Holding This ETF Could Have Beaten Most VC Funds—Anthony Pompliano Says 'Insane Returns'

Entrepreneur and investor Anthony Pompliano, on Tuesday, spotlighted a claim that investors would have outperformed most venture capital and private equity funds over the past decade by simply holding the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ).

Quoting the market commentator BoringBiz account on X, which said that the technology-focused index generated a roughly 22% annualized return over the period, Pompliano called the performance “insane returns for an index.”

QQQ’s Decade-Long Run

The Invesco QQQ Trust tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, providing exposure to some of the largest technology and growth companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange.

Its largest holdings include Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google’s parent company Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), companies that have collectively added trillions of dollars in market value over the past decade.

Much of the fund’s recent performance has been driven by investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital infrastructure, with Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta and other AI-linked companies accounting for a significant portion of the Nasdaq-100’s gains in recent years.

A Look At QQQ’s Performance

QQQ has risen more than 550% over the past 10 years, translating to an annualized return of roughly 22%. The fund has approximately $497.07 billion in assets under management and charges an expense ratio of 0.18%.

According to BoringBiz, an investor would have outperformed almost every venture capital and private equity fund that exists simply by owning an index and doing nothing beyond that.

Passive Investing Vs. Private Markets

Pompliano’s post touched on a long-running debate among investors over whether low-cost index funds can outperform actively managed investment vehicles over extended periods.

The claim echoes a view long championed by Warren Buffett, who has repeatedly argued that most investors are better served by low-cost index funds than by trying to pick individual winners or gain access to private-market investments.

Price Action: QQQ closed 1.90% lower on Tuesday at $729.86.

This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Photo courtesy: Kevin McGovern/Shutterstock