An Irish-based offshoot fund of Nasdaq — the US-based stock exchanged synonymous with the fortunes of hardware, software, internet and biotechnology firms — has had a Nasdaq-100 European Tracker designed to mimic the performance of its US counterpart admitted to the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Nasdaq Exchequer Trader Funds (ETF) is an Irish open-ended investment company managed by Nasdaq Global Funds (Ireland) Ltd, a subsidiary of the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Its Nasdaq 100 European Tracker, otherwise known as EQQQ, is an EFT designed to generally correspond with the price and yield performance of the Nasdaq 100 Index — one of the most closely watched financial barometers in the world.
The Nasdaq 100 Index includes 100 of the largest international, non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq based on market capitalisation and includes Microsoft, Starbucks, Intel and Amazon.com among its numbers.
It is understood Nasdaq ETF has been authorised by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority as an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) under the auspices of the EU’s UCITS III regime, a regulatory framework for many investment funds organised in EU member states.
Nasdaq’s EQQQ fund is now quoted and trading in sterling on the London Stock Exchange.
The portfolio composition and total expense ratio of EQQQ are basically the same as those of its US counterpart, the Nasdaq 100 Index Tracking Stock — one of the most actively traded equities in the world, trading more than 80 million shares per day.
John Jacobs, CEO of Nasdaq Global Funds, commented: “EQQQ now trades on five European exchanges and the LSE is clearly a key venue. This development will give individual, retail and institutional European investors access to some of the world’s most innovative, industry-leading companies on one of the world’s most efficient and trusted markets.”
By John Kennedy
