The One ETF Investors Should Consider for 2026: The Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF

In a CNBC interview from years ago, Warren Buffett noted, “If you’re going to do dumb things because a stock goes down, you shouldn’t own a stock at all.” He also remarked that some individuals are not emotionally or psychologically equipped to own equities.

Buffett is correct. Many investors cannot endure a 50% drawdown without prematurely cutting their losses and forfeiting future multibagger gains. Furthermore, many struggle to ignore short-term market noise and distinguish long-term winners from stagnating losers.

Missed Nvidia in 2009? A Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a “Double Down” signal triggered for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. Now, that same “Total Conviction” signal is flashing for a company one-hundredth the size of Nvidia.

Consequently, for investors seeking market exposure without the volatility of individual stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer a prudent alternative. ETFs are baskets of stocks tracking an index or sector, managed either passively or actively. Unlike traditional index funds that trade only once daily, ETFs can be traded throughout the day like regular equities.

What Is the Best ETF to Buy in 2026?

If I could select only one ETF for 2026, I would choose Invesco’s NASDAQ 100 ETF (NASDAQ: QQQM), the newer, lower-cost iteration of the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ).

Both funds passively track the Nasdaq-100 index, which comprises the 100 largest non-financial stocks listed on the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC). However, QQQM features a 0.15% expense ratio, undercutting QQQ’s 0.18% fee.

QQQM’s primary holdings include Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Broadcom. While these are also the largest companies in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), these higher-growth tech stocks constitute a larger percentage of the Nasdaq-100.

The Nasdaq-100 excludes many of the S&P 500’s slower-growth stocks as well as financial stocks, which tend to be more dependent on interest rate cycles rather than innovation or organic demand. The index is adjusted quarterly and fully reconstituted annually, ensuring investors maintain exposure to America’s largest and fastest-growing companies.

Over the past five years, QQQM has delivered a 98% total return with reinvested dividends, outpacing the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) total return of 84%. While QQQM will be more volatile than VOO or other S&P 500 ETFs, its greater exposure to high-growth stocks positions it for larger long-term gains. This makes QQQM an excellent choice for investors seeking a straightforward buy-and-hold ETF.

Evaluating Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF as an Investment

Investing in the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF provides broad exposure to the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index, but investors should weigh its concentration risks against its historical outperformance before committing capital.

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