While Nasdaq tech companies have been powering ahead, exchange traded funds that target internet stocks have been among the best performers this year.
Year-to-date, the First Trust Dow Jones Internet Index Fund (NYSEArca: FDN) rose 22.4% and PowerShares NASDAQ Internet Portfolio (NasdaqGS: PNQI) gained 20.5%. In contrast, the Nasdaq Composite was up 7.8% and the S&P 500 Index was 2.2% higher so far this year.
ETF investors were also quick to jump on the internet stock bandwagon. For instance, FDN attracted net inflows of $2.6 billion year-to-date, according to ETF.com.
FDN tries to reflect the performance of the Dow Jones Internet Composite, which includes a number of online search engines, social networking, e-commerce, internet infrastructure and telecom services companies.
PNQI follows the NASDAQ Internet Index, which like the name implies includes a number internet-related businesses as well.
Among the top movers and shakers within the sector, Amazon (NasdaqGS: AMZN) surged 113.6% and Netflix (NasdaqGS: NFLX) jumped 140.4% year-to-date as these tech companies expanded their online presence and generated strong earnings growth. AMZN makes up 9.9% of FDN and 8.1% of PNQI. NFLX is 4.8% of FDN and 3.9% of PNQI.