Steve from The Frugal Expat argues that 2026 is a buying opportunity for four ETFs: QQQM for Nasdaq-heavy growth, SMH for semiconductors, QQQI for income from Nasdaq exposure, and EWY for a Korea/AI-memory wildcard. The core message is that recent weakness in parts of the market, plus AI-related demand for chips and memory, makes these funds attractive to accumulate on dips rather than chase dividend ETFs like SCHD after a strong run.
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This is a single-speaker ETF-pick video centered on the claim that market weakness in early 2026 creates attractive entry points in a few specific funds. Steve says many investors like SCHD, but he prefers to buy four ETFs now instead, arguing that the Nasdaq 100 and many growth stocks are down enough to justify adding exposure while prices are softer. He frames the episode as educational only and repeatedly emphasizes that these are the ETFs he personally is buying in 2026. His first pick is QQQM, which he presents as the cheaper version of QQQ and a straightforward way to buy the Nasdaq 100. He says the index is down roughly 7% into March 2026 and that QQQM is only down a bit more than 4% at the moment of recording, which he treats as a dip worth buying. …
Tactically constructive on Nasdaq and semiconductor pullbacks: he wants to buy recent weakness rather than wait for perfect confirmation. The immediate risk is a quick rebound that erases the discount, especially in QQQM and SMH.
Base case is continued accumulation into tech-heavy and chip-linked ETFs if AI spending, memory demand, and earnings trends stay firm over the next few months. That view weakens if growth leadership fades or if the semiconductor cycle stops improving.
The structural view is that AI infrastructure and memory/chip supply chains remain the durable return engines, with U.S. growth plus Korean semis offering complementary exposure. Income overlays like QQQI are positioned as a long-run way to convert that growth exposure into cash flow.
SMH is a strong buy because semiconductor demand from AI and data centers is pushing the industry forward.
He points to AI production and data-center storage needs as the main drivers supporting continued semiconductor strength.
QQQM is attractive because the Nasdaq 100 is trading below recent levels and could recover later, potentially in 2027.
He says the index is down, many of its components are cheaper, and later upside would reward buying the dip now.
QQQI is attractive as an income ETF because it delivers a high yield and uses covered calls on the Nasdaq 100 to generate distributions.
He explains that the fund sells out-of-the-money covered calls, collects premium, and pays that income out to investors.
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