Nasdaq: Opportunities and Perspectives for Investors in Focus

Investing in the Nasdaq can have different meanings depending on the perspective. On one hand, it could be about the Nasdaq Composite, one of the three main indices of the U.S. stock market, which includes nearly all stocks listed on the Nasdaq exchange. On the other hand, it might refer to the Nasdaq-100, which represents 100 of the largest non-financial stocks within the Composite Index. Both investment options offer different advantages. The Nasdaq Composite is broad and diversified with over 2,500 companies, while the Nasdaq-100 focuses on the giants of the market landscape. For the coming year, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) like the Invesco QQQ Trust, which tracks the Nasdaq-100, could be of interest to investors. This ETF is very popular and has delivered impressive returns over the years. The Invesco QQQ Trust ETF is market-weighted, which means larger companies make up a higher proportion of the fund. This results in a few mega-cap technology companies having a strong influence on the price. With over 52% of the ETF invested in ten companies, diversification is not the main feature, yet the growth prospects of these firms are impressive. At the forefront are megatrends such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and electric vehicles, which have the potential to drive growth into 2025 and beyond. In the cloud computing sector, Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet dominate with market shares of 31%, 20%, and 11%. The global electric vehicle industry, estimated at over $500 billion in 2023, could reach nearly $1.9 trillion by 2032. The Invesco QQQ Trust ETF has shown remarkable performance since its launch in March 1999. In 25 years, it has achieved a return of over 930%, which corresponds to an average annual return of around 9.5%, exceeding the S&P 500. An initially invested amount of $1,000 would be worth over $10,300 today.