BlackRock filed on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the iShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, a new fund that would trade under the ticker IQQ and track the Nasdaq 100 Index. The filing puts the world’s largest asset manager directly into a corner of the U.S. ETF market that Invesco has long dominated.
The planned fund would give BlackRock another way to sell Nasdaq 100 exposure in the United States, where Invesco’s QQQ Trust Series 1 has grown into a $374 billion giant and its QQQM ETF now holds $70 billion. Shares of Invesco fell 5.2% on Monday after the filing landed.
The Nasdaq 100, created by Nasdaq in 1985, tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange. That structure has made it one of the most closely watched benchmarks in the market, and it has also made the fight over who packages it for investors unusually valuable. Fees for BlackRock’s proposed fund were not yet listed in the filing.
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BlackRock already manages four Nasdaq 100-tracking ETFs globally, and in the United States it also offers the iShares Nasdaq Top 30 Stocks ETF, ticker QTOP, and the iShares Nasdaq-100 ex Top 30 ETF, ticker QNXT. That existing lineup gives the firm a platform to challenge Invesco without starting from zero.
Kenneth Worthington at JPMorgan said his team sees IQQ’s potential entry as “a credible competitive threat” to QQQ, adding that BlackRock is “well positioned to leverage distribution partnerships.” Nasdaq, meanwhile, said demand for Nasdaq 100 exposure continues to grow globally and that it is focused on extending international reach and deepening institutional access by working with a select set of partners in key markets.
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Nasdaq also said it maintains a valuable, longstanding partnership with Invesco and remains committed to supporting the continued strength and success of the Invesco QQQ Innovation Suite as a cornerstone of the Nasdaq 100 ecosystem. An Invesco spokesperson said creating a foundational ETF ecosystem does not happen overnight and that the firm has always taken a long-term view on building and facilitating its development. The spokesperson added: “There is only one QQQ.”
BlackRock’s move does not erase Invesco’s lead. It does, however, introduce a heavyweight rival into a market that has already been built around one brand for years, and it signals that the contest for Nasdaq 100 flows may finally be widening beyond the company that turned QQQ into a benchmark name.
