Looking for broad exposure to the Technology - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector ETF (QTEC Quick QuoteQTEC - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on April 19, 2006.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Technology - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 6, placing it in top 38%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $2.68 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Broad segment of the equity market. QTEC seeks to match the performance of the NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index before fees and expenses.

The NASDAQ-100 Technology Sector Index is an equal-weighted index based on the securities of the NASDAQ-100 Index that are classified as technology.

Costs

Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.55%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector -- about 87.5% of the portfolio. Telecom and Consumer Discretionary round out the top three.

Looking at individual holdings, Datadog, Inc. (class A) (DDOG) accounts for about 2.57% of total assets, followed by Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS) and Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT).

The top 10 holdings account for about 23.9% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added about 13.02% and it's up approximately 22.55% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 08/05/2025), respectively. QTEC has traded between $149.56 and $218.81 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.25 and standard deviation of 28.23% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 46 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust NASDAQ-100-Technology Sector ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, QTEC is an excellent option for investors seeking exposure to the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) tracks Technology Select Sector Index and the Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Information Technology 25/50 Index. Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF has $83.43 billion in assets, Vanguard Information Technology ETF has $97.70 billion. XLK has an expense ratio of 0.08%, and VGT charges 0.09%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.