Investing heavily in the technology sector to capitalize on AI’s growth potential comes with increased concentration risks. If the AI-driven stock market bubble bursts, heavily tech-reliant investor portfolios may suffer significant losses, which makes diversifying beyond tech funds and companies a smart play.The fears of an AI bubble become more prominent after comments from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In an interview with the Verge in mid-August, Altman commented that he believes there may be an AI bubble.Risi ...

Core Insights - The iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) is a smart beta ETF launched on July 16, 2013, designed to provide broad exposure to the Style Box - All Cap Blend category of the market [1] Fund Overview - QUAL is managed by Blackrock and has amassed over $53.52 billion in assets, making it one of the largest ETFs in its category [5] - The fund aims to match the performance of the MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index, which is based on the MSCI USA Index that includes U.S. large and mid-cap stocks [5] Cost Structure - QUAL has an annual operating expense ratio of 0.15%, positioning it as one of the cheaper options in the ETF space [6] - The fund offers a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.01% [6] Sector Exposure and Holdings - The Information Technology sector represents 33% of QUAL's portfolio, followed by Financials and Consumer Discretionary [7] - Nvidia Corp (NVDA) constitutes approximately 6.4% of the fund's total assets, with Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Apple Inc (AAPL) also among the top holdings [8] - The top 10 holdings account for about 41.43% of QUAL's total assets under management [8] Performance Metrics - As of July 11, 2025, QUAL has gained approximately 4.28% year-to-date and is up roughly 6.95% over the past year [9] - The ETF has traded between $152.42 and $186.85 in the past 52 weeks and has a beta of 1.04 with a standard deviation of 17.21% over the trailing three-year period, indicating medium risk [9] Alternatives - Other ETFs in the same space include iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) with $72.02 billion in assets and Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) with $506.04 billion [11] - ITOT and VTI both have an expense ratio of 0.03%, offering lower-cost alternatives for investors [11]