The Disappearance of a Position

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On the fifteenth of January, 2026 – a date now marked, perhaps unnecessarily, in the ledgers – JP Wealth Management, Inc. executed a complete divestment of its holdings in the First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF (QQEW +0.43%). The transaction, estimated at $17.83 million based on the quarterly average – a figure which, in itself, feels strangely provisional – has prompted a quiet unease, a subtle shift in the ambient anxiety of the market. It is not the magnitude of the sale, precisely, but the completeness of it, the absolute severing of ties, that feels…significant.

The Unfolding

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, dated as above, details the liquidation of 126,339 shares. The calculation of $17.83 million, derived from the average share price over the quarter, feels less like an objective valuation and more like an attempt to impose order on a fundamentally chaotic system. The fund’s position in QQEW now registers as zero, a stark and unsettling nullity. The net change, a precise $17.83 million, echoes with a bureaucratic finality that is, frankly, unnerving. One wonders about the internal procedures that led to this precise accounting, the endless forms and confirmations required to reach such a definitive conclusion.

Further Considerations

JP Wealth Management, Inc. has effectively erased QQEW from its portfolio, reducing its allocation to precisely nothing. This is not a reduction, not a trimming of excess; it is an obliteration. The remaining holdings, listed below, seem to exist in a state of precarious balance, as if bracing for a similar fate.

  • NYSEMKT:DFAC: $32.04 million (22.6% of AUM)
  • NASDAQ:QQQM: $29.10 million (20.6% of AUM)
  • NYSE:STEW: $27.36 million (19.3% of AUM)
  • NYSE:TSI: $15.99 million (11.3% of AUM)
  • NYSEMKT:PHYS: $14.19 million (10.0% of AUM)

As of January 14, 2026, QQEW shares were valued at $141.00, an increase of 12.94% over the preceding year. However, this gain is rendered almost meaningless by its underperformance against the S&P 500, trailing by 5.61 percentage points. The market, it seems, rewards conformity, not necessarily success.

QQEW currently sits 3.11% below its 52-week high, a seemingly insignificant detail that nonetheless contributes to the overall sense of unease. The trailing dividend yield of 0.41% feels less like an income stream and more like a palliative, a small offering to appease the inevitable.

A Brief Examination of the Instrument

The fund’s investment strategy centers on tracking the Nasdaq-100 Equal Weighted Index, a system designed to distribute assets equally across 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq. This equal weighting, while seemingly rational, creates a different kind of vulnerability, a dependence on the collective mediocrity of the many rather than the exceptional performance of the few. The portfolio is broadly diversified, spanning major U.S. and international sectors, ensuring that no single constituent dominates, and yet, this diversification feels less like strength and more like a diffusion of responsibility.

The fund, structured as an exchange-traded fund (ETF), offers daily liquidity and transparency – qualities that, in the current climate, feel increasingly illusory.

The Implications, if Any

This transaction by JP Wealth Management – this complete and utter abandonment of a position – signals a shift in strategy, but whether this shift holds any meaning for the average investor is, of course, the question. QQEW is, notably, the equal-weighted version of QQQ. This means it holds the same stocks, but divides its holdings equally, rather than weighting them by market capitalization. In practice, this means a smaller percentage allocated to giants like Nvidia, Microsoft, and Apple. A curious decision, to deliberately diminish exposure to the most dominant forces.

Over the last five years, QQEW has generated a total return of 42.1%, while QQQ has achieved 105.4%. The diversification offered by QQEW has not, demonstrably, paid off. The choice, therefore, for retail investors, comes down to this: does the illusion of diversification outweigh the demonstrable reality of higher returns? It is a question each investor must answer for themselves, trapped as they are within the labyrinth of their own risk tolerance. For some, particularly those prone to anxiety, QQEW might offer a fleeting sense of security. For others, the lure of greater returns, however precarious, will prove irresistible.

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2026-01-16 18:04