BlackRock announced Tuesday that it plans to introduce a new exchange-traded fund tied to the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 index, aiming to capture growing investor interest fueled by the artificial intelligence-driven surge in stock markets.
The new fund, called the iShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, comes from the world’s largest asset manager and will begin trading under its ticker symbol on Thursday. The launch comes just months after the Nasdaq updated its eligibility rules to speed up the addition of newly listed companies, including SpaceX.
The new offering puts BlackRock in direct competition with Invesco, whose Nasdaq-100 products — the QQQ Trust Series 1 and Nasdaq 100 ETFs — have long been the go-to options for investors looking for exposure to large-cap, technology-focused stocks. Last month, State Street also entered the space with its own Nasdaq 100 ETF.
Elise Terry, U.S. head of iShares at BlackRock, explained the rationale behind the launch: “IQQ enhances our ability to offer investors access to the Nasdaq-100 with iShares ETFs — providing complementary strategies that allow them to align their portfolios with their objectives.”
Investor appetite for large-cap and tech-focused stocks has been strong, helping the Nasdaq 100 post its best quarterly performance since April 2020 during the three months ending in June. The index follows the top 100 non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
BlackRock’s new fund will open with an initial net asset value of $24 per share — a significant contrast to Invesco’s competing funds, which carry net asset values of $722.45 and $297.45, respectively.
BlackRock already manages more than $41 billion in assets through its existing Nasdaq 100-related strategies, which include the iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF and the iShares Nasdaq Premium Income Active ETF.
