0.67%
Lam Research0.65%
Vulcan Materials0.63%
Phillips 660.62%
Medtronic PLC0.58%
Texas Instrument0.56%
Oreilly Automotive Inc0.56%
Citizens Financial Group Inc0.55%
Mckesson Corp0.55%
American Financial Group0.52%
Valero Energy Corp0.52%
General Dynamics Corp0.50%
Ppl Corp0.46%
Amphenol Corp Class A0.46%
Verisign0.45%
Us Bancorp0.45%
Adobe Inc0.43%
Mondelez International Class A0.41%
Lowes Companies Inc0.40%
Archer Daniels Midland0.40%
Starbucks Corp0.39%
Paychex0.37%
Intercontinental Exchange Inc0.37%
Ferrovial NV0.36%
Northrop Grumman Corp0.35%
Target Corp0.34%
Intuit0.33%
Air Products and Chemicals0.33%
Cvs Health0.33%
Blackstone0.33%
Exelon Corp0.31%
Texas Roadhouse Inc0.30%
Palo Alto Networks0.29%
Rockwell Automation Inc0.28%
Qualcomm0.28%
T Mobile Us Inc0.28%
Western Digital Corp0.27%
First Hawaiian0.27%

Only in FTHI

132 securities, 38.0% of FTHI by weight

ASML Holding N.V. (New York Registry Shares)1.94%
Linde Plc1.31%
Johnson & Johnson1.20%
Union Pacific Corporation0.98%
Altria Group, Inc.0.88%
Colgate-Palmolive Company0.82%
Walmart Inc.0.80%
Jackson Financial Inc. (Class A)0.77%
Novartis AG (ADR)0.74%
Royalty Pharma Plc (Class A)0.66%
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.0.66%
The Coca-Cola Company0.62%
Crown Castle Inc.0.61%
IDACORP, Inc.0.59%
HF Sinclair Corp.0.55%
InterDigital, Inc.0.54%
Equinix, Inc.0.53%
Chubb Limited0.53%
Citigroup Inc.0.52%
The Cigna Group0.50%
EMCOR Group, Inc.0.50%
GE Aerospace0.49%
TechnipFMC Plc0.48%
Ross Stores, Inc.0.48%
Philip Morris International Inc.0.47%
US Foods Holding Corp.0.47%
British American Tobacco Plc (ADR)0.46%
RTX Corporation0.44%
AngloGold Ashanti plc0.42%
Curtiss-Wright Corporation0.39%
Antero Midstream Corp.0.39%
The Toronto-Dominion Bank0.38%
Vistra Corp.0.38%
APA Corporation0.37%
Yum! Brands, Inc.0.36%
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.0.35%
DT Midstream, Inc.0.35%
Nebius Group N.V.0.33%
Encompass Health Corporation0.33%
Digital Realty Trust, Inc.0.32%
APi Group Corporation0.30%
Annaly Capital Management, Inc.0.29%
Aflac Incorporated0.29%
Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.0.28%
ITT Inc.0.28%
East West Bancorp, Inc.0.27%
ING Groep N.V. (ADR)0.27%
AerCap Holdings N.V.0.26%
Prologis, Inc.0.26%
Unilever PLC (ADR)0.26%

Weight gaps

All 54 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in BALI and FTHI, widest gap first
Holding	Gap	BALI	FTHI
MicrosoftMSFT	BALI +2.38 points	5.71%	3.33%
AppleAAPL	FTHI +1.78 points	6.55%	8.33%
JPMorgan Chase & CoJPM	FTHI +1.48 points	1.21%	2.69%
Dell Technologies Inc Class CDELL	FTHI +1.26 points	0.28%	1.54%
Bank of AmericaBAC	FTHI +1.24 points	0.77%	2.01%
Coca Cola Europacific Partners PLCCCEP	FTHI +1.19 points	0.04%	1.23%
ChevronCVX	BALI +1.17 points	1.75%	0.59%
Amgen IncAMGN	FTHI +1.15 points	0.58%	1.73%
TjxTJX	BALI +1.06 points	1.24%	0.18%
Wec Energy GroupWEC	BALI +0.80 points	0.91%	0.11%
Amazon.com IncAMZN	BALI +0.81 points	3.54%	2.73%
Transdigm GroupTDG	FTHI +0.80 points	0.25%	1.05%
Advanced Micro DevicesAMD	BALI +0.79 points	1.14%	0.35%
United Parcel Service Inc Class BUPS	BALI +0.69 points	1.29%	0.60%
Exxonmobil Holdings CorpXOM	BALI +0.68 points	1.85%	1.17%
FortinetFTNT	FTHI +0.63 points	0.30%	0.93%
Gilead SciencesGILD	FTHI +0.61 points	0.88%	1.49%
Merck & Co IncMRK	BALI +0.55 points	0.98%	0.43%
Applied Material IncAMAT	BALI +0.56 points	0.73%	0.17%
Alphabet Class CGOOG	BALI +0.53 points	2.04%	1.51%
Nextera EnergyNEE	BALI +0.48 points	0.59%	0.11%
Booking HoldingsBKNG	BALI +0.46 points	0.53%	0.07%
Caterpillar IncCAT	BALI +0.39 points	0.68%	0.29%
Meta Platforms Class AMETA	BALI +0.39 points	1.65%	1.26%
AbbVieABBV	FTHI +0.38 points	0.83%	1.21%
Charles SchwabSCHW	BALI +0.36 points	0.53%	0.17%
NVIDIANVDA	BALI +0.34 points	6.45%	6.11%
International Business Machines CoIBM	BALI +0.29 points	0.50%	0.21%
Micron TechnologyMU	BALI +0.28 points	1.07%	0.79%
Tesla IncTSLA	FTHI +0.28 points	0.73%	1.01%
Costco Wholesale CorpCOST	FTHI +0.27 points	1.89%	2.16%
Palantir Technologies Class APLTR	FTHI +0.26 points	0.45%	0.71%
Cisco Systems IncCSCO	FTHI +0.25 points	0.89%	1.14%
Intel CorporationINTC	BALI +0.21 points	0.41%	0.20%
Advanced Energy IndustriesAEIS	FTHI +0.21 points	0.03%	0.24%
Broadcom IncAVGO	BALI +0.19 points	1.93%	1.74%
Cboe Global MarketsCBOE	FTHI +0.19 points	0.15%	0.34%
Eli LillyLLY	BALI +0.18 points	1.36%	1.18%
Blue Owl Capital Class AOWL	FTHI +0.16 points	0.21%	0.37%
Crowdstrike Holdings Class ACRWD	BALI +0.16 points	0.34%	0.18%
Liberty Media Series CFWONK	FTHI +0.14 points	0.06%	0.20%
Travelers CompaniesTRV	FTHI +0.14 points	0.38%	0.52%
Ge VernovaGEV	BALI +0.13 points	0.36%	0.23%
Caseys General Stores IncCASY	FTHI +0.12 points	0.08%	0.20%
Cme Group Class ACME	FTHI +0.11 points	0.27%	0.38%
NewmarketNEU	FTHI +0.11 points	0.02%	0.13%
NetflixNFLX	BALI +0.11 points	0.47%	0.36%
Alphabet Class AGOOGL	BALI +0.11 points	2.18%	2.07%
Duke Energy CorpDUK	BALI +0.06 points	0.37%	0.31%
Comfort Systems UsaFIX	FTHI +0.05 points	0.29%	0.34%
SandiskSNDK	BALI +0.03 points	0.18%	0.15%
Ionis PharmaceuticalsIONS	FTHI +0.02 points	0.09%	0.11%
Agnc Investment ReitAGNC	Same weight	0.30%	0.30%
Rayonier ReitRYN	Same weight	0.12%	0.12%

All 190 BALI holdings⁠All 193 FTHI holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

BALI vs FTHI Cost

Overpaying FTHI vs BALI

$7,356

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

BALI 0.35%
$7,126
FTHI 0.75%
$14,482

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

BALI 0.35%
FTHI 0.75%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	BALI	FTHI	Overpaying
10	$634	$1,336	$702
20	$2,454	$5,078	$2,624
30	$7,126	$14,482	$7,356

Expense ratio

0.35%BALI, cheaper
0.75%FTHI

BALI0.35%FTHI0.75%

0.10%1.18%

Middle half of S&P 500 Option Income funds
Median 0.60%

BALI 11th cheapest of 51 funds

FTHI 32nd cheapest of 51 funds

BALI vs FTHI Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): BALI 7.94%; FTHI 9.16%, better
Payout (12M): BALI $2.66; FTHI $2.11
Last payment: BALI $0.18; FTHI $0.18
Ex-dividend: BALI Nov 2, 2026; FTHI Oct 21, 2026
Paid on: BALI Nov 5, 2026; FTHI Oct 30, 2026
Frequency: BALI Monthly; FTHI Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

BALIMonthly · 37 paymentsAll BALI payments⁠

FTHIMonthly · 46 paymentsAll FTHI payments⁠

BALI vs FTHI Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: BALI 10.2%FTHI 7.4%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: BALI 1.52, betterFTHI 1.36
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: BALI −16.6%since Sep 2023FTHI −16.7%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: BALI 0.78FTHI 0.56; Market = 1

BALI and FTHI in the news

All news⁠

Income Watch
BlackRock estimates 86% of the iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF's October check was return of capital
Oct 11, 2026BALI

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BALI vs FTHI

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How BALI and FTHI differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in BALI

Only in FTHI

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

BlackRock estimates 86% of the iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF's October check was return of capital

How BALI and FTHI differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in BALI

Only in FTHI

Weight gaps