QQQ: A Tech Bet & My Slightly Anxious Portfolio

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Right. So, the QQQ. Apparently, it’s the fifth most popular ETF globally. Which, honestly, feels a bit… intense. Like everyone’s in on some secret I haven’t been told. Apparently, a few hedge fund billionaires have been adding shares. Israel Englander, Cliff Asness… names that just sound… decisive. Unlike me. They increased their stakes by 65% and 17% respectively. Which is… a lot. I’m currently struggling to increase my vegetable intake by 10%.

The thing is, these managers have, historically, outperformed the S&P 500. Which is good. But “outperforming” doesn’t mean “guaranteed success,” does it? It just means they’ve been slightly less wrong than everyone else. And it’s all tied up in technology, specifically things that might benefit from this… AI thing. Everyone’s talking about AI. It’s like the new kale. Supposedly good for you, but I suspect it’ll mostly end up as an expensive, forgotten trend.

I’m thinking of it as a way to get some tech exposure without actually having to choose tech stocks. Because the thought of picking individual companies fills me with a low-level dread. What if I pick the wrong one? What if it turns out to be… Enron 2.0? This ETF feels… safer. Relatively speaking, of course. Everything feels a bit precarious at the moment.

The QQQ & My Growing List of “What Ifs”

It’s heavily invested in the Nasdaq-100, which is basically the top 100 non-financial companies on the Nasdaq. So, a lot of tech. Here’s the breakdown of the top holdings, which I’ve stared at for approximately 47 minutes:

  1. Nvidia: 8.9% (Apparently essential for AI. Also sounds like a villain in a sci-fi film.)
  2. Apple: 7.6% (Still going strong. I wonder if Steve Jobs would approve of all this AI hype.)
  3. Alphabet: 6.7% (Google. They know too much about me already.)
  4. Microsoft: 5.8% (Still running the world, one spreadsheet at a time.)
  5. Amazon: 4.3% (Delivers everything. Including my existential dread.)
  6. Tesla: 4% (Electric cars and… robots? It’s a lot.)
  7. Meta Platforms: 3.7% (Facebook. I try not to think about it.)
  8. Walmart: 3.3% (Surprisingly high. Apparently, even robots need groceries.)
  9. Broadcom: 3.1% (I have no idea what they do.)
  10. Micron Technology: 2.6% (Also no idea.)

Apparently, AI spending is predicted to grow at 30% annually through 2033. Which sounds… optimistic. Like someone’s done some very enthusiastic forecasting. Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet all have these “public clouds” which, frankly, sounds terrifying. And Nvidia is apparently dominating the AI infrastructure market. It’s all very… complex.

Can $500 a Month Actually Make Me Rich? (A Highly Skeptical Calculation)

Okay, so the historical returns. Apparently, over the last two decades, the QQQ has returned 1,610%, compounding at 15.2% annually. Which is… astonishing. But past performance is never a guarantee, is it? I’m assuming a slightly more conservative 13% annual return, just to be safe. Or, you know, to avoid complete disappointment.

At that rate, $500 invested monthly could be worth approximately $110,500 in a decade and $485,600 in two decades. Which sounds… improbable. But let’s entertain the fantasy for a moment. Here’s a table, just to fuel my delusions:

Holding Period $200 Per Month $400 Per Month $600 Per Month
10 years $44,200 $88,400 $132,600
20 years $194,200 $388,500 $582,800

Of course, there’s a catch. The QQQ is volatile. It’s gone down more than 12% six times in the last decade and plummeted 35% in 2022. And there’s an expense ratio of 0.20%. So, they get a cut. Everyone gets a cut. It’s the circle of financial life.

Units of Cryptocurrency Lost: 7. Hours Spent Watching Charts: 14. Number of Panicked Texts to Friends: 32. Still, it feels… less terrifying than trying to pick individual stocks. Maybe. Possibly. I’ll keep you posted. But don’t hold your breath.

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2026-02-20 12:24