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Should iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF (QTOP) 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 iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF (QTOP - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on October 24, 2024.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $244.97 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

Large cap companies typically 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.

While growth stocks do boast higher than average sales and earnings growth rates, and they are expected to grow faster than the wider market, investors should note these kinds of stocks have higher valuations. Also, growth stocks are a type of equity that carries more risk compared to others. When you consider growth versus value, growth stocks are usually the clear winner in strong bull markets but tend to fall flat in nearly all other environments.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.2%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.37%.

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 58.9% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 11.75% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 61.83% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

QTOP seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 TOP 30 INDEX before fees and expenses. The Nasdaq-100 Top 30 Index composes of the 30 largest companies by market capitalization within the Nasdaq 100 Index.

The ETF has gained about 5.5% so far this year and was up about 50.35% in the last one year (as of 04/17/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $21.87 and $33.69.

The ETF has a beta of 1.16 and standard deviation of 22.62% for the trailing three-year period. With about 35 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF 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, QTOP is an excellent 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 Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares has $206.60 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $414.76 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ charges 0.18%.

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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