As of September 30, 2004, QQQ was the most actively traded ETF in the world and the most heavily traded listed equity security in the U.S.1 QQQ's volume has increased from an average of 6.9 million shares traded daily in 1999 to 100.3 million shares traded on average in 2004. 2 QQQ has grown significantly since its inception: from $14.5 million in assets at its launch on March 4, 1999 to $22.1 billion in assets as of October 31, 2004; and from 300 thousand total shares outstanding to 598.3 million during the same time frame. 3
In addition, QQQ has accumulated a base of over one million investors, 4 becoming a popular financial instrument among institutional and individual investors.
QQQ is an exchange traded fund (ETF) designed to correspond to the price and yield performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index, which consists of NASDAQ's largest 100 non-financial companies. QQQ currently trades at a value set by NASDAQ at approximately 1/40 th of the value of the NASDAQ-100 Index. For more information about QQQ, visit http://www.nasdaq-100.com .
ETFs are financial products that trade like shares of stock. ETFs can be bought and sold throughout the trading day and through any broker. ETFs are subject to risks similar to those of stocks, including short-selling and margin account maintenance.
NASDAQ is the largest U.S. electronic stock market. With approximately 3,300 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at http://www.nasdaq.com or the NASDAQ Newsroom at http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/.
1 Source: Morgan Stanley Exchange Traded Funds Strategies: ETFs End of Third Quarter 2004 Review, October 12, 2004, p.15.
2 Source: FactSet Research Systems Inc. Data as of October 31, 2004.
3 Source: The Bank of New York
4 Source: ADP Brokerage Services Group
