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In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a disappointing decline. The benchmark index is down 0.55% to 6,638.5 points at the time of writing.

Four shares that have fallen more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Elixinol Global Ltd (ASX: EXL)

The Elixinol Global share price is down 12% to 18.5 cents following the release of a business update. That update revealed that its agreement with Pet Releaf has been terminated. Elixinol and Pet Releaf have been in a manufacturing and supply arrangement since August 2019. However, with the agreement not making a material contribution to its operations, management decided to pull the plug.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price is down 2.5% to $15.49. This appears to have been driven by concerns over the outbreak of COVID-19 in New South Wales. With border restrictions now being put in place, it has the potential to delay the recovery in the domestic travel market. This could extend the cash burn being experienced by travel companies.

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price is down a further 4% to $2.31. Investors were selling this biotech company’s shares last week after the release of a couple of disappointing updates. So much so, the Mesoblast share price crashed 47.5% lower over the period. Both its advanced chronic heart failure and COVID-19 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome trials failed to achieve their primary endpoints.

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

The WiseTech share price has dropped 9% to $29.91. Investors have been selling the logistics solutions company’s shares after it hit back at a short seller attack. Viceroy Research claims that of the 37 acquisitions made by WiseTech over the past four years, many are from distressed sales or bankrupt companies with revenues falling post-acquisition. WiseTech has refuted these claims.

More reading

• Why the Elixinol Global (ASX:EXL) share price is getting smoked today
• ASX 200 down 0.4%: NIB jumps, a2 Milk rebounds, WiseTech sinks lower
• These are the 10 most shorted shares on the ASX
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX hits new post-March high
• What’s going on with the Mesoblast (ASX:MSB) share price in 2020?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The iCandy Interactive Ltd (ASX: ICI) share price is falling today, on news of a partnership announcement to launch into China. At the time of writing, the iCandy share price is down 3.7% to 13 cents.

Strategic partnership

In today’s release, iCandy advised that it has entered a game publishing agreement with Ohayoo to localise, market and publish the Masketeers game.

Ohayoo is a Chinese leading game publisher that further develops international hits for the domestic market. In addition, the company runs effective marketing campaigns to capture consumer appeal. In the last 18 months, Ohayoo reached more than 500 million game downloads.

This makes the game publishing company one of the fastest growing mobile game platforms in China.

Terms of the deal

Under the agreement, iCandy will allow Ohayoo to localise, publish and market Masketeers in mainland China for 3 years. The game will be available on both iOS and Android platforms, as well as third party app stores in China.

As payment, iCandy will receive a portion of the revenue generated by the Masketeers game. The commercial arrangement stipulates that 15% to 35% of revenue will handed on to iCandy.

Just recently, Masketeers reached a record revenue of $1 million in 63 days, highlighting the popularity of the game.

Addressable market

In 2019 alone, China recorded over US$36.5 billion in gaming revenue. Since then, industry consensus is that China has eclipsed the United States as the world’s largest gaming market.

iCandy’s growth strategy is to win the Chinese mobile game market through its strategic partnership. Forecasts predict that by 2023, China’s mobile game segment is expected to reach 497 million users.

What did management say?

Commenting  on the partnership agreement, iCandy chair Kin W Lau said:

iCandy is entering an exciting growth phase. We are absolutely thrilled and honoured to partner with Ohayoo. The Chinese gaming market is a new strategic market for iCandy at our growth phase, as it is the world’s largest gaming market now.

This partnership with Ohayoo puts us in a very enviable position, on the fastest track possible to enter the gaming market of China, getting exposure to a large part of the Chinese online community almost immediately.

About the iCandy share price

The iCandy share price has fallen heavily since its meteoric rise back in early October, down 44% from its all-time high of 23.5 cents. However, the company’s shares reached a low of 1.1 cents in March, so that’s a 1082% increase even after today’s decline.

More reading

• Why the iCandy (ASX:ICI) share price is surging 7%

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Elixinol Global Ltd (ASX: EXL) shares are plummeting today, going for just 18.5 cents a share at the time of writing, down 11.09%. The Elixinol share price closed at 21 cents on Friday and opened at 19 cents this morning before dropping to its current level.

At this share price, Elixinol is just 4 cents away from its all-time low of 14 cents a share, and a whopping 87% from its 52-week high. Since the start of 2020 alone, the company’s shares are down 63%.

So what’s going on here for the hemp products producer?

Why the Elixinol share price is going up in smoke

Today’s share price plunge appears to be connected to an ASX market announcement the company made this morning before market open. In this announcement, Elixinol told investors that an agreement it has with another company by the name of Pet Releaf has been terminated.

Elixinol and Pet Releaf have been in a manufacturing and supply arrangement since August 2019. Under this agreement, the two companies would be “long-term partners”.

But according to Elixinol:

The contributions from the Agreement have not been material to Elixinol Global’s operations and given the global COVID-19 pandemic has created challenging trading conditions for the industry, the parties agreed to formally terminate the Agreement on 18 December 2020 [US Pacific Standard Time] with a mutual release.

A contributing factor to this breakdown was also a shift in focus for Elixinol. The company stated that:

Elixinol entered into the Agreement with a strategic view at that time of Pet Releaf being a long-term partner of Elixinol. Since that time, Elixinol Global has revised its commercial strategy by focusing on the distribution of higher margin Elixinol-branded products, rather than supporting private labelled products to which the Agreement relates.

However, Elixinol assured investors it will continue to “focus on the strong relationship with Pet Releaf”. It notes that Elixinol still maintains a 25% equity interest in Pet Releaf. It stated, “the Company continues to look forward to supporting Pet Releaf’s strategic focus on increased product offerings and distribution of high quality hemp-derived CBD pet products in the market”.

Investors light up SPP

Elixinol has also made a separate announcement to the ASX today regarding its recent share purchase plan (SPP). Last week, Elixinol told investors its SPP had been heavily oversubscribed. Applications totalled $27.2 million, well over the initial $2 million expected. As a result, the company expanded the SPP size by an additional $12.3 million.

Today’s announcement confirms management’s belief that the company is well capitalised as a result of the SPP. But the “strong third quarter” the company has recently had will not be spilling over. Elixinol included some remarks from its chief executive officer Mark Horn on the matter:

The fourth quarter certainly is not the quarter that we expected to have… simply because COVID has had a significant impact on our businesses in the UK and Europe. We had more head winds than we expected, so I certainly see that the Q4 quarter is for us one of the more challenging ones compared to the previous quarter. But the reality is that we are really well positioned given that we are a wellness product with great distribution and new growth catalysts.

More reading

• 27 ASX companies just got an unwanted knock on the door
• Elixinol (ASX:EXL) share price tumbles on capital raising update
• Why the Elixinol (ASX:EXL) share price popped 43% today

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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At lunch on Monday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to start the shortened week with a disappointing decline. The benchmark index is currently down 0.4% to 6,648.9 points.

Here’s what has been happening on the market today:

Private health premium increases.

Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) and NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) shares are both pushing higher on Monday after the Federal Minister for Health approved health insurance premium increases for 2021. While Medibank has recorded its lowest increase in two decades, NIB has increased its premiums by a larger than normal amount. This reflects rising healthcare costs and its lower premium base compared to the industry average.

A2 Milk rebounds

The a2 Milk Company (ASX: A2M) share price is rebounding from Friday’s guidance downgrade-related selloff. One broker that sees this share price weakness as a buying opportunity is Morgans. This morning the broker retained its add rating but cut the price target on the company’s shares to $12.20.

Travel shares sink lower.

A number of travel shares such as Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) are dropping lower today and are weighing on the market. Investors appear to be selling them amid concerns over the outbreak of COVID-19 in New South Wales. If things are not brought under control, it has the potential to derail the recovery in the domestic travel market. This could extend the cash burn being experienced by these companies.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the PolyNovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) share price with a 4% gain. This is despite there being no news out of the medical device company. The worst performer has been the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price with a 10% decline. This appears to have been driven by a short seller attack which is questioning the company’s acquisitions.

More reading

• Why City Chic, Kogan, Next Science, & NIB shares are charging higher
• Here’s what is driving the NIB (ASX:NHF) share price higher today
• Why the Cimic Group (ASX:CIM) share price is on watch today
• Is the a2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price in the buy zone after last week’s 22% decline?
• Forecast double-digit surge in Aussie dollar could put brakes on ASX rally in 2021

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of POLYNOVO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended NIB Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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One of the most stunning ASX shares to watch in 2020 has been Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT). Afterpay shares are today trading at $114.44 at the time of writing, up 2.83% for the day, despite the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dropping 0.38% today so far.

Afterpay shares blew off some steam last Friday, dropping 7.5% after making yet another record all-time high the previous day. Afterpay’s high watermark now stands at an incredible $123.40 a share. Even though the company has cooled off significantly since last week when it made those new highs, Afterpay still commands a market capitalisation of around $32 billion on today’s prices.

That places it almost in the middle of Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) and Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) in sheer size. That would have been unthinkable at the start of the year. Reflecting this new heft, today actually marks the first day that Afterpay has officially joined both the ASX 50 and ASX 20 Indexes as part of S&P Global‘s quarterly rebalancing.

So just how rich has this buy now, pay later (BNPL) shooting star made its shareholders in recent months and years? Let’s have a look

The never ending afterparty for Afterpay shareholders

So let’s get this statistic out of the way first. Afterpay in its current form first debuted on the ASX back in June 2017 after Afterpay and Touchcorp merged to create Afterpay Touch. The earliest recorded Afterpay share price post-merger was $2.95. Any shareholders who bought in back then would be sitting very happily on a gain of 3,844% on today’s prices.

But, although a few lucky investors may have executed that particular trade, the reality is that, back then, very few ASX investors would have even been aware of Afterpay shares, let alone the company’s concept of its flagship BNPL product.

We’ll also get this one out of the way. The Afterpay share price started 2020 at $30.63, meaning the company’s shares are up around 270% year to date. That comes after the approximate 100% gain we saw in 2018, as well as a rough 150% gain in 2019.

Afterpay share price rollercoaster

But the Afterpay share price has had a wild year in 2020. Back in March, Afterpay shares fell as low as $8.01, which was the lowest the company had traded at since mid-2018. If any investor was lucky enough to buy Afterpay shares at that particular price on 23 March (a very narrow window of opportunity), the gain they would be looking at on today’s prices would be 1,335%. Not a bad return for 9 months. As an indication, if an investor bought 1,000 shares at that price on that day, it would have set them back $8,010. Those 1,000 shares would today we worth $114,440. Enough said.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX hits new post-March high
• How useful is the P/E ratio in assessing ASX shares?
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here’s how ASX buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares have performed in 2020
• Why Afterpay (ASX:APT) and these ASX shares just hit 52-week highs or better

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and COLESGROUP DEF SET. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Pensana Rare Earths PLC (ASX: PM8) share price is soaring this morning, up 11.2% at $1.34 after shooting up 14% in early trade.

This follows the company reporting positive results from its rare earths Coola Project in Angola.

What’s sending the Pensana share price flying?

In today’s ASX announcement, Pensana reported that soils from its first sampling programs at its Coola Project contained high grade rare earths. The 7,500sq km project is located just 16km north of the company’s flagship Longonjo Project.

Pensana’s assay results from soil sampling over the Coola carbonatite identified a high tenor soil anomaly up to 4.7% rare earth elements (REO), which extend over a 1.3km by 1.4km area.

Further assay results from additional soil sampling are expected shortly. The company intends to drill test the defined targets in 2021.

Commenting on the results, Pensana COO Dave Hammond said:

These high grade rare earth assays are a great start, from what is only the first of several exploration targets for critical technology metals identified within the new Coola Project.

Results confirm a rare earth mineralised carbonatite at Coola that is now sufficiently well-defined for drill testings. Drilling will also determine if rare earth mineralised carbonatite lies beneath the soil cover in the central part of the 1-kilometre diameter volcanic pipe.

Pensana also revealed that it has appointed economic geologist Grant Haywood as the exploration manager.

“It is great to have Grant join us and lead the team going forward with his extensive experience in the evaluation of rare earth deposits and a whole range of other commodities,” Hammond said.

Addressing the company’s flagship project, he added, “The drilling program at Longonjo was efficiently and successfully executed under Grant’s supervision and 100 tonnes of the mineralisation is now on its way to Perth.”

Pensana share price and company snapshot

Pensana Rare Earths is an active Angolan-focused mineral exploration and development company. Its projects include the Longonjo and Coola sites.

2020 has proven a stellar year for Pensana shareholders. At least those that held their nerve earlier this year, when the Pensana share price crashed 68% from 5 March through to 23 March.

Despite that crash, share are up 661% year-to-date, compared to 2% gain on the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

As for the Pensana share price gains since 23 March? Up 1,270%.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX hits new post-March high
• Why the CleanSpace (ASX:CSX) share price is climbing today
• Recent development sends the Antisense (ASX:ANP) share price soaring 45%
• With the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price up 222% this year, what’s next?
• Why the BSA (ASX:BSA) share price has surged 7% higher today

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The Pensana Rare Earths PLC (ASX: PM8) share price is soaring this morning, up 11.2% at $1.34 after shooting up 14% in early trade.

This follows the company reporting positive results from its rare earths Coola Project in Angola.

What’s sending the Pensana share price flying?

In today’s ASX announcement, Pensana reported that soils from its first sampling programs at its Coola Project contained high grade rare earths. The 7,500sq km project is located just 16km north of the company’s flagship Longonjo Project.

Pensana’s assay results from soil sampling over the Coola carbonatite identified a high tenor soil anomaly up to 4.7% rare earth elements (REO), which extend over a 1.3km by 1.4km area.

Further assay results from additional soil sampling are expected shortly. The company intends to drill test the defined targets in 2021.

Commenting on the results, Pensana COO Dave Hammond said:

These high grade rare earth assays are a great start, from what is only the first of several exploration targets for critical technology metals identified within the new Coola Project.

Results confirm a rare earth mineralised carbonatite at Coola that is now sufficiently well-defined for drill testings. Drilling will also determine if rare earth mineralised carbonatite lies beneath the soil cover in the central part of the 1-kilometre diameter volcanic pipe.

Pensana also revealed that it has appointed economic geologist Grant Haywood as the exploration manager.

“It is great to have Grant join us and lead the team going forward with his extensive experience in the evaluation of rare earth deposits and a whole range of other commodities,” Hammond said.

Addressing the company’s flagship project, he added, “The drilling program at Longonjo was efficiently and successfully executed under Grant’s supervision and 100 tonnes of the mineralisation is now on its way to Perth.”

Pensana share price and company snapshot

Pensana Rare Earths is an active Angolan-focused mineral exploration and development company. Its projects include the Longonjo and Coola sites.

2020 has proven a stellar year for Pensana shareholders. At least those that held their nerve earlier this year, when the Pensana share price crashed 68% from 5 March through to 23 March.

Despite that crash, share are up 661% year-to-date, compared to 2% gain on the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

As for the Pensana share price gains since 23 March? Up 1,270%.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX hits new post-March high
• Why the CleanSpace (ASX:CSX) share price is climbing today
• Recent development sends the Antisense (ASX:ANP) share price soaring 45%
• With the Archer Materials (ASX:AXE) share price up 222% this year, what’s next?
• Why the BSA (ASX:BSA) share price has surged 7% higher today

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In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week in the red. At the time of writing the benchmark index is down 0.4% to 6,647.5 points.

Four shares that have not let that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX)

The City Chic share price has rocketed 14.5% higher to $3.63. Investors have been buying the retailer’s shares after it announced a binding asset purchase agreement to acquire UK-based women’s plus-size clothing retailer Evans for 23.1 million pounds (A$41 million). Management expects the acquisition to complete on 23 December 2020, subject only to payment of the cash consideration.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The Kogan share price has jumped 5% higher to $19.01. The catalyst for this appears to be the COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales. Investors may be betting that the online retailer will be a big winner if consumers are forced to shop online again. In addition to this, Kogan’s shares commenced trading on the ASX 200 index this morning following the quarterly rebalance.

Next Science Ltd (ASX: NXS)

The Next Science share price is up over 5% to $1.25. Investors have been buying the medical device company’s shares after it announced the receipt of CE mark approval for its BlastX product. BlastX is an antimicrobial wound gel that uses the company’s biofilm-disrupting Xbio technology. It works by breaking down the protective layer of biofilm and eliminating the bacteria. After which, it maintains a moist wound environment which allows the healing process to begin.

NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF)

The NIB share price is up almost 4% to $5.83. This gain has been driven by news that the private health insurer has received approval from the Federal Minister for Health to increase its insurance cover premiums for NIB health funds by an average of 4.36% across all products. These changes will come into effect on 1 April 2021. This is a larger than normal increase for NIB. Over the last three years, the company’s average premium increase was 3.55%.

More reading

• Here’s what is driving the NIB (ASX:NHF) share price higher today
• Why the Next Science (ASX:NXS) share price is 5% higher today
• Why the City Chic (ASX:CCX) share price is rocketing 15% higher
• 3 fantastic ASX growth shares to buy in 2021
• These are the 7 best ASX retail shares in 2020

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd and Nexus Energy Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd and NIB Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Cardinal Resources Ltd (ASX: CDV) share price has dropped by almost 2% this morning, as the possibility of the company’s takeover remains uncertain just two days before an offer deadline.

This comes after one of its takeover suitors, Nord Gold, reminded Cardinal shareholders that the deadline for its offer is on 23 December.

The Cardinal share price is currently trading at $1.06, down 2 cents.

Three-way deadlock

Nord Gold reminded shareholders of the impending deadline, saying that “Cardinal shareholders who want to benefit from Nord Gold’s prompt payment terms (two trading days after selling to Nord Gold), must sell their shares on-market before Nord Gold’s offer closes on 23 December.

Cardinal Resources has been pursued as a takeover target by three different companies, all with the same offer price of $1.05.

In June, Cardinal received a takeover bid from Hong Kong-based Shandong Gold at an offer price of 60 cents per share, valuing the company at around $300 million.

The Chinese company, which is the second-largest gold producer in China, then increased its offer price for Cardinal to $1.00 per share in September, later increasing it again to $1.05 in November.

That higher offer was meant to outbid another interested party, Nord Gold, a Russian gold miner which had previously increased its own offer from 60 cents to 90 cents a share. Nord Gold also increased its offer price to $1.05 on 11 December.

Cardinal was also approached by another suitor in November, in the form of a Ghana-based company, Engineers & Planners Company Limited. That offer also stood at $1.05 per share.

About the Cardinal Resources share price

Cardinal is a West African gold‐focused exploration and mining company that holds interests in tenements within Ghana, West Africa.

The company is focused on the development of the Namdini Gold Project, and released its feasibility study on 28 October 2019. The study concluded the project had an ore reserve of approximately 5.1 million ounces.

The Cardinal share price has risen by over 230% this year. It began the year at 32 cents before rising to today’s level. The company currently commands a market capitalisation of $592 million. 

More reading

• Cardinal Resources (ASX:CDV) share price rises on 3-way takeover deadlock
• Cardinal Resources (ASX:CDV) share price lifts after third takeover bid

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The two exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in this article have demonstrated growth and could be worth watching.

What is an exchange traded fund?

In the above link is a breakdown of an ETF, but in summary it provides investors exposure to a group of assets or businesses through a single investment. You don’t have to go out and buy the 100, 500 or thousands of individual businesses yourself.

This would save a lot on brokerage and it also provides instant diversification. This diversification can supposedly lower risks because if there’s a problem with one business (or sector) then the exposure to the other businesses and sectors can mitigate that.

Here are two examples of ETFs that are in the technology space and are growing quickly:

Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK)

This ETF is designed to give exposure to the world’s leading cybersecurity companies in a single ASX trade. BetaShares, the ETF provider, said that cybersecurity is under-represented on the ASX.

BetaShares also said that with cybercrime on the rise, the demand for cybersecurity services is expected to grow strongly for the foreseeable future.

The fund’s portfolio includes global cybersecurity giants, as well as emerging players, from a range of global locations.

It has positions in 40 businesses including Crowdstrike, Zscaler, Okta, Accenture, Cloudflare, Cisco Systems, Palo Alto Networks, Fireeye, F5 Networks and Proofpoint. At the small end of its weightings it has businesses like Tufin Software Technologies, Ribbon Communications and Ultra Electronics.

In terms of geographical diversification, around 90% of the portfolio is invested in US businesses whilst the rest is allocated to countries like the UK, Israel, Japan, France and South Korea.

After including the annual management fee of 0.67% per annum, the Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF has delivered net returns of 18.3% over the past year and 21.5% per annum over the past three years.

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ)

This ETF is designed to give exposure to many of the world’s most innovative companies that are revolutionising our everyday lives. It’s invested in 100 of the biggest businesses listed on the NASDAQ.

BetaShares said that with its strong focus on technology, the Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF provides diversified exposure to a high-growth potential sector that is under-represented in the Australian share market.

Many of the world’s largest global technology businesses are in the holdings of this ETF. Its top ten holdings are: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, Facebook, Alphabet, Nvidia, PayPal and Adobe.

There are plenty of other recognisable names in its holdings including Netflix, Intel, Booking Holdings, eBay and Zoom. Plus, there are some US-listed overseas tech shares in the holdings too like Baidu, JD.com, Mercadolibre and ASML.

In terms of sector allocation, almost half of the ETF is specifically invested in ‘IT’. But there are some non-tech holdings in there such as Costco, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Moderna, Regeneron and Lululemon Athletica which provides diversification.

Whilst all of the businesses are listed in the US, the underlying holdings are certainly not 100% from the US.  

Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF has an annual management fee of 0.48% per annum. Its net return after fees has been 34.4% over the past year. The average net return per annum over the last five years has been an average of 21.5%.

More reading

• How to invest in US shares in 2021
• 2 high quality ETFs for ASX investors to buy
• Creso Pharma and Nuix were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• 3 ASX ETFs to buy in 2021
• 2 ETFs delivering solid returns

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of BETA CYBER ETF UNITS and BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BETANASDAQ ETF UNITS. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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