# How Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/qqqm
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on QQQM alone. It places QQQM (Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where QQQM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: QQQM's full trading record, from October 2020 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **What you're buying:** QQQM is a technology bet first: 59% of assets, versus 38% in the S&P 500. QQQM and VUG (Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF) have tracked each other (0.98). The larger fund is VUG.
- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, QQQM rose 11.2%, ahead of 91% of the ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. After a 22.7% loss from February 2025 to April 2025, QQQM has bounced 22.3% off the low.
- **Fund or market?:** QQQM rose 3.3% over the past 3 months, in line with the S&P 500, which rose 3.9%: a market move, not its own.
- **Long term:** QQQM turned $10,000 into $19,800 over the past 5 years, against $18,200 in the S&P 500. QQQM's 5-year return of 98.0% puts it ahead of 92% of the ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 81.7%.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, QQQM fell 33.4%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than IWF (iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF, 31.2%) but less than FBCG (Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF, 38.8%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, QQQM has a correlation of 0.92 over 5 years, more closely than 86% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. When the S&P 500 had a down month, QQQM usually fell with it (18 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) and XLK (State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF) were ahead of QQQM in most short and long periods.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** VLUE (iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF, US large-cap value) and PVAL (Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF, US large-cap value) earned more than QQQM with less volatility over the past 5 years. VLUE returned 15.9% a year at 18.4% volatility, against 14.6% a year at 22.9%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 38 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than QQQM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVS (Novartis), RY (Royal Bank of Canada) and TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank).

## How much would $10,000 in QQQM have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in QQQM over the past 5 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of QQQM over the same span and QQQM's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in QQQM at the end of September 2021 would have grown to $21,372 by September 2026, more than the $19,000 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of QQQM, and SMH finished highest, at $48,982.

## QQQM at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- QQQM's deepest decline since it began trading in 2020 was 35.0%, from November 2021 to November 2022. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over five full calendar years, QQQM's best was 2023, when it returned 55.0%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 32.5%. It lost money in one of those years.
- QQQM is 5.5% below its all-time high.

- Type: ETF, Broad Market (Asset Management)
- Trading since: October 13, 2020
- Assets: $110B
- Expense ratio: 0.15%
- Volatility (5 years): 22.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −35.0%, from November 19, 2021 to November 3, 2022; back at its high by December 12, 2023

| Period | QQQM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −3.2% |
| 3 months | +3.3% |
| 6 months | +11.2% |
| year to date | +17.5% |
| 1 year | +18.0% |
| 3 years | +106% |
| 5 years | +98.0% |

## QQQM against the whole market

Where QQQM ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does QQQM rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks QQQM on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- QQQM's 5-year return ranks in the top 8% of the 1,560 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with 5 years of history.
- QQQM is among the more volatile ETFs: its price swings rank in the bottom 17% of the 1,560 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | QQQM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +18.0% | 554 of 2,485 (top 23%) |
| 3-year return | +106% | 189 of 1,949 (top 10%) |
| 5-year return | +98.0% | 130 of 1,560 (top 9%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 22.9% | 1,301 of 1,560 (top 84%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 499 of 1,560 (top 32%) |

### What has beaten QQQM on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- Nine stocks and 29 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than QQQM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half QQQM's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 17% less than QQQM's 22.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 0.71 for QQQM.
- None of QQQM's popular alternatives made it, but PVAL (US large-cap value) did: 16.1% a year at 15.1% volatility, 34% less than QQQM's 22.9%.

### Is there a better investment than QQQM?

The table below lists investments that beat QQQM over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among QQQM's popular alternatives, SMH and XLK were ahead of QQQM in most short and long periods.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, VLUE (US large-cap value) and PVAL (US large-cap value) earned more than QQQM with less volatility over the past 5 years. VLUE returned 15.9% a year at 18.4% volatility, against 14.6% a year at 22.9%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 38 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than QQQM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVS, RY and TD.

The 15 strongest of 38 investments that beat QQQM over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 5Y return | Correlation with QQQM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QQQM: Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (this page) |  | +14.6% | 22.9% | 0.71 | −35.0% | +98.0% |  |  |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +122% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +225% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Banks | +15.8% | 20.0% | 0.84 | −42.0% | +109% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MO](https://easycompare.io/research/mo): Altria Group, Inc. | Tobacco | +17.8% | 21.4% | 0.88 | −53.7% | +126% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [NVS](https://easycompare.io/research/nvs): Novartis AG | Pharmaceuticals | +17.1% | 20.7% | 0.87 | −26.8% | +121% | 0.16 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.7% | 18.9% | 0.96 | −26.4% | +126% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +15.9% | 18.4% | 0.90 | −39.5% | +109% | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| CRAK: VanEck Oil Refiners ETF | Energy | +19.8% | 20.9% | 0.97 | −58.8% | +146% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +23.5% | 18.8% | 1.22 | −75.2% | +187% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| NXTG: First Trust Indxx NextG ETF | Technology | +16.2% | 19.1% | 0.89 | −33.6% | +112% | 0.84 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FFLC: Fidelity Fundamental Large Cap Core ETF | Broad Market | +15.7% | 16.8% | 0.95 | −19.7% | +107% | 0.79 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +119% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [CB](https://easycompare.io/research/cb): Chubb Limited | Property & Casualty Insurance | +15.7% | 20.4% | 0.82 | −42.6% | +107% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [CM](https://easycompare.io/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | Banks | +19.2% | 21.6% | 0.93 | −47.3% | +141% | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [EPD](https://easycompare.io/research/epd): Enterprise Products Partners L.P. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +16.4% | 17.1% | 0.98 | −58.1% | +113% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## QQQM against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against QQQM, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do QQQM's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- None of the 16 popular alternatives earned more than QQQM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Over the past 5 years, QQQM returned 14.6% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (22.9% against 17.1%).

### Has QQQM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares QQQM with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over seven periods from one month to five years.

- XLK outperformed QQQM in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- Two of the 21 popular alternatives, XLK and SMH, outperformed QQQM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 2 long-term timeframes.
- XLK and SPY earned more for the risk they took than QQQM (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | Periods ahead of QQQM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QQQM: Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (this page) | +18.0% | +106% | +98.0% |  |  | 0.71 |
| [XLK](https://easycompare.io/research/xlk): State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | +29.3% | +131% | +143% | 4/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.82 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | +57.8% | +290% | +323% | 3/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | consistent | 0.97 |
| [SPYG](https://easycompare.io/research/spyg): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF | +15.8% | +110% | +86.5% | 2/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.69 |
| VOOG: Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF | +15.8% | +110% | +86.0% | 2/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.69 |
| FBCG: Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF | +14.0% | +114% | +78.6% | 0/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | +22.5% | +77.9% | +76.6% | 4/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| QQQJ: Invesco NASDAQ Next Gen 100 ETF | +23.3% | +92.4% | +33.3% | 3/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| MGK: Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF | +11.9% | +104% | +88.2% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [SCHG](https://easycompare.io/research/schg): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF | +10.4% | +99.2% | +85.4% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [IVW](https://easycompare.io/research/ivw): iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF | +15.7% | +109% | +85.3% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.68 |
| IUSG: iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF | +15.9% | +107% | +83.7% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.68 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| [VUG](https://easycompare.io/research/vug): Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF | +10.2% | +100% | +78.6% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| ONEQ: Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF | +15.9% | +107% | +83.6% | 1/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.65 |
| QQQE: Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index ETF | +15.6% | +66.6% | +47.6% | 1/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.48 |
| QQEW: First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF | +9.9% | +57.7% | +39.1% | 1/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| [QQQ](https://easycompare.io/research/qqq): Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | +17.9% | +106% | +97.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| IWY: iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF | +4.7% | +90.1% | +83.8% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [VONG](https://easycompare.io/research/vong): Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF | +4.1% | +88.3% | +75.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [IWF](https://easycompare.io/research/iwf): iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | +4.0% | +87.7% | +74.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| QTOP: iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF | +18.5% | — | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | — |

### How did QQQM do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2021, along with where QQQM ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- QQQM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in three of its five full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last three.
- Among its popular alternatives, SMH came out ahead of QQQM most often, in four of the five years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, QQQM finished in the top quarter in one of five years and in the bottom quarter in no. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 18.

| Year | QQQM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +20.8% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +25.7% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +55.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −32.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +27.5% | +28.7% |

## Risk and diversification

How QQQM has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were QQQM's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all five of QQQM's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 13 months, after QQQM fell 35.0% from November 2021 to November 2022.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −35.0% | November 19, 2021 | November 3, 2022 | December 12, 2023 | −19.7% | 2022 bear market |
| −22.7% | February 19, 2025 | April 8, 2025 | June 24, 2025 | −18.8% |  |
| −13.6% | July 10, 2024 | August 7, 2024 | November 6, 2024 | −7.6% |  |
| −12.0% | October 29, 2025 | March 30, 2026 | April 15, 2026 | −7.5% |  |
| −11.2% | June 2, 2026 | July 29, 2026 | September 22, 2026 | −3.7% |  |

### How did QQQM do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far QQQM, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- None of its popular alternatives fell less than QQQM in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- QQQM began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but nine of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was VUG's 50.7%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.
- QQQM fell further than the S&P 500 in one of the two crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when QQQM fell 33.4% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

| Crash | Dates | QQQM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | not trading | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | not trading | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | not trading | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | not trading | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | not trading | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | not trading | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −33.4% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.1% | −3.4% |

### How closely does QQQM move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Only SMH, XLK and VTV had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than QQQM's 1.04, out of 16 popular alternatives with the same record.
- Over the past 5 years, QQQM captured 114% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 110% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.22. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.

Measured over the past 5 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QQQM: Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (this page) | 114% | 110% | 1.22 |
| [XLK](https://easycompare.io/research/xlk): State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | 128% | 105% | 1.33 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 177% | 116% | 1.72 |
| [SPYG](https://easycompare.io/research/spyg): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF | 110% | 111% | 1.16 |
| FBCG: Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF | 121% | 132% | 1.36 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | 84.0% | 79.0% | 0.75 |
| QQQJ: Invesco NASDAQ Next Gen 100 ETF | 97.0% | 133% | 1.13 |
| MGK: Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF | 115% | 119% | 1.23 |
| [SCHG](https://easycompare.io/research/schg): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF | 114% | 119% | 1.19 |
| IUSG: iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF | 109% | 112% | 1.16 |
| [VUG](https://easycompare.io/research/vug): Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF | 112% | 120% | 1.22 |
| ONEQ: Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF | 113% | 119% | 1.22 |
| QQQE: Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index ETF | 93.0% | 112% | 1.08 |
| QQEW: First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF | 94.0% | 118% | 1.08 |
| [QQQ](https://easycompare.io/research/qqq): Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | 114% | 110% | 1.22 |
| IWY: iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF | 108% | 109% | 1.16 |
| [VONG](https://easycompare.io/research/vong): Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF | 106% | 111% | 1.16 |

### What diversifies QQQM?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in QQQM into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+16.4% for QQQM alone, +17.4% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of QQQM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.46 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- In 2022, the one year QQQM lost money (-32.5%), MCK returned +51.8%.

| Investment | Correlation with QQQM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in QQQM's 1 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.30 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 1 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.46 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 1 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.38 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 1 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.37 | +140% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 0 of 1 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.09 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 0 of 1 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.03 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 1 of 1 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.24 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 1 of 1 |
| EFV: iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF | 0.43 | +89.0% | 15.9% | 0.88 | 0 of 1 |

## Common questions

### What was QQQM's worst drawdown?

QQQM's deepest decline since it began trading in 2020 was 35.0%, from November 2021 to November 2022. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because QQQM launched in October 2020, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or six other sell-offs.

### What were QQQM's best and worst years?

Over five full calendar years, QQQM's best year was 2023, when it returned 55.0%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -32.5%.

### Is there a better investment than QQQM?

Among QQQM's popular alternatives, SMH and XLK were ahead of QQQM in most short and long periods. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, VLUE (US large-cap value) and PVAL (US large-cap value) earned more than QQQM with less volatility over the past 5 years. VLUE returned 15.9% a year at 18.4% volatility, against 14.6% a year at 22.9%.

### Is QQQM more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. QQQM's volatility over the past 5 years was 22.9%, 1.3 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, QQQM's return lands within 22.9% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is QQQM's Sharpe ratio?

QQQM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.71, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so QQQM earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is QQQM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, QQQM's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.92 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They move almost in lockstep, so holding both adds little diversification. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against QQQM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a QQQM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to QQQM?

Of the 21 popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed QQQM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 2 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: XLK and SMH.

### Did QQQM outperform the S&P 500?

QQQM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of five full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +20.8%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did QQQM do in stock market crashes?

QQQM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in none of the two major crashes it has traded through, and further in one. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when QQQM fell 33.4% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies QQQM?

These had a low correlation with QQQM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.30), DXJ (correlation 0.46) and EMLP (correlation 0.38); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.18), MCK (correlation 0.02) and MPC (correlation 0.11). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/qqqm
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against QQQM live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=QQQM&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research