Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Should iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF (QTOP) Be on Your Investing Radar?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Large Cap Growth segment of the US equity market, the iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF (QTOP - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on October 24, 2024.

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $291.20 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 find themselves in the large cap category typically 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.

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. Further, growth stocks have a higher level of volatility associated with them. Even though growth stocks are more likely to outperform their value counterparts in strong bull markets, value stocks have a record of delivering better returns in almost all markets than growth stocks.

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 0.2%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.33%.

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 61% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 11.33% of total assets, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp (MSFT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 60.23% 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 added about 18.38% so far this year and was up about 40.72% in the last one year (as of 06/18/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $26.83 and $39.26.

The ETF has a beta of 1.37 and standard deviation of 22.84% 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 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 Index Fund ETF Shares (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF Shares has $221.25 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $480.83 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ charges 0.18%.

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.

Published in