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When the stock market sold off aggressively recently, I had a bit of a dilemma. I saw a number of opportunities open up in a matter of days, but realistically couldn’t seize them all. I had to be selective.
Thankfully, I did have some dry powder in my Stocks and Shares ISA after repositioning my portfolio in the weeks and months before. I sold shares in Diageo and Greggs, both challenged by extremely weak consumer spending, along with a couple of disappointing small-caps.
Again though, this wasn’t large enough to buy every single bargain I saw popping up after President Trump’s tariffs announcement caused utter carnage.
At one point, Google parent Alphabet was trading at just 14 times forecast earnings for 2026, while Amazon stock was cheaper than it had been since the 2007/08 market crash. They both still look good value to me, as do some other tech shares.
Buying the basket
Fortunately, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or investment trusts can be great vehicles to solve this problem. In one fell swoop, investors like myself can buy into a broad theme, sector or index. They offer instant diversification across different stocks.
Some other opportunities I saw opening up at the start of April included FTSE 100 mining stocks like Glencore and Fresnillo, the Mexican gold and silver producer. But instead of buying them individually, I added to my holding in BlackRock World Mining Trust. This gives wide-ranging exposure to copper and gold production, and much else.
Similarly, instead of buying both Amazon and Alphabet stock, I opted for a Nasdaq 100 index ETF. There are a few of these about, including iShares NASDAQ 100 UCITS ETF (LSE: CNX1), but they all track the performance of the 100 largest non-financial stocks listed on the Nasdaq exchange.
Both Alphabet and Amazon are in the top 10 holdings, along with Apple and Nvidia, which have also sold off heavily lately.
Top 10 holdings (as of April 2025)
| Weighting | |
| Apple | 8.73% |
| Microsoft | 8.24% |
| Nvidia | 7.87% |
| Amazon | 5.47% |
| Broadcom | 3.99% |
| Meta Platforms | 3.28% |
| Costco | 3.07% |
| Netflix | 2.95% |
| Tesla | 2.66% |
| Alphabet | 2.62% |
More volatility ahead
The Nasdaq 100 had fallen 21% inside two months when I invested. As I write, the index remains nearly 18% off its recent high.
Yet that doesn’t mean the index can’t head lower in the coming months. There remains an incredible amount of uncertainty around global trade and tariffs. With Q1 earnings season upon us, this is sure to create further volatility as companies start flagging up operational headaches and adjust/withdraw guidance.
Also, some fear the generative artificial intelligence (AI) boom that has driven the market higher in recent years is about to unwind. Chipmakers are starting to face the reality that they can’t sell many of their products to Chinese customers due to export restrictions.
For example, Nvidia’s expecting to take a $5.5bn hit in the first quarter of its current fiscal year (which ends in late April). While this will have a relatively small financial impact, it’s still breeding uncertainty.
Tech revolution
Over time term though, I think the Nasdaq 100 will recover lost ground and power much higher.
It holds most of the best global tech companies, offering my portfolio exposure to multiple existing mega-trends (AI, cybersecurity, e-commerce, cloud computing etc) and likely future ones (quantum computing).
If the market takes another leg down, I will add to this ETF.
