BALQ vs JEPQ: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF

BALQANasdaq

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

JEPQANasdaq

Overlap

53.1%by weight

Expense ratio

BALQ0.35%JEPQ0.35%

Avg volume · 30D

JEPQ 466.1×the volume

BALQ13.6KJEPQ6.35M

BALQ vs JEPQ Performance

Dec 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

+15.9%BALQ+8.3%JEPQ

Expense ratio: BALQ 0.35%; JEPQ 0.35%
Fund size: BALQ $42M; JEPQ $42.5B
1Y total return: BALQ No data; JEPQ +9.5%
Yield (12M): BALQ No data; JEPQ 11.96%
Holdings: BALQ 112; JEPQ 111
Avg volume (30D): BALQ 13.6K sh; JEPQ 6.35M sh, better
NAV per share: BALQ $52.87; JEPQ $57.56
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for BALQ, JEPQ, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	BALQ	JEPQ
Cost30% weight	A82	A82
Mission25% weight	A100	A100
Risk15% weight	C48	B69Higher
Tradability15% weight	B64	A76Higher
Holdings10% weight	C46	C47Higher
Durability5% weight	B56	A91Higher

Rank among Nasdaq-100 Option Income funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. BALQ and JEPQ are both graded against the same 30 Nasdaq-100 Option Income funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Nasdaq-100 Option Income⁠

Category · 30 funds

See all 30 ›

JEPQ ranks 3rd and BALQ 7th of 30 funds in the Nasdaq-100 Option Income Category.

Rank 1AGPIQGoldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Premium Income ETFScore 83
Rank 2AQQAInvesco QQQ Income Advantage ETFScore 82
Rank 3AJEPQJPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETFScore 80
Rank 4AQYLDGlobal X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETFScore 79
Rank 6AQQQINEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETFScore 74
Rank 7ABALQiShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETFScore 73
Rank 7AFTQIFirst Trust Nasdaq BuyWrite Income ETFScore 73

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

BALQAiShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF

JEPQAJPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF

In short

BALQ BlackRock'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.

JEPQ Most Nasdaq income funds bolt call options onto the index and call it a day. JEPQ picks its own roughly 110 US large-cap stocks, then writes out-of-the-money Nasdaq-100 calls on top, aiming for monthly income with less volatility than the index itself.

Stated mandate

BALQ 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.

JEPQ The fund seeks current income while preserving potential for capital appreciation. It combines a data-science-driven portfolio of U.S. large-cap stocks with written out-of-the-money Nasdaq-100 Index call options and seeks lower volatility than the Nasdaq-100 Index.

Why people hold it

BALQ 0.35% a year sits well under the typical Nasdaq-100 income fund and matches the cheapest large names in the group, GPIQ and JEPQ.
The 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
Actively managed, not a fixed monthly formula. Managers set the option book and the equity sleeve, roughly 110 positions.
Income is the stated first job, with capital appreciation a secondary consideration, and the fund's income policy is monthly.

JEPQ Charges 0.35% a year, roughly half the typical fee among Nasdaq options-income funds and well under QYLD's 0.60%.
Income is manufactured by writing out-of-the-money Nasdaq-100 calls and paid out monthly, rather than harvested from high-dividend stocks.jpmorgan.com
One of the largest and most heavily traded funds in the Nasdaq options-income group, which generally means tight spreads and easy entry and exit.
The calls are struck out of the money, so the mandate keeps room for capital appreciation in the stock sleeve alongside the payout.jpmorgan.com

Worth knowing

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

JEPQ The overlay clips the top off big Nasdaq rallies: premium comes in, but stock gains above the call strikes go to the option buyer.jpmorgan.com
Monthly payouts float with option premiums, which move with market volatility. This is variable income, not a fixed coupon.
About 110 US large-cap holdings paired with a Nasdaq-100 overlay: concentrated, tech-leaning exposure rather than a broad-market portfolio.jpmorgan.com

Full BALQ profile⁠

Full JEPQ profile⁠

BALQ vs JEPQ Holdings

How BALQ and JEPQ differ

Overlap by weight

53.1%

Shared holdings make up 70.3% of BALQ and 55.0% of JEPQ.

Level by level

Holdings27 in both53.1%
Countryby domicile97.7%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

No Sector split for BALQ.

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in BALQ and JEPQ, widest gap first
Country	More in BALQMore in JEPQ	BALQ	JEPQ
United States	BALQ +2.0 points	99.6%	97.6%
Netherlands	JEPQ +1.2 points	0.0%	1.1%
Canada	JEPQ +0.7 points	0.0%	0.7%
Other countries (3)	JEPQ +0.1 points	0.4%	0.5%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

BALQ51.0%
JEPQ42.3%

Securities held

BALQ110
JEPQ110

Asset class

BALQ: Equity
JEPQ: Equity

Holdings

Only in BALQ83
In both27
Only in JEPQ83

Only in BALQ

83 securities, 24.6% of BALQ by weight

Alphabet Class A2.70%
Goldman Sachs Group0.80%
Valero Energy Corp0.80%
Verizon Communications Inc0.72%
Lockheed Martin0.64%
Morgan Stanley0.61%
Merck & Co Inc0.58%
Tjx0.55%
Abbott Laboratories0.46%
Transdigm Group0.45%
Phillips 660.43%
Mks0.43%
Procter & Gamble0.42%
Neurocrine Biosciences0.42%
Ss and C Technologies Holdings0.39%
Eastman Chemical0.39%
Rtx0.38%
Caterpillar Inc0.38%
Viking Holdings Ltd0.38%
Dell Technologies Inc Class C0.38%
Onto Innovation0.37%
Exelixis Inc0.37%
Texas Roadhouse Inc0.37%
Sentinelone Inc Class A0.34%
Insmed0.34%
Incyte Corp0.31%
Hewlett Packard Enterprise0.30%
Boston Scientific0.30%
Pfizer0.30%
Dow0.30%
Formfactor Inc0.28%
Oracle0.28%
Cirrus Logic0.27%
Arista Networks0.26%
Nutanix Class A0.25%
Lattice Semiconductor0.25%
Cardinal Health0.25%
Avnet0.25%
Rockwell Automation Inc0.25%
New York Times Class A0.24%
Dynatrace Inc0.24%
Ionis Pharmaceuticals0.24%
Jabil0.23%
Union Pacific0.22%
Archer Daniels Midland0.22%
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd0.22%
Salesforce0.21%
International Business Machines Co0.21%
Parker-Hannifin0.21%
Pinterest Class A0.20%

Only in JEPQ

83 securities, 44.9% of JEPQ by weight

Palo Alto Networks Inc1.33%
Seagate Technology1.27%
Analog Devices Inc1.19%
NDX_141.18%
NDX_131.18%
NDX_121.17%
NDX_151.16%
NDX_111.16%
NDX_161.16%
NDX_171.16%
NDX_101.13%
NDX_91.13%
Netflix Inc Common Stock1.10%
NDX_51.10%
NDX_81.10%
NDX_31.09%
NDX_41.09%
NDX_61.09%
NDX_71.09%
Crowdstrike Holdings Inc1.06%
Marvell Technology Inc0.91%
Asml Holding NV Ny Reg0.91%
JPMorgan Prime Money0.91%
Texas Instruments Inc0.89%
Linde PLC Common Stock0.75%
Pepsico Inc Common Stock0.70%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals0.69%
Intuitive Surgical Inc0.68%
Csx Corp Common Stock USD0.68%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals0.60%
Shopify Inc Common Stock0.58%
Booking Holdings Inc0.55%
Synopsys Inc Common0.54%
Monster Beverage Corp0.53%
Nxp Semiconductors NV0.52%
T-Mobile Us Inc Common0.51%
Mondelez International0.50%
Amgen Inc Common Stock0.47%
Sandisk Corp Common0.46%
O'reilly Automotive Inc0.45%
Teradyne Inc Common Stock0.43%
Comcast Corp Common0.39%
Marriott International0.36%
Mercadolibre Inc Common0.35%
Diamondback Energy Inc0.35%
Honeywell International0.31%
Eaton Corp PLC Common0.31%
Deere & Co Common Stock0.30%
Western Digital Corp0.30%
Xcel Energy Inc Common0.29%

Weight gaps

All 27 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in BALQ and JEPQ, widest gap first
Holding	More in BALQMore in JEPQ	BALQ	JEPQ
Costco Wholesale CorpCOST	BALQ +2.11 points	3.39%	1.28%
MicrosoftMSFT	BALQ +1.76 points	7.36%	5.60%
Alphabet Class CGOOG	JEPQ +1.68 points	2.40%	4.08%
NVIDIANVDA	BALQ +1.13 points	8.12%	6.99%
Cisco Systems IncCSCO	BALQ +1.12 points	2.30%	1.18%
Intel CorporationINTC	BALQ +1.00 points	1.82%	0.82%
AppleAAPL	BALQ +1.00 points	7.99%	6.99%
Broadcom IncAVGO	BALQ +0.98 points	2.89%	1.91%
Applied Material IncAMAT	BALQ +0.97 points	1.72%	0.75%
Amazon.com IncAMZN	BALQ +0.96 points	4.76%	3.80%
WalmartWMT	BALQ +0.89 points	2.89%	2.00%
Palantir Technologies Class APLTR	BALQ +0.78 points	2.09%	1.31%
Advanced Micro DevicesAMD	BALQ +0.76 points	4.21%	3.45%
QualcommQCOM	BALQ +0.64 points	1.17%	0.53%
Micron TechnologyMU	BALQ +0.51 points	4.83%	4.32%
Tesla IncTSLA	BALQ +0.45 points	2.85%	2.40%
Adobe IncADBE	BALQ +0.43 points	0.71%	0.28%
Space Exploration Technologies CorSPCX	BALQ +0.42 points	1.97%	1.55%
United Parcel Service Inc Class BUPS	BALQ +0.36 points	0.42%	0.06%
Meta Platforms Class AMETA	BALQ +0.35 points	3.02%	2.67%
AbbVieABBV	JEPQ +0.24 points	0.26%	0.50%
IntuitINTU	BALQ +0.23 points	0.70%	0.47%
Strategy Inc Class AMSTR	BALQ +0.22 points	0.27%	0.05%
UnitedHealth GroupUNH	BALQ +0.06 points	0.22%	0.16%
HubspotHUBS	BALQ +0.05 points	0.13%	0.08%
Lam ResearchLRCX	BALQ +0.04 points	1.67%	1.63%
ServicenowNOW	JEPQ +0.01 points	0.14%	0.15%

All 110 BALQ holdings⁠All 110 JEPQ 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.

BALQ vs JEPQ Cost

Same expense ratio

$7,126

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

BALQ 0.35%
$7,126
JEPQ 0.35%
$7,126

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

BALQ 0.35%
JEPQ 0.35%

Year by year

Year	BALQ	JEPQ
10	$634	$634
20	$2,454	$2,454
30	$7,126	$7,126

Expense ratio

0.35%BALQ
0.35%JEPQ

BALQ0.35%JEPQ0.35%

0.00%1.20%

Middle half of Nasdaq-100 Option Income funds
Median 0.71%

BALQ 4th cheapest of 30 funds

JEPQ 4th cheapest of 30 funds

BALQ vs JEPQ Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): BALQ No data; JEPQ 11.96%
Payout (12M): BALQ No data; JEPQ $6.88
Last payment: BALQ $0.37; JEPQ $0.57
Ex-dividend: BALQ Oct 1, 2026; JEPQ Oct 1, 2026
Paid on: BALQ Oct 6, 2026; JEPQ Oct 5, 2026
Frequency: BALQ Monthly; JEPQ Monthly

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

BALQMonthly · 10 paymentsAll BALQ payments⁠

JEPQMonthly · 45 paymentsAll JEPQ payments⁠

BALQ vs JEPQ Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: BALQ No dataJEPQ 11.8%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: BALQ No dataJEPQ 1.24
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: BALQ No dataJEPQ −20.1%since May 2022
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: BALQ 1.40JEPQ 0.83; Market = 1

BALQ and JEPQ in the news

All news⁠

Deep Dive
How JEPQ trades Nasdaq-100 upside for monthly income. Here's how.
Oct 20, 2026JEPQ
ETF Filings
Franklin Templeton files two PayDay ETFs that would pay every two weeks
Oct 16, 2026JEPQ
ETF Filings
Aptus files the Aptus Nasdaq-100 Enhanced Yield ETF, JUCQ, targeting distributions of 5% to 12%
Oct 16, 2026JEPQ
Income Watch
BlackRock estimates 86% of the iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF's October check was return of capital
Oct 11, 2026BALQ
Deep Dive
JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF paid $0.34 a share, and the 8% yield is not a promise
Oct 10, 2026JEPQ
ETF Filings
Motley Fool files five Fool 100 ETFs, three for options income
Oct 9, 2026JEPQ

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