QQEW ETF — First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF

First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF (QQEW)

QQEW is an ETF. its distribution rate is 0.05%, its trailing-12-month yield is 0.20%, its expense ratio is 0.55%. Dividend Vision Distribution Safety Score™ is 32/100 (Elevated risk). Total return is 788.6% over the past 20.4 years, 39.0 points ahead of SPY at 749.6%.

At the current 0.05% distribution rate, a $10,000 investment would generate approximately $5 per year, or about $1.25 per quarter if the next payment matches the last regular one.

First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF tracks a modified Nasdaq-100 index, holding the fifty companies from that index with the highest combined quality and growth scores and applying equal weighting to each position. The fund distributes quarterly with a modest current distribution rate and carries an expense ratio of 0.55%. It appeals to growth-oriented investors seeking exposure to large-cap technology and growth stocks with a different weighting approach than traditional market-cap-weighted indexes.

QQEW performance versus SPY

Price and return data through 2026-09-18.

Total return is 788.6% over the past 20.4 years, 39.0 points ahead of SPY at 749.6%. Over the past year its total return — price change plus distributions reinvested — is 12.9%. Its deepest 1-year drawdown was 15.7%.

QQEW key facts

Distribution Safety Score™

32 · Elevated risk

Safety-Adjusted Yield

0.02%

Issuer

First Trust

Asset type

ETF

Asset class

Equity

Inception date

04/19/2006

Expense ratio

0.55%

Distribution rate

0.05%

Distribution frequency

Quarterly

Trailing yield

0.20%

Last close

$157.72 (as of 2026-09-18)

NAV

$157.74

Premium / discount

0.01% discount

AUM

$1,829,741,891

Average volume

22700.0

Last dividend

$0.02

Last ex-dividend date

03/26/2026 (as of 2026-03-26)

Last payment date

03/31/2026 (as of 2026-03-31)

Beta

1.11

P/E ratio

31.0775

How Dividend Vision calculates yield and returns

Distribution rate (0.05%) is the latest regular payout annualized by the fund's stated frequency, divided by the last close. Issuers often publish this as “Distribution Rate” on the fact sheet. Trailing-12-month yield (0.20%) is the sum of distributions paid in the last 12 months, split-adjusted, divided by the last close. It lags a recent raise or cut. Total return uses split-adjusted close with distributions reinvested on the ex-dividend date (a modeling convention, not the cash-settlement date) from the first stored bar on or after inception through the latest bar, compared with the same window on the benchmark. That is the security's total return, not your personal gain/loss.

Distribution rate methodology · Distribution Safety Score methodology

Sources and review

Primary sources: First Trust or company page; prices and distributions from Dividend Vision, derived from vendor EOD data.

Reviewed by Bert Sweet, CEO and Co-owner of Dividend Vision. Methodology: Distribution Safety Score.

QQEW risks and drawbacks

QQEW's current distribution rate is moderate, not a high-yield payout — the strategy is dividend quality more than maximum income. Payments are quarterly, so cash flow is lumpy versus a monthly fund. The deepest 1-year drawdown on record here is 15.7%.

Who may consider QQEW — and who may not

It is a weaker fit for investors who need monthly cash flow (QQEW pays quarterly); investors hunting double-digit covered-call yields. This is educational context, not a recommendation to buy or sell.

Frequently asked questions

More securities from First Trust.