First Trust NASDAQ 100 Technology

This ETF offers exposure to the U.S. tech sector, making it one of many options available to investors seeking to access an industry that is capable of remarkable rallies and steep declines over short periods of time. Given the sector-specific focus, QTEC is probably too granular for those building a long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio, but can be useful for investors putting on a tactical tilt or looking to beef up tech sector exposure. However, its narrow focus and relatively high expense ratio means that it should be avoided by most investors. QTEC holds just 40 securities in total and while it does a decent job of dividing up assets among these firms-- the top ten make up just one-fourth of total assets-- this amount of securities is too small to offer real diversification in the tech sector. Furthermore, with an expense ratio of 60 basis points, the product is about 12 basis points more expensive than others in the category which offer more diversification such as IXN or IYW. For these reasons, investors should avoid QTEC at all costs; its gimmicky structure of holdings only Nasdaq-100 companies that are in the tech sector is rather arbitrary and will not help investors accomplish any objectives effectively.