Shares of Invesco IVZ-N jumped more than 14 per cent on Friday, hitting their highest level in more than two years after the investment manager filed paperwork to reclassify its popular QQQ QQQ-Q exchange-traded fund into a management company.
An Invesco subsidiary, Invesco Capital Management, filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking permission from QQQ beneficial owners to operate the ETF as a management company, according to a statement on Friday.
That subsidiary will be appointed as QQQ’s investment adviser should the proposal be approved, and its management fee will fall to 0.18 per cent from 0.20 per cent. Invesco could not be reached for further comment.
Invesco’s shares rose as high as US$19.87, its highest since February 2023. It is on track for the biggest daily percentage gain since November 2022.
Bryan Armour, ETF analyst at Morningstar, told Reuters that the change in QQQ’s management structure will allow Invesco to retain more cash for other purposes beyond marketing the fund, as mandated by its prospectus.
“This change would give them the opportunity to keep some of that cash for themselves instead of being obliged to sponsor so many things,” Armour said.
With a market capitalization of about US$360 billion, QQQ is one of the largest U.S.-listed ETFs and is also among the most actively traded. It closely tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, which includes some of the biggest technology companies. It is up about 14 per cent year-to-date compared with a nearly 10 per cent gain in the Nasdaq 100 in the same period.