LQDW vs. FIAX

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF (LQDW) and Nicholas Fixed Income Alternative ETF (FIAX).

LQDW and FIAX are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. LQDW is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the CBOE LQD BuyWrite Index. It was launched on Aug 18, 2022. FIAX is an actively managed fund by Nicholas. It was launched on Nov 29, 2022.

Performance

LQDW vs. FIAX - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF (LQDW) and Nicholas Fixed Income Alternative ETF (FIAX). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

LQDW vs. FIAX - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022
LQDW iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF	0.01%	9.05%	2.60%	3.99%	-1.72%
FIAX Nicholas Fixed Income Alternative ETF	-0.92%	2.33%	4.67%	3.44%	-0.30%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, LQDW achieves a 0.01% return, which is significantly higher than FIAX's -0.92% return.

LQDW

• 1D: 0.71%
• 1M: -1.57%
• YTD: 0.01%
• 6M: 1.60%
• 1Y: 6.15%
• 3Y*: 3.59%
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

FIAX

• 1D: 0.66%
• 1M: -1.18%
• YTD: -0.92%
• 6M: 0.75%
• 1Y: 2.45%
• 3Y*: 2.79%
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

LQDW vs. FIAX - Expense Ratio Comparison

LQDW has a 0.34% expense ratio, which is lower than FIAX's 1.04% expense ratio.

FIAX

Nicholas Fixed Income Alternative ETF

LQDW

iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF

Return for Risk

LQDW vs. FIAX — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

LQDW

LQDW Risk / Return Rank: 79
LQDW Sharpe Ratio Rank: 78
LQDW Sortino Ratio Rank: 77
LQDW Omega Ratio Rank: 83
LQDW Calmar Ratio Rank: 78
LQDW Martin Ratio Rank: 80

FIAX

FIAX Risk / Return Rank: 29
FIAX Sharpe Ratio Rank: 31
FIAX Sortino Ratio Rank: 28
FIAX Omega Ratio Rank: 26
FIAX Calmar Ratio Rank: 28
FIAX Martin Ratio Rank: 30

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

LQDW vs. FIAX - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF (LQDW) and Nicholas Fixed Income Alternative ETF (FIAX). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	LQDW	FIAX	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.39	0.55	+0.84
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	1.89	0.80	+1.09
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.32	1.10	+0.22
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	2.01	0.65	+1.36
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	8.36	2.59	+5.78
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

LQDW vs. FIAX - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current LQDW Sharpe Ratio is 1.39, which is higher than the FIAX Sharpe Ratio of 0.55. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of LQDW and FIAX, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	LQDW	FIAX	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.39	0.55	+0.84
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.41	0.69	-0.28

Correlation

The correlation between LQDW and FIAX is 0.30, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

LQDW vs. FIAX - Dividend Comparison

LQDW's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 14.97%, more than FIAX's 8.30% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022
LQDW iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF	14.97%	16.02%	15.74%	19.28%	8.85%
FIAX Nicholas Fixed Income Alternative ETF	8.30%	8.17%	8.11%	4.81%	0.00%

Drawdowns

LQDW vs. FIAX - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum LQDW drawdown since its inception was -9.20%, which is greater than FIAX's maximum drawdown of -6.26%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for LQDW and FIAX.

Drawdown Indicators

	LQDW	FIAX	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-9.20%	-6.26%	-2.94%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-3.14%	-3.66%	+0.52%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-1.57%	-1.70%	+0.13%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-2.42%	-0.87%	-1.55%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	0.75%	0.92%	-0.17%

Volatility

LQDW vs. FIAX - Volatility Comparison

iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond Buywrite Strategy ETF (LQDW) has a higher volatility of 2.27% compared to Nicholas Fixed Income Alternative ETF (FIAX) at 1.58%. This indicates that LQDW's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than FIAX based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	LQDW	FIAX	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	2.27%	1.58%	+0.69%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	2.79%	3.16%	-0.37%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	4.44%	4.47%	-0.03%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	5.55%	4.01%	+1.54%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	5.55%	4.01%	+1.54%