After the huge success of Cathie Woods and the ARK ETFs in 2020, rival investment managers have been quick to characterize technology funds as “Innovation” or “Disruption” products.

Such was the case on Thursday,  as Invesco Canada Ltd.  announced the launch of two new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offering Canadian investors exposure to several relevant technology themes. This follows the February announcement from Franklin Templeton of the Franklin Innovation Fund (FINO), which appeared on the Hub under the headline Invest in Innovation, a Driver of Wealth Creation.

Both the words “Innovative” and “Disruptive” appear in the top of the press release for the debut of the Invesco NASDAQ Next Gen 100 Index ETF (QQJR and QQJR.F) and the Invesco NASDAQ 100 Equal Weight Index ETF (QQEQ and QQEQ.F. As the release says, these funds “build on the innovative solutions offered by Invesco and Nasdaq, allowing clients several distinctive entry points to own the disruptive companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market.”

Invesco also announced the launch of CAD Units of Invesco NASDAQ 100 Index ETF (QQC).

The Invesco innovation suite was launched in October 2020 and is just now expanding to Canada, with  the following TSX-listed ETFs that started trading on the TSX today (Thursday, May 27). Of the three below, I find the equal weight Nasdaq 100 offering the most interesting:

• Invesco NASDAQ Next Gen 100 Index ETF (QQJR and QQJR.F)
• Invesco NASDAQ 100 Equal Weight Index ETF (QQEQ and QQEQ.F).
• Invesco NASDAQ 100 Index ETF (QQC and QQC.F)

The innovation play was also highlighted in the following quote attributed to Pat Chiefalo, Head of Canada, Invesco ETFs & Indexed Strategies: “The launch of two new Invesco Nasdaq ETFs reaffirms the commitment of Invesco’s Canadian ETF business to providing our clients with products that access the themes and companies at the forefront of innovation … Now Canadian investors can choose several unique ways to gain exposure to the category-defining companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market.”

There are of course several existing rival plays on the top 100 Nasdaq companies apart from Invesco’s famous QQQs. Incidentally, Invesco says it recently changed the name of the Invesco QQQ Index ETF to the Invesco NASDAQ 100 Index ETF, dropping the management fee to 0.20% of NAV to “make it the most cost-effective ETF in Canada tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index.”

By contrast, the new QQJR and QQJR.F are relatively unique: it tracks the Nasdaq Next Generation 100 Index, which includes the “next 100” non-financial companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market, outside of the Nasdaq 100 Index, in a mid-cap ETF. Continue Reading…