Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL), QQQ’s largest holding at a weight of almost 14%, is up 16% year-to-date, but recent surges by Amazon and Facebook are driving investors to the ETF. Although QQQ surged 19.2% last year, easily topping the S&P 500, investors pulled more than $11 billion from the fund. Aided by the soaring shares of Amazon and Facebook, QQQ has taken in nearly $570 million in new investments over the past 30 days, according to PowerShares data. That is more than five times as much as the next closest PowerShares ETF.
Betting against QQQ is also a bet against cash-rich companies. Four of the five U.S. companies with the largest cash stockpiles at the end of 2014 were Nasdaq-listed firms: Apple, Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT), Google (NasdaqGM: GOOGL) and Cisco (NasdaqGM: CSCO). Those stocks combine for nearly 31% of QQQ’s weight. [ETFs for Cash-Rich Companies]
Powershares QQQ
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and QQQ.