Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
FTLS vs QQQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTLS returned +8.5% to QQQ's +12.3%, and QQQ charges 0.18% to FTLS's 1.38%.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $2.6bn for First Trust Long/Short Equity and $464.6bn for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1.
Pair scorecard
QQQ costs 1.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.8 points; QQQ is far larger, $464.6bn against $2.6bn.
| Measure | FTLS | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +8.5% | +12.3% |
| Total return, 52 weeks | +7.7% | |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.9%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | not published | Nasdaq-100 Index |
| Treasury bills, 52 weeks | +3.7% | |
| Against cash | 4.1 points ahead | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 1.38% | 0.18% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $2.6bn | $464.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 94% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 46.7% | |
| Risk | ||
| Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns | +0.83 | |
| Beta to the S&P 500 | +0.48: about 0.48% for each 1% | |
| Its average week when the S&P 500 fell | fell 0.48% | |
| Down-week capture | 44.7% | |
| Weeks the S&P 500 fell | 26 of 52, by 1.07% on average | |
Side by side
FTLS and QQQ on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FTLS
FTLS is a long-short equity fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.83 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.48, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.48% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks FTLS fell 0.48% on average, a down-week capture of 44.7%. Over the same 52 weeks FTLS returned +7.7% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 4.1 percentage points ahead of cash.
QQQ
QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +12.3% with distributions reinvested, against +12.3% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 103 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 8.9% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Nov 4, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are FTLS and QQQ in the same category?
- FTLS is an alternatives ETF and QQQ is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, FTLS or QQQ?
- In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTLS returned +8.5% and QQQ +12.3%.
- Which is cheaper, FTLS or QQQ?
- QQQ is cheaper, by 1.20 percentage points a year. That is about $120 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, FTLS against QQQ, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftls-vs-qqq
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). FTLS against QQQ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftls-vs-qqq
[FTLS against QQQ (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftls-vs-qqq)
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