Gratus Wealth Trims QQEW Stake by $22 Million — Is Equal-Weight Nasdaq Nonetheless Value Holding?

What occurred

In response to a latest SEC submitting, Gratus Wealth Advisors, LLC, considerably lowered its stake within the First Belief Nasdaq-100 Choose Equal Weight ETF (NASDAQ:QQEW), promoting 164,630 shares throughout Q1 2026. The estimated transaction worth was $22.3 million, based mostly on the typical closing value for the quarter. The quarter-end place worth in QQEW declined by $25.0 million, reflecting each the share sale and value motion in the course of the interval.

What else to know

Following the sale, QQEW represents 1.9% of Gratus Wealth Advisors’ whole AUM — outdoors the fund’s prime 5 holdings.
High holdings after the submitting:
- NYSE: DGRO: $85.5 million (12.4% of AUM)
- NYSE: MGK: $59.8 million (8.6% of AUM)
- NYSE: XSMO: $39.6 million (5.7% of AUM)
- NASDAQ: QQQ: $37.0 million (5.4% of AUM)
- NYSE: IBDR: $36.3 million (5.2% of AUM)
As of Might 4, 2026, QQEW shares had been buying and selling at $139.15, up about 12% over the previous 12 months — underperforming the S&P 500 by roughly 16 share factors, and trailing its Massive Development class benchmark by roughly 4 share factors.

ETF overview

Metric	Worth
AUM	$1.6 billion
Expense ratio	0.55%
Dividend yield	0.35%
1-year return (as of 5/4/26)	12.24%

ETF snapshot

The First Belief Nasdaq-100 Choose Equal Weight ETF (QQEW) tracks the Nasdaq-100 via an equal-weight methodology — which means every of the index’s roughly 100 holdings receives an identical allocation, quite than concentrating closely within the largest firms.

Designed to cut back the mega-cap dominance frequent in market-cap-weighted Nasdaq ETFs like QQQ.
Holds a diversified mixture of large-cap U.S. development equities, rebalanced on a rules-based schedule.

What this transaction means for traders

At first look, promoting greater than 60% of an ETF place seems important — however some context helps put this transfer in perspective. Gratus is a wealth administration agency, and the 13F submitting displays a snapshot of holdings at quarter-end quite than a real-time window into the agency’s considering. The submitting alone would not inform us why the place was trimmed.

That mentioned, the sale comes in opposition to a backdrop of relative underperformance. QQEW has gained about 12% over the previous 12 months, however it has lagged the S&P 500 by roughly 16 share factors over that stretch — a significant hole for any place in a managed portfolio. Equal-weight methods like QQEW are likely to shine when smaller and mid-cap names within the Nasdaq maintain tempo with — or outrun — the mega-cap leaders. In durations the place a handful of giants (just like the Magnificent 7 shares) are doing the heavy lifting for the index, an equal-weight strategy will naturally path the cap-weighted different.

It’s additionally price noting that Gratus nonetheless holds a considerable place within the Invesco QQQ Belief (NASDAQ:QQQ) — $37.0 million — offering continued Nasdaq-100 publicity via the cap-weighted model of the identical index.

For long-term traders, the equal-weight strategy gives real diversification advantages over time and may restrict focus threat relative to market-cap-weighted funds. However when the market’s greatest names are driving returns, the equal-weight trade-off comes at a price — and that dynamic has been on full show over the previous 12 months.

As for why Gratus trimmed the place — whether or not it is QQEW’s latest underperformance, a call to redeploy capital into different elements of the portfolio, or just routine rebalancing — we are able to’t make certain. Whether or not QQEW’s relative underperformance persists will rely largely on how broad — or slim — market management seems to be going ahead.

Must you purchase inventory in First Belief Trade-Traded Fund -First Belief Nasdaq-100 Choose Equal Weight ETF proper now?

Before you purchase inventory in First Belief Trade-Traded Fund -First Belief Nasdaq-100 Choose Equal Weight ETF, contemplate this:

The Motley Idiot Inventory Advisor analyst group simply recognized what they consider are the 10 finest shares for traders to purchase now… and First Belief Trade-Traded Fund -First Belief Nasdaq-100 Choose Equal Weight ETF wasn’t one among them. The ten shares that made the reduce might produce monster returns within the coming years.

Contemplate when Netflix made this listing on December 17, 2004… if you happen to invested $1,000 on the time of our suggestion, you’d have $490,864!* Or when Nvidia made this listing on April 15, 2005… if you happen to invested $1,000 on the time of our suggestion, you’d have $1,216,789!*

Now, it’s price noting Inventory Advisor’s whole common return is 963% — a market-crushing outperformance in comparison with 201% for the S&P 500. Do not miss the newest prime 10 listing, accessible with Inventory Advisor, and be part of an investing group constructed by particular person traders for particular person traders.

See the ten shares »

*Inventory Advisor returns as of Might 5, 2026.

Andy Gould has no place in any of the shares talked about. The Motley Idiot has no place in any of the shares talked about. The Motley Idiot has a disclosure coverage.

Gratus Wealth Trims QQEW Stake by $22 Million — Is Equal-Weight Nasdaq Nonetheless Value Holding? was initially revealed by The Motley Idiot