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Should Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (QQQE) Be on Your Investing Radar?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market? You should consider the Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (QQQE - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 03/21/2012.

The fund is sponsored by Direxion. It has amassed assets over $1.21 billion, 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. They tend to be stable companies with predictable cash flows and are usually less volatile than mid and small cap companies.

Qualities of growth stocks include faster growth rates compared to the broader market, as well as higher valuations and higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. 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

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

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

It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, 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 40.70% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Pdd Holdings Inc (PDD - Free Report) accounts for about 1.40% of total assets, followed by Crowdstrike Holdings Inc - A (CRWD - Free Report) and Zscaler Inc (ZS - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 12.2% 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 gained about 3.58% so far this year and it's up approximately 25.43% in the last one year (as of 03/06/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $67 and $89.24.

The ETF has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 21.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 102 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, QQQE is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth ETF has $113.80 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $252.71 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.04% and QQQ charges 0.20%.

Bottom-Line

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also 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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