Launched on April 19, 2006, the First Trust NASDAQ-100 Select Equal Weight ETF (QQEW Quick QuoteQQEW - 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 First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $1.84 billion, making it one of the larger 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. Additionally, growth stocks have a greater level of risk associated with them. 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

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 0.55%, putting it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.19%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. 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 52.8% of the portfolio. Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Doordash, Inc. (class A) (DASH) accounts for about 2.68% of total assets, followed by Airbnb, Inc. (class A) (ABNB) and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW).

The top 10 holdings account for about 25.15% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

QQEW seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index before fees and expenses. The Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight Index is designed to track the performance of the 50 companies from the Nasdaq-100 Index with the highest combined Blended Quality and Growth scores.

The ETF return is roughly 14.34% so far this year and is up roughly 20.68% in the last one year (as of 09/04/2026). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $123.05 and $167.03.

The ETF has a beta of 1.08 and standard deviation of 18.25% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 51 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

First Trust NASDAQ-100 Select Equal Weight 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, QQEW 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 Morningstar Growth ETF (VUG) and the Invesco QQQ (QQQ) track a similar index. While Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF has $229.20 billion in assets, Invesco QQQ has $489.44 billion. VUG has an expense ratio of 0.03% and QQQ charges 0.18%.

Bottom-Line

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they 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.