Invesco QQQ Doesn't Own a Single Bank, and That's Not the Only Thing the Nasdaq-100 Leaves Out
2026-10-14 23:23
•Daniel Sparks •The Motley Fool
•••• •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Axe Cap view
Why the Nasdaq-100 Misses the Banks and What That Means for SA Investors
The Nasdaq-100 excludes all banks and NYSE companies, skewing exposure away from finance and beyond.
The Invesco QQQ fund tracks the Nasdaq-100 and deliberately leaves out financial firms and companies listed outside Nasdaq. That means big US banks like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are nowhere to be found, nor are giants like Berkshire Hathaway or Visa. It’s an important quirk to understand. While QQQ’s tech-heavy lineup has delivered impressive long-term gains—around 21% per year over the past decade—it misses the defensive qualities and steady dividends that financials provide. For South African investors, this distinction matters because our own banks—Standard Bank, FirstRand, Nedbank, and others—represent a significant chunk of the local market and offer a cushion during volatile periods. Meanwhile, the rand’s fate is linked to global risk appetite, which swings with US financial sector health. Ignoring banks entirely is a bold strategy that can pay off but also risks sharper drawdowns, particularly when rates rise or banking troubles emerge globally. Watch the rand and local banks for signs the dream run in tech may stumble. this is just our opinion and not financial advice
We’d watch QQQ for growth exposure but keep a stake in SA banks—Standard Bank and FirstRand—to balance risks linked to interest rates and economic cycles. Avoid chasing tech without financials as a counterweight. Keep some rand-hedged FX in USD/ZAR to protect against dollar swings.
- QQQ
- Standard Bank
- FirstRand
- USD/ZAR
- US interest rate hikes hurting banks and tech alike
- Rand volatility amplifying offshore exposure losses
7/10
The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq-100 index, excludes all financial companies and any stocks not primarily listed on Nasdaq. This means major banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, as well as NYSE-listed companies like Berkshire Hathaway, Visa, and Oracle, are absent from the fund. Despite missing the entire financial sector (11.5% of the S&P 500), QQQ has delivered superior long-term returns of 21% annually over 10 years compared to 13% for financial sector funds, though it underperformed in certain years like 2022 and 2024.
Our take is based on reporting first published by The Motley Fool.
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