Want Exposure to the Hottest AI Stocks? Buy This ETF Hand Over Fist. | The Motley Fool (2024)

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There's no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) has been the hottest topic in technology (and arguably any sector) over the past year and a half. AI isn't a new development, as many companies have used it for years. From online shopping recommendations to voice assistants to autonomous driving technology, AI has been around for a while.

However, AI was recently brought into the mainstream with the immense popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT and other generative AI apps. Thanks to this popularity, many tech companies are going all in on AI, and investors are rushing to invest in them, hoping to capitalize on the momentum.

AI is a relatively broad field, and companies operate in different parts of the ecosystem. For investors looking to get exposure to top companies across the AI spectrum, the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF (ONEQ -0.29%) can do the trick.

A lot of ground covered with a single investment

The Nasdaq Composite is one of the three major U.S. stock market indexes and tracks all the companies trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Many tech companies are listed on this exchange, so the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF is tech-dominant, with the sector accounting for close to half of the fund (49.45%). The other four sectors rounding out the top five are communication services (14.70%), consumer cyclical (13.75%), healthcare (7.02%), and industrials (4.08%).

Although tech companies lead the charge, it's nice to have some diversification (although a small amount) to help hedge against sector-specific volatility and downturns.

Some of the top AI companies globally leading the way

The tech portion of the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF includes some of the world's hottest and most important AI-related companies. Below is just a snapshot of some of the ETF's top holdings (all in the top 10) and how they're leveraging AI:

• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT): A strategic partnership with OpenAI has given it exclusive rights to use the company's large language models (LLMs) to integrate into its products.
• Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL): In addition to current AI-powered features like Siri, Apple plans to release its M4-powered Macs sometime this year, with a focus on AI capabilities.
• Nvidia(NASDAQ: NVDA): The primary developer of graphics processing units (GPUs) vital to machine learning and AI computations.
• Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN): The e-commerce giant uses AI for personalized recommendations, warehouse logistics, Alexa and Echo devices, as well as powering its cloud service, Amazon Web Services.
• Meta (NASDAQ: META): Utilizes AI for targeted advertising, enhancing user interactions on social media platforms, and investing in AI research for developing advanced machine-learning models.
• Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL): Google's parent company is a leader in AI research and application. It uses AI for search algorithms, advertising, YouTube recommendations, autonomous driving via Waymo, and health initiatives via DeepMind.
• Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO): A maker of semiconductors, which are vital components needed to run data centers that AI training relies heavily on.
• Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA): Uses AI extensively to develop autonomous driving technologies, including processing data from vehicle sensors to improve decisions, safety features, and the overall development of self-driving cars.

It's hard to argue against the ETF's historical results

There are plenty of important AI companies in the ETF, but the eight companies above account for over half of the fund, so as they go, so does the ETF. This has proven to be a good thing, too, as the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF has far outperformed the over the past decade.

ONEQ Total Return Level data by YCharts.

Past results don't guarantee future performance, of course, but when you have some of the world's top tech companies leading the way, you can be confident that the Fidelity Nasdaq Composite Index ETF is in a great position to capitalize on new technological innovations and sector trends. It's a great way to get exposure to the hottest AI stocks.