The folks at a $13.464-trillion-AUM*, publicly traded asset manager (one with a 1,700-fund, $5.2-trillion-AUM* ETF business) are expanding their $100-billion-AUM** active ETF business by rolling out an exchange traded fund designed to track the Nasdaq 100 index while also generating current income via an options strategy.

Yesterday (December 3), Elise Terry, U.S. head of iShares at BlackRock [profile], unveiled the launch of the iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF (BALQ on the Nasdaq). New York City-based BlackRock's San Francisco-based BlackRock Fund Advisors (BFA) arm serves as investment advisor to the new ETF, while Edinburgh-based BlackRock International Limited serves as subadvisor.

BALQ comes with an expense ratio of 35 basis points, and the fund's inception date was Tuesday (December 2). The new ETF now has about $10 million in AUM***.

A three-person portfolio manager team PMs BALQ. That PM team includes:

Travis Cooke, managing director and head of North American strategies for the systematic equity division of BlackRock's active equities group;

Robert Fisher, managing director and senior PM in the systematic active equity (SAE) team; and

Raffaele Savi, senior managing director, global head of BlackRock Systematic (BSYS), co-chief investment officer and co-head of SAE, and lead PM of the fund.

Terry puts the launch of BALQ this week in the context of the debut two years ago of what is now called the iShares U.S. Large Cap Premium Income Active ETF (BALI on the Cboe). BALI (fka the iShares Advantage Large Cap Income ETF, fka the BlackRock Advantage Large Cap Income ETF) now hsa about $638 million in AUM***.

"The iShares active premium income duo — BALI and BALQ — offers investors useful building blocks for income-focused portfolios," Terry states. "These strategies help wealth advisors and individual investors access upside potential with enhanced income —l a strong combination for those seeking long-term income and growth solutions."

BALQ is an actively managed, non-diversified series of BlackRock ETF Trust. The new fund's other service providers include:

the Bank of New York Mellon (BNYM) as administrator, custodian, and transfer agent;

BlackRock Investments, LLC (BRIL) as distributor;

BlackRock Institutional Trust Company, N.A. (BTC) as securities lending agent;

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent accounting firm; and

Sidley Austin LLP as counsel.

*As of September 30, 2025.

**As of November 5, 2025.

***As of December 3, 2025 (yesterday). 

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