What if you'd held QQEW?
A $1,000 investment in First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF (QQEW) at the month-end close of 2006-05 would be worth $9,645 at the close of 2026-09 — +864.5% total return, dividends reinvested. The same $1,000 in the S&P 500, dividends reinvested, would be worth $8,933.
Your scenario
Result
If you'd bought $1,000 at the start of each year
Value of $1,000 invested on January 1 of each year, held to 2026-09, dividends included.
Every year, $1,000 from 2006
| Year | Value of $1,000 | Year return |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | $1,000 | — |
| 2007 | $1,096 | +9.6% |
| 2008 | $619 | -43.6% |
| 2009 | $982 | +58.8% |
| 2010 | $1,187 | +20.8% |
| 2011 | $1,153 | -2.8% |
| 2012 | $1,328 | +15.1% |
| 2013 | $1,858 | +39.9% |
| 2014 | $2,213 | +19.1% |
| 2015 | $2,260 | +2.1% |
| 2016 | $2,421 | +7.1% |
| 2017 | $3,051 | +26.0% |
| 2018 | $2,890 | -5.3% |
| 2019 | $3,926 | +35.9% |
| 2020 | $5,391 | +37.3% |
| 2021 | $6,347 | +17.7% |
| 2022 | $4,786 | -24.6% |
| 2023 | $6,381 | +33.3% |
| 2024 | $6,828 | +7.0% |
| 2025 | $7,800 | +14.2% |
| 2026 | $8,856 | +13.5% |
Best and worst month-end to buy
The best single month-end close to have bought QQEW was 2009-02 ($10.21): $1,000 then is $15,804 today. The worst was 2026-08 ($165): $1,000 then is $977.
FAQ
What would $1,000 in QQEW be worth today?
A $1,000 investment in First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF (QQEW) at the start of 2006 would be worth about $9,645 today, a total return of +864.5%. Dividends are reinvested in these figures.
What were the best and worst years for QQEW?
First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF (QQEW)'s strongest calendar year since 2006 was 2009, a +58.8% return — $1,000 held through that year became about $1,588 by year-end. Its weakest year was 2008, at -43.6%.
Does the calculator include dividends and splits?
Yes where available. Prices are adjusted for both stock splits and reinvested dividends (total return), the same measure brokerages use.
How much would $100 per month in QQEW have grown?
Investing $100 at the end of every month since 2006-05 would have grown to about $115,002 on $24,500 invested.
Did QQEW beat the S&P 500?
Over the same period, $1,000 in the S&P 500 with dividends reinvested (the S&P 500 Total Return index) would be worth $8,933. QQEW beat the S&P 500 by +8.0% in total return.
Is this investment advice?
No. Wall Street Regrets is an entertainment and education tool. Every number is a historical calculation, not a prediction, and past performance never guarantees future results.
Methodology
First Trust Nasdaq-100 Select Equal Weight ETF (QQEW) historical total-return data from 2006-05 to 2026-09, reduced to month-end closes for the tables above.
Returns use adjusted close prices — adjusted for stock splits and reinvested dividends, the same convention used by major brokerages. End-of-day and live prices come from EODHD; parts of the deep historical series are carried over from Yahoo Finance data. A "year" scenario invests $1,000 at the prior December's month-end close and values it at the latest available month-end close. Non-USD amounts are converted at historical month-end exchange rates (EODHD): to USD on the buy date and back to your currency at the latest rate, so the return reflects the currency move as well as the asset.
Month-end resolution means intra-month extremes are not captured in tables; the calculator uses exact trading-day closes where daily data is available. Figures ignore taxes, fees, and the currency effects of non-USD listings. History is not a forecast. Wall Street Regrets is entertainment, not investment advice.
What if you'd held…
Data: adjusted close prices via EODHD and Yahoo Finance. As of 2026-09-04. Not financial advice.