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Should Direxion NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (QQQE) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Launched on 03/21/2012, the Direxion NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (QQQE - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

The fund is sponsored by Direxion. It has amassed assets over $421.19 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market.

Why Large Cap Growth

Companies that fall in the large cap category tend to have a market capitalization above $10 billion. Overall, they are usually a stable option, with less risk and more sure-fire cash flows than mid and small cap companies.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. They are likely to outperform value stocks in strong bull markets but over the longer-term, value stocks have delivered better returns than growth stocks in almost all markets.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.77%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation to the Information Technology sector--about 40.40% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Atlassian Corp Plc (TEAM - Free Report) accounts for about 1.29% of total assets, followed by Constellation Energy Corp (CEG - Free Report) and Mercadolibre Inc Usd 0.001 (MELI - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 11.73% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

QQQE seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index before fees and expenses. The NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index consists of companies in the NASDAQ-100 Index but each of the securities is initially set at a weight of 1.00% of the Index. The NASDAQ-100 Index includes 100 of the largest non-financial securities listed on NASDAQ based on capitalization.

The ETF has lost about -22.90% so far this year and is down about -20.45% in the last one year (as of 12/19/2022). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $58.71 and $85.79.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 28.03% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 103 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Direxion NASDAQ100 Equal Weighted Index Shares carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, QQQE is a reasonable option for those seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $68.25 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $151.76 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.

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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