The Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500 are two of the most popular US equity indices. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) designed to follow these two benchmarks are often used to anchor core portfolios. In EMEA*, passive ETFs tracking the Nasdaq-100 have about USD$49 billion in assets compared with USD$333 billion for those tracking the S&P 500. But could that gap narrow in coming years?
It’s difficult to predict but a case could be made that the Nasdaq-100 could be the index of the future, as its constituents have a demonstrated ability to be nimble and adaptive to shifting trends in the market. Whether it’s Amazon starting as an online book retailer and expanding into web services through AWS, or Apple starting as a computer maker and becoming one of the largest cell phone manufacturers in the world, many Nasdaq-100 companies have shown the ability to diversify as consumer needs have evolved.
Investment risks: For complete information on risks, refer to the legal documents. Please see below for more information. Value Fluctuation, Equity, Concentration, Securities Lending.
The benchmark to beat
Is nearly 15 years of outperformance a fluke or a meaningful trend?
Let’s check the numbers. Since 1 January 2008, the Nasdaq-100 Index has delivered a cumulative total return of 1118.67%, more than double the 475.46% return of the S&P 500 Index. That works out to an annualized return of 15.75% for the Nasdaq-100 compared with 10.78% for the S&P 500.