ETF Evaluator:
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Derivative Income Over the Last Year
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ETF Details
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Overview
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF (BALQ) is an actively managed Nontraditional Equity Derivative Income exchange-traded fund (ETF). iShares launched the ETF in 2025.
The investment seeks to provide current income with consideration for capital appreciation.
The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by employing a targeted outcome strategy that is intended to optimize, in the opinion of Fund management, premium income generation and the potential for capital appreciation. The fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Investments in derivatives are counted toward the fund’s 80% policy to the extent that they provide investment exposure to the securities included within that policy or to one or more market risk factors associated with such securities.
About iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF (BALQ)
There are 3 members of the management team with an average tenure of 0.66 years: Travis Cooke (2025), Robert Fisher (2025) and Raffaele Savi (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF has 119 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 53.9% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the Nontraditional Equity ETF group. iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF has 0.2% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 82.6% There is 0.2% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF has 17.3% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $17 million in total assets, which is below the $727 million average for the Derivative Income category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
BALQ Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Derivative Income category. iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF has an expense ratio of 0.35%, which is 58% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 0%, which indicates that it holds its assets around /years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 69% for the Derivative Income category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF returned -5.5%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Derivative Income category had an average return of -1.5%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF has a trailing yield of 0.00%, which is below the 19.96% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income monthly and its capital gains annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned 16.0%, 13.4 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A.
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BALQ Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| BALQ Return (NAV) | -5.5% | 5.7% | na | na | na | na |
| BALQ Return (Price) | -5.4% | 5.9% | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.082% | -0.149% | na | na | na | na |
| Derivative Income Avg | -1.5% | 0.6% | 11.2% | 13.7% | 8.8% | 7.5% |
| BALQ Grade (NAV) | D | A | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -3.9% | 5.1% | na | na | na | na |
| BALQ Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | na | na | na | na |
BALQ Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| BALQ Return (NAV) | 16.0% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| BALQ Return (Price) | 16.2% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.013% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Derivative Income Avg | 2.6% | 10.6% | 18.5% | 17.5% | -11.3% | 19.4% | 1.4% | 19.2% | -7.1% | 12.1% | 8.7% |
| BALQ Grade (NAV) | A | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| +/- Category | 13.4% | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | na |
| R-Squared: | na |
| Standard Deviation: | na |
| Category Risk Index: | na |
| Category Risk Rating: | |
| Total Risk Index: | na |
| Total Risk Rating: | |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | -- |
| Total Assets: | $ 17 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 17 Mil |
| Turnover: | na |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.35% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | N/A |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | Annually |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 3 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 0.7 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 0.7 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Cooke Travis (2025), Fisher Robert (2025), Savi Raffaele (2025) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 119 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 53.9% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 0.2% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 82.6% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.2% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.0% |
| Domestic Bond: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 0.0% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 17.3% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | iShares |
| Phone Number: | 800-474-2737 |
| Website: | www.blackrock.com |
| Inception Date: | December 2, 2025 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.35% (Rating: Below Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.83% |
