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The NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ) Exchange
Traded Fund available to Japanese Investors New York, NY—NASDAQ Financial Products Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. (“NASDAQ;” OTCBB:NDAQ), today announced Japan's Financial Services Agency received a notification on May 14th for the NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock (QQQ) to be sold as a security through brokers in Japan. This move reflects strong demand from leading distributors of investment products. There are now over one million investors worldwide in QQQ. “It is the most actively traded listed equity security in the U.S., where it is used by both institutional and individual investors and the most actively traded ETF in the world,” said John Jacobs, CEO, NASDAQ Financial Products. “The extension of QQQ into Japan marks a significant move in NASDAQ Financial Products' strategy to make The NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking Stock available to investors around the globe and follows the launch of the Fund in Mexico earlier this month.” QQQ is an exchange traded fund (ETF) designed to generally correspond to the price and yield performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index, which consists of NASDAQ's largest 100 non-financial companies. ETFs are financial products that trade like shares of stock and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day and through any broker. QQQ can be bought and sold by Japanese investors via any broker who has prepared the appropriate disclosure document for retail sale. Brokers who will distribute the Fund include Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd., Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Securities Co., Ltd., Morgan Stanley Japan Ltd., Nikko Citigroup Ltd., Nikko Cordial Securities Co., and Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. As of the end of April 2004, QQQ assets stand at approximately $21.6 billion and there are around 619.2 million shares outstanding. In 2004, QQQ has traded an average of 99 million shares per day in the U.S. The availability of QQQ in Japan means that for the first time Japanese investors can gain exposure to one of the world's most widely followed stock market indices via a share purchase through their broker. NASDAQ is the largest U.S. electronic stock market. With approximately 3,300 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to category-defining companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, transportation, media and biotechnology. NASDAQ is the primary market for trading NASDAQ-listed stocks. Approximately 51% of NASDAQ-listed shares traded are reported to NASDAQ systems. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at http://www.nasdaq.com/or the NASDAQ NewsroomSM at http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/. An investor should consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For this and more complete information about QQQ, a unit investment trust, obtain a prospectus from your broker or visit http://www.nasdaq-100.com/. Read carefully before investing. ALPS Distributors Inc. is distributor for the Trust. | |||