Exchange traded products tracking benchmarks sponsored by NASDAQ OMX Group’s (NasdaqGS: NDAQ) NASDAQ Indexes group added assets, along with the rest of the ETP industry, this year.
The PowerShares QQQ (NasdaqGM: QQQ), the NASDAQ-100 tracking ETF, is the marquee ETF tracking a NASDAQ index. With $41.2 billion in assets under management, QQQ is one of the largest U.S.-listed ETFs, but of the $103 billion in ETP assets linked to NASDAQ indexes, 56% is allocated to ETFs other than QQQ and QQQ equivalents. That percentage is up from 45% in 2012, according to NASDAQ.
Earlier this year, NASDAQ said it intends to ratchet up competition against rivals like S&P Dow Jones Indices, MSCI and FTSE Group that have capitalized on the quick growth in ETFs. NASDAQ OMX has previously been rumored as a suitor for some indexing businesses that have been seeking buyers. [NASDAQ Looks to Expand Indexing Presence]
There are currently nearly 170 ETFs tracking NASDAQ benchmarks, including 27 that debuted this year. celebrated its 15-year anniversary on March 10. ETFs that track the Nasdaq-100 index are now listed in China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Israel, among other countries.
In addition QQQ and comparable products, NASDAQ is the index provider to a broad swath of other ETFs familiar to U.S. investors, including the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NasdaqGM: IBB), PowerShares Buyback Achievers Portfolio (NYSEArca: PKW) and the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSEArca: VIG). IBB is the largest U.S. biotech ETF and VIG is the largest dividend ETF. IBB and VIG have added nearly $1 billion combined in new assets this year.
As has been the case with the NASDAQ-100, NASDAQ OMX has capitalized on the success of the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, IBB’s underlying benchmark, in global markets as ETFs comparable to IBB have popped up twice in Israel and for the first time in London and Seoul this year. [Biotech ETFs Surge]
“The Nasdaq Buyback Achievers brand continued to expand, as PowerShares launched ETPs linked to the Nasdaq International Buyback Achievers Index and the Nasdaq Global Buyback Achievers Index launched in the US and London, respectively. Three additional ETPs were launched in Israel by Psagot and KSM Financial Instruments Ltd (KSM) which track the Nasdaq International and Nasdaq US Buyback Achievers Indexes,” said NASDAQ in a statement.
The PowerShares International BuyBack Achievers Portfolio (NYSEArca: IPKW), the global equivalent of the wildly popular PKW, debuted in the U.S. in February.
Other new ETFs tracking NASDAQ indexes, include the First Trust Eurozone AlphaDEX ETF (NasdaqGM: FEUZ), which debuted less than two months ago and already has nearly $375 million in assets under management. [Fast Start for a new Europe ETF]
“Assets in the Guggenheim BulletShares family of ETFs reached $6.3 billion in the 18-months since the joint venture between Nasdaq and Accretive Asset Management began. These products are designed to track the Nasdaq BulletShares family of Indexes. In November 2014, two ETFs were launched by The Bank of Montreal in Hong Kong tracking Nasdaq Indexes. The BMO Hong Kong Banks ETF and the BMO Asia High Dividend ETF mark the first ETPs tracking Nasdaq Indexes in Hong Kong,” according to NASDAQ.
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of QQQ.