Home / The NDQ guide
What is the NDQ ETF?
Without the jargon.
What it owns, how it differs from IVV, and how hard its falls have been.
Evidence snapshot:
One fund. The Nasdaq 100.
NDQ is a Nasdaq 100 index fund. It is the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF, listed on the ASX and traded in Australian dollars.
It aims to track the Nasdaq 100: 100 of the largest companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
It leaves out banks and other financial companies. Many of the rest are technology companies.
Does NDQ pay dividends?
Usually, yes. Distributions are scheduled twice a year, paid around January and July.
A payment can be zero. There was none in January 2022 or January 2026.
Is NDQ hedged?
No. It holds US shares, so its value in Australian dollars moves with the exchange rate too.
A hedged fund uses contracts to cancel out most of those exchange-rate moves. Betashares runs a hedged version, HNDQ, with a yearly fee of 0.51%.
The key facts
- ASX ticker
- NDQ
- Index
- Nasdaq 100
- Fund based in
- Australia
- Income
- Paid out, usually twice a year
- Trading currency
- A$
- Currency hedged
- No
- Yearly fee
- 0.48%
- Listed on the ASX
- May 2015
Fund details: official Betashares NDQ page. Check the current factsheet before buying.
NDQ vs IVV: what is different?
Both trade on the ASX in Australian dollars, and neither is hedged. The difference is what they hold.
| NDQ | IVV | |
|---|---|---|
| Follows | Nasdaq 100 | S&P 500 |
| Companies | About 100 | About 500 |
| Banks and insurers | Left out | Included |
| Yearly fee | 0.48% | 0.04% |
| A$10,000 became | About A$77,800 | About A$48,400 |
| Growth a year, compounded | 20.0% | 15.0% |
| Worst month-end fall | -29.8%, Nov 2021 to Dec 2022 | -16.0%, Dec 2021 to Jun 2022 |
How we got these: month-end ASX closing prices in Australian dollars, with each distribution reinvested in the month it was paid. These are the same Yahoo prices our Australian index calculator uses.
IVV’s December 2022 price uses its 4 January 2023 close, because Yahoo’s record is stale around its unit split. IVV’s fee is on the BlackRock page.
Brokerage and tax are not included. Falls between month-ends can be deeper.
Not a safety net
NDQ overlaps a lot with IVV. So it is not a separate safety net. It is a bigger bet on the same large technology companies.
Its better record since 2015 came while big technology companies did very well. That may not repeat.
The Nasdaq 100 has fallen much further.
NDQ only started in 2015. QQQ, a US fund that follows the same index, goes back to 1999.
QQQ's fall from March 2000 to September 2002, in US dollars, at month-end prices with dividends reinvested.
It did not get back to its March 2000 level until October 2014, more than 14 years later.
The Aussie dollar can soften a fall
From November 2021 to December 2022, QQQ fell 31.8% in US dollars, with dividends reinvested.
Over the same months, one US dollar went from A$1.41 to A$1.47. That made the same US shares worth a little more in Australian dollars.
So NDQ fell less, 29.8%. A rising Aussie dollar works the other way and makes falls worse.
How buying NDQ works
NDQ trades on the ASX like a share. Any broker that offers ASX shares can buy it. Search for NDQ and check the full name is the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF.
What one unit costs
One unit cost about A$64.35 on 9 October 2026.
Your first buy of NDQ usually has to be worth at least A$500. That is a common ASX rule for a first purchase. Some brokers set their own minimums.
Brokerage can cost more than the fund fee on small orders, so check your broker’s price per trade.
Tax on the distributions
Betashares sends a yearly tax statement, called an AMMA statement. It shows the income to declare for each financial year, even if you reinvest it.
Use that statement, not the cash you received. A July payment can belong to the year before. Betashares explains its tax statements.
US tax is taken off inside the fund, so there is no W-8BEN form to fill in. The statement also shows the foreign tax you can usually claim as a foreign income tax offset.
Common questions about NDQ
Is NDQ the same as QQQ?
No. Both follow the Nasdaq 100. QQQ is a US fund that trades in US dollars. NDQ is an Australian fund that trades on the ASX in Australian dollars.
Is NDQ riskier than IVV?
It holds fewer companies and leans heavily on technology, so its falls have been bigger. Its worst month-end fall since 2015 was 29.8%, against 16.0% for IVV.
What is the difference between NDQ and IVV?
NDQ holds about 100 companies, many in technology, and costs 0.48% a year. IVV holds about 500 across every industry and costs 0.04%.
Since 2015, NDQ has grown more and fallen harder.
See what buying every month did.
Pick the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100, an amount in Australian dollars and a start month. IVV and NDQ included.