The PowerShares EQQQ ETF provides exposure to the largest non-financial equities listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market and as such, it can be used as a core portfolio holding. The NASDAQ 100 Index is commonly known as “the” US technology benchmark because of its high concentration of technology companies. The tech sector encompasses everything from computer hardware and software to telecommunications and represents almost two thirds of the index’s value. As such, this fund could appeal to investors looking to add a “tech” tilt to a well-diversified portfolio. However investors should be aware that from the perspective of indivi
dual names, this ETF is heavily biased towards Apple which accounts for 19% of its market capitalisation.
Fundamentale Analyse
The NASDAQ index is dominated by the technology sector; thus overall returns will be largely influenced by its performance.
After a strong start to 2012, more recent data have clouded the outlook for the U.S. economy somewhat. Unemployment remains stubbornly high at 8.2% as only 80,000 jobs were added in June. The three months through June saw just 225.000 new jobs added in total, making it the weakest quarter for job creation since the recovery began in 2010. In addition, the manufacturing sector contracted in June for the first time since July 2009. Weaker retail spending, dropping consumer confidence and a slowing global economy further weigh on sentiment. GDP growth weakened in the first quarter of the year as the economy grew by only 0.5% q/q. For the full year 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank now expects the economy to grow by 1.9%-2.4% and is expecting expansion in the range of 2.2%-2.8% in 2013. This should bring unemployment below 8% by 2013.
In light of the soft economic data, the Fed has called for additional action to support the economic recovery but has failed to provide much detail on exactly what sort of actions should be taken. Officials at the Fed are particularly concerned about the risks stemming from the European sovereign debt crisis and a slowing Chinese economy. In fact, the US trade deficit with China expanded by 6.1% in May as imports outpaced rising exports. However, the overall US trade deficit could decline for the second straight month as exports picked up elsewhere and falling oil prices helped to reduce import costs.
The overall outlook remains gloomy. Most of the drivers that were present at the start of the recovery have subsequently faded; government spending and business investment are falling and manufacturing is slowing due to weaker demand from overseas. High unemployment and a continuously soft housing market also weigh on consumer demand, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of US GDP.
For the tech industry, cloud computing is expected to be a strong driver of future growth with many companies--not only those that are building the cloud's infrastructure--benefiting from the major investments the new technology requires in form of networks, software, storage and other components.
Another long-term driver of the tech sector that one should consider going forward is growth outside the United States. Most of the technology companies making up the NASDAQ have significant exposure to foreign markets and in particular to the emerging markets which are expected to provide the lion's share of the world's economic expansion in the years to come.
Indexkonstruktion
The NASDAQ 100 Index provides equity exposure to the 100 largest non-financial securities listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. It is a market capitalisation weighted index representing major industry groups, like computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. The index is calculated under a modified capitalisation-weighted method with the intention to retain in general the economic attributes of capitalisation-weighting while providing enhanced diversification. In order to achieve its objective, the NASDAQ 100 Index is reviewed quarterly and adjusts the weightings of index constituents using a proprietary algorithm, if certain pre-established weight distribution requirements are not met. To be eligible for the index, component stocks must be listed on the Nasdaq Stock market and meet a list of criteria, like being a non-financial company, trading at least 200,000 shares a day and being listed on the stock market for at least two years. As of writing, the index is heavily biased towards the technology sector (67%), followed by consumer discretionary (16%) and health care (11%). The largest index constituent is Apple, representing 19% of the index’s value, followed by Microsoft (9%) and Google (5%). The index is therefore heavily top weighted as the top 10 holdings represent over 50% of the index.
Fondskonstruktion
The PowerShares EQQQ Fund uses physical replication to track the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index. In order to achieve its objective, the index intends to invest in all of the component stocks of the reference index in their respective weightings. This fund engages in securities lending to generate additional revenues. The lending revenue generated can partially offset the TER. To protect the fund from the counterparty risk that results from this practice, PowerShares takes collateral greater than the loan value. Collateral levels vary but must be in excess of 102%, depending on the assets provided by the borrower as collateral. The fund may hold up to 20% of its NAV in securities from a single issuer in order to achieve his objectives. Under exceptional market conditions, the fund manager may invest up to 35% of the fund’s net assets in securities from a single issuer. In addition, the fund may also hold up to 10% of its NAV in other collective investments schemes. The fund may also invest in financial derivative instruments, including equivalent cash-settled instruments, dealt in on a regulated market. Moreover, the fund can deploy over-the-counter derivatives and invest up to 20% of its NAV in shares and/or debt securities issued by the same body in order to achieve its objective.
Gebühren
The fund levies a total expense ratio of 0.30%, which is in the middle of the range for ETFs tracking the NASDAQ 100. Other potential costs associated with holding this fund which are not included in the TER include rebalancing costs, bid-ask spreads and brokerage fees.
Alternativen
There is no scarcity of alternatives to this fund. Amundi, ComStage, iShares, Lyxor and Credit Suisse all provide ETFs tracking the NASDAQ 100 at lower TERs ranging from 0.23% to 0.30%. The largest in terms of total assets under management is the iShares NASDAQ-100 (DE) Index. iShares uses full replication to track the performance of the reference index and levies a total expense ratio of 0.32%.
Investors looking for a more diversified index providing exposure to US equities could consider using the iShares S&P 500 Index ETF to express their view. The S&P 500 Index’s largest sector exposure is IT (20%), followed by financials (14%) and health care (12%). The biggest single issuer exposure is Apple (5%), followed by Exxon Mobil (3%).
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