BLK & STT Enter Nasdaq 100 Index ETFs, Challenge Invesco QQQ Fund

BlackRock, Inc. BLK and State Street Corporation STT are reshaping the competitive landscape of the U.S. ETF market after filing on April 6 and 7, 2026, respectively, to launch Nasdaq 100 Index ETFs. Their entry directly challenges Invesco Ltd.’s IVZ long-standing dominance through its flagship QQQ fund. Together, these moves target Invesco’s $379 billion technology-focused investment space.

For years, Invesco has benefited from exclusive access to pure Nasdaq 100 ETFs in the U.S. market. This advantage helped build its flagship Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 into a roughly $374 billion fund, one of the largest ETFs globally alongside the smaller but still sizable Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF with about $70 billion in assets. 

Since its inception in 1985, the Nasdaq 100 Index has been highly selective in licensing its flagship index, which tracks the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the exchange. However, Nasdaq’s recent decision to allow a select group of new partners to license the index has opened the door for competitors. It breaks a long-standing structure where one issuer largely controlled investor access to this key benchmark. 

A Nasdaq spokesperson said, “As demand for Nasdaq 100 exposure continues to grow globally, Nasdaq is focused on extending international reach and deepening institutional access by working with a select set of partners in key markets.”

BlackRock and State Street have stepped into this critical market segment. BlackRock is expected to introduce its product under the ticker IQQ, while State Street is preparing a similar offering through its SPDR platform. The new launch of BlackRock and State Street would be among the few U.S.-listed ETFs that solely track the Nasdaq 100 and notably, among the first not managed by Invesco.

Both firms have extensive distribution capabilities and strong relationships with institutional investors, which could help them gain traction quickly.

The biggest impact of this development is likely to be on fees and investor choice. Price war could now unfold in Nasdaq 100 ETFs, making it cheaper for investors to gain exposure to large-cap technology stocks. Over time, this may result in fund flows shifting away from Invesco’s products toward newer, lower-cost alternatives.

Following the filings, shares of Invesco fell by more than 5.2% on April 6, 2026, reflecting investor concerns about potential fee pressure and loss of market share in its core ETF franchise.

An Invesco spokesperson said: “Creating a foundational ETF ecosystem does not happen overnight, and Invesco has always taken a long-term view on building and facilitating its development. There is only one QQQ.”