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2015 was a banner year for technology.
Apple launched Siri and its Watch product. Microsoft released Windows 10. Google revamped its corporate structure – renaming itself Alphabet in the process. And Instagram, which had been bought by Facebook just three years earlier, surpassed Twitter for monthly active users.
And on 26 May 2015, Betashares launched its first ETF providing exposure to the Nasdaq 100, the NDQ Nasdaq 100 ETF .
Today, NDQ is one of the top 10 ETFs in Australia (by market capitalisation). To celebrate this occasion, we look back at some of the Nasdaq 100’s biggest stories over the last decade.
Assessing Nasdaq 100’s strong performance
In the last 10 years, the Nasdaq 100 has returned more than 367% (17.81% annually). This outpaces the S&P 500, which returned 175.8% (12.66% annually) over that same time frame.
Source: Bloomberg. As at 26 May 2025. Returns shown in USD terms. Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 index relative performance rebased to 100 as at 26 May 2015. You cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.
Even in currency hedged form, the Nasdaq 100 has returned over 129% (14.68% annually) in the past 10 years. This is also greater than the performance of the currency hedged S&P 500, which returned 88% (10.84% annually) in the same timeframe.
Before the Magnificent Seven…
The Magnificent Seven didn’t make the leap from movie title to investing term until 2023. Since then, most retail investors have become familiar with the group of companies behind the moniker: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.
The Bloomberg index of these companies is up 368.66% (35.12% annually) over the last five years.
Source: Bloomberg. As at 26 May 2025. Returns shown in USD terms. You cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance
But before the Magnificent Seven ever came onto the scene, there were just the FANG stocks. They were Facebook (as it was known then), Amazon, Netflix and Google/Alphabet. 10 years ago, none of them paid dividends. Today, five of the Mag7 pay dividends.
For most of the last few years, there has been no escaping Nvidia and the huge revenues its generated from selling its Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). But Nvidia wasn’t always number one. In fact, from August 2011 to June 2024, Apple was the largest single company on the Nasdaq 100.
Apple’s dominance
On 26 May 2015, when NDQ launched on the ASX, Apple stock closed at $29/share. 10 years later, on 23 May 2025, it closed at over $195/share.
Source: Bloomberg. As at 23 May 2025.
That’s an annualised total return of 22.47% p.a. over the last 10 years. The increase has made a lot of investors very wealthy. One such example is Berkshire Hathaway’s long-time CEO and chairman Warren Buffett, who still has 300 million shares in Apple despite consistent selling[1].
10 years of IPOs and crypto
Of course, the Nasdaq 100 is a lot more than just the seven biggest stocks. It’s a destination for many outstanding and innovative companies. In the last 10 years, many companies have listed then been included in the Nasdaq 100. Among them are:
- Airbnb
- Atlassian
- Palantir
- Doordash
One company that has also made its mark in the last decade is Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR). Although the software company listed in June 1998, it has risen to prominence after CEO Michael Saylor began making huge bets on the Bitcoin price through Strategy’s balance sheet. In December 2024, Strategy joined the Nasdaq 100 thanks in large part to the perception that the company represents a proxy bet on the largest cryptocurrency.
What’s next for the Nasdaq 100?
Betashares is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its partnership with Nasdaq.
Many of the themes that dominated the last 10 years have the potential to stick around for another 10. Among them are cybersecurity, robotics, green technology and, of course, artificial intelligence.
You can gain access to all these themes and more through the suite of Nasdaq 100 ETFs on the Betashares Direct platform.
The range includes our flagship Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (NDQ), together with a currency hedged version (HNDQ), an equal weight version (QNDQ), a version that aims to generate enhanced income from a portfolio of the top 100 stocks listed on the Nasdaq 100 (QMAX), a geared version (GNDQ) and an ETF providing exposure to the next generation of Nasdaq 100 innovators (JNDQ).
There are risks associated with an investment in Funds, including market risk, country risk, currency risk, sector risk, use of options risk (for QMAX) and gearing risk, compounding risk and lender risk (GNDQ). Gearing magnifies gains and losses and may not be a suitable strategy for all investors. Investment value can go up and down. An investment in the Fund should only be considered as a part of a broader portfolio, taking into account your particular circumstances, including your tolerance for risk. For more information on risks and other features of the Fund, please see the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination, both available on this website. |
References:
1. https://13f.info/13f/000095012325005701-berkshire-hathaway-inc-q1-2025 ↑