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Is Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (QQQE) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Making its debut on 03/21/2012, smart beta exchange traded fund Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (QQQE - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Direxion. QQQE has been able to amass assets over $1.32 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, QQQE seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index.
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.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.35%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.85%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 39.20% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Constellation Energy (CEG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.28% of total assets, followed by Starbucks Corp (SBUX - Free Report) and Arm Holdings Plc-Adr (ARM - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 11.47% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, QQQE has gained about 1.52%, and was up about 3.17% in the last one year (as of 03/05/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $82.41 and $97.98.
QQQE has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 20.83% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund 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 is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
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 $151.47 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $317.92 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 Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (QQQE) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Making its debut on 03/21/2012, smart beta exchange traded fund Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares (QQQE - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Growth category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.
Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
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.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Direxion. QQQE has been able to amass assets over $1.32 billion, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Style Box - Large Cap Growth. Before fees and expenses, QQQE seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index.
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.
Cost & Other Expenses
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.
With on par with most peer products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.35%.
It's 12-month trailing dividend yield comes in at 0.85%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
ETFs offer diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk, but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 39.20% of the portfolio. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare round out the top three.
Looking at individual holdings, Constellation Energy (CEG - Free Report) accounts for about 1.28% of total assets, followed by Starbucks Corp (SBUX - Free Report) and Arm Holdings Plc-Adr (ARM - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 11.47% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
So far this year, QQQE has gained about 1.52%, and was up about 3.17% in the last one year (as of 03/05/2025). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $82.41 and $97.98.
QQQE has a beta of 1.05 and standard deviation of 20.83% for the trailing three-year period, which makes the fund 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 is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Style Box - Large Cap Growth segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
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 $151.47 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $317.92 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.