BlackRock Files for Nasdaq-100 ETF to Compete with Invesco

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, filed a regulatory application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 6 for a new exchange-traded fund designed to track the Nasdaq-100 index, positioning it as a direct competitor to Invesco's longstanding dominance in the space.

The proposed iShares Nasdaq-100 ETF, which would trade under the ticker IQQ if approved, aims to provide investors with exposure to the index comprising the 100 largest nonfinancial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The index is heavily weighted toward technology firms, including giants like Nvidia and Apple. Details on the fund's fees were not included in the initial filing, though ETF analyst Eric Balchunas estimated they could be around 10 to 12 basis points, potentially lower than Invesco's QQQ Trust at 18 basis points and its Nasdaq-100 ETF at 15 basis points.

For nearly four decades since the Nasdaq-100's creation in 1985, Nasdaq has tightly controlled licensing for pure index-tracking products in the U.S., granting exclusive access to Invesco. That arrangement has fueled the growth of Invesco's QQQ Trust, which manages about $374 billion in assets, and its QQQM fund,...