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Should Invesco QQQ (QQQ) 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 Invesco QQQ (QQQ - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 03/10/1999.

The fund is sponsored by Invesco. It has amassed assets over $248.52 billion, making it the largest 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.

Growth stocks have higher than average sales and earnings growth rates. While these are expected to grow faster than the broader market, they also have higher valuations. Something to keep in mind is the higher level of volatility that is affiliated with growth stocks. 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 0.20%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.53%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. 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 50.60% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Apple Inc (AAPL - Free Report) accounts for about 9.44% of total assets, followed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT - Free Report) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 45.82% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

QQQ seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index before fees and expenses. The Nasdaq-100 Index includes 100 of the largest domestic and international nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization.

The ETF has added about 6.29% so far this year and is up about 49.14% in the last one year (as of 02/29/2024). In the past 52-week period, it has traded between $288.55 and $438.07.

The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 23.44% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 101 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

Invesco QQQ 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, QQQ 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 iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF - Free Report) and the Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG - Free Report) track a similar index. While iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF has $87.42 billion in assets, Vanguard Growth ETF has $114.13 billion. IWF has an expense ratio of 0.19% and VUG charges 0.04%.

Bottom-Line

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

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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