NEW YORK, Feb 9, 2026, 06:46 EST
- Paradigm Capital Management ramped up its stake in Invesco QQQ, more than doubling the position during the third quarter, according to a filing.
- Penserra bumped up its stake, according to filings, while SouthState Bank slashed its holdings by almost 50% in a different disclosure.
- Nasdaq is floating a “Fast Entry” rule, a move that might see freshly listed heavyweights join the Nasdaq-100 faster than before.
Paradigm Capital Management LLC NV sharply boosted its exposure to Invesco’s QQQ ETF in the third quarter, bumping up its stake by 121.4% and ending up with 2,998 shares valued at nearly $1.8 million, according to a filing. That puts QQQ at about 1.8% of Paradigm’s portfolio, the disclosure shows. 1
This trade stands out, given QQQ’s sheer heft: about $402 billion in assets under management, making it one of the biggest U.S. exchange-traded funds out there. The fund leans hard into mega-cap growth—Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft were its top three positions as of Dec. 31. According to Invesco’s fact sheet, tech stocks accounted for roughly 63% of the portfolio. Investors looking for a less concentrated play than the Nasdaq-100 can turn to “growth” rivals like iShares Russell 1000 Growth or iShares S&P 500 Growth, which both track wider swaths of the market. 2
Nasdaq is seeking input from investors and market players on a plan that would accelerate the process for large new listings to join the Nasdaq-100—an index that underpins global index funds and derivatives. The “Fast Entry” rule, as outlined in Nasdaq’s consultation paper, would make it possible for a freshly listed Nasdaq company to join the index within 15 trading days if it ranks among the top 40 by market value, as long as there’s at least five days’ advance notice. No current member would be ousted under this approach. “Faster inclusion makes Nasdaq a more complete ecosystem for the big-cats,” Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and CIO at Running Point Capital Advisors, told Reuters, commenting on the proposal. 3
Passive managers don’t get much wiggle room: when a name joins the index, trackers are on the hook to buy—quickly. That burst of demand can shake up liquidity near IPOs or during major exchange shifts, and often shifts costs for funds that have to stay tightly in line with the benchmark.
Earlier this month, Penserra Capital Management LLC disclosed a 26.2% boost to its QQQ holdings for the third quarter, bringing the total up to 66,979 shares—roughly $40.2 million worth. Qoo Media separately noted that smaller players like Navigoe LLC and PayPay Securities also lifted their QQQ exposure during that window. 4
SouthState Bank Corp headed in the opposite direction, slashing its QQQ stake by 44.6% during the third quarter. The bank unloaded 6,263 shares and closed out the period holding 7,786 shares, worth roughly $4.7 million, according to its filing. 5
These filings come from Form 13F reports—quarterly documents that show U.S.-listed holdings as of the period’s end, but skip anything that happened after that date. Short positions and plenty of hedges aren’t included, which makes the picture incomplete.
Speed isn’t the Nasdaq consultation’s only focus. The document lays out plans for adjustments to market-cap methodologies and handling of low-float stocks, noting any updates would take effect following the March 2026 quarterly rebalance.
Still, big ifs remain. Nasdaq’s plan is just out for consultation, and massive IPOs have a habit of slipping off the calendar; if those blockbuster listings don’t land, or if the rule ends up softer, QQQ and other Nasdaq-100 trackers might barely notice. And if the proposal does go through, a short-term bloat in the index could leave linked funds dealing with more turnover and higher trading costs.
