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Is First Trust NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted ETF (QQEW) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the First Trust NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted ETF (QQEW - Free Report) debuted on 04/19/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.32 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, QQEW seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index.
The NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index is the equal-weighted version of the NASDAQ-100 Index which includes 100 of the largest non-financial securities listed on NASDAQ based on market capitalization.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.58%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.25%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
QQEW's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 43.60% of the portfolio. Its Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Netease, Inc. (adr) (NTES - Free Report) accounts for about 1.19% of total assets, followed by Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) and Csx Corporation (CSX - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 11.29% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted ETF has lost about -4.69% so far, and is up about 9.46% over the last 12 months (as of 01/11/2022). QQEW has traded between $97.37 and $120.91 in this past 52-week period.
QQEW has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 23.73% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 103 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Growth ETF has $85.26 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $205.92 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Growth.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Is First Trust NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted ETF (QQEW) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the First Trust NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted ETF (QQEW - Free Report) debuted on 04/19/2006, and offers broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
However, some investors believe in the possibility of beating the market through exceptional stock selection, and choose a different type of fund that tracks non-cap weighted strategies: smart beta.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.32 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, QQEW seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index.
The NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index is the equal-weighted version of the NASDAQ-100 Index which includes 100 of the largest non-financial securities listed on NASDAQ based on market capitalization.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.58%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.25%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Most ETFs are very transparent products, and disclose their holdings on a daily basis. ETFs also offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, though it's still important for investors to research a fund's holdings.
QQEW's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 43.60% of the portfolio. Its Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Netease, Inc. (adr) (NTES - Free Report) accounts for about 1.19% of total assets, followed by Tesla, Inc. (TSLA - Free Report) and Csx Corporation (CSX - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 11.29% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the First Trust NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted ETF has lost about -4.69% so far, and is up about 9.46% over the last 12 months (as of 01/11/2022). QQEW has traded between $97.37 and $120.91 in this past 52-week period.
QQEW has a beta of 1.02 and standard deviation of 23.73% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund a medium risk choice in the space. With about 103 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
First Trust NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) tracks CRSP U.S. Large Cap Growth Index and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) tracks NASDAQ-100 Index. Vanguard Growth ETF has $85.26 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $205.92 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Style Box - Large Cap Growth.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.