(I forgot to publish this in February)
Some months, the market feels like a calm lake. February 2025? Not so much. Between geopolitical static, tech shakeups, and the ever-murky headlines out of China, investing this month felt a bit like sticking your hand into a magician’s hat and hoping for a rabbit, not a smoke bomb.

So what did I do?

Exactly what I always do.

I followed my Up +40% Free Stock Strategy:

• Choose one stock or ETF I like.
• Talk about it here.
• Invest $1,500 into it.
• Repeat every month, no matter what.

This month, the spotlight is on the Invesco China Technology ETF — CQQQ.

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Why CQQQ?

Let’s get the basics out of the way:

• Ticker: CQQQ
• ETF Type: Chinese technology companies
• Shares Bought: 33.52734
• Price per share: $44.7396
• Total Investment: $1,500
• Date: February 10, 2025

Now, I know what you’re thinking: China? In 2025? Really?

Yes. Really.

Because underneath the media noise and government tightening and trade war tweets, China is still home to some of the most ambitious, scaled, and innovative tech companies on the planet.

And CQQQ bundles them up in one handy ETF.

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What’s Inside the CQQQ Hat?

CQQQ is not a boring blend of state-owned industrials and zombie banks. It’s a tech-focused, NASDAQ-style ETF with names like:

• Tencent Holdings
• Baidu Inc.
• JD.com
• Meituan
• NetEase
• Kuaishou Tech
• Kingsoft Corp
• iFlytek

These companies power everything from AI research and cloud computing to mobile payments and digital streaming for a nation of over 1.4 billion people. The scale is enormous. The potential is… well, let’s say “non-trivial.”

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The Risk? Sure. But Also the Math.

Let’s be honest: China isn’t Switzerland.

• There are regulatory surprises.
• The yuan doesn’t sleep next to Jerome Powell.
• And sometimes entire industries vanish after lunch.

But this is why CQQQ is down more than 50% from its 2021 highs — and why it might just be one of the best-priced growth stories left in global markets.

If CQQQ were a stock, its P/E ratio would sit attractively low, with many of its holdings trading at PEG ratios under 1. That’s the kind of discount you usually only get when something smells funny. But this time, it’s more about perception than fundamentals.

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Yield? None.

Let’s be real: you don’t buy CQQQ for the dividends. It’s not VIG. There’s no coupon-clipping here. You’re buying this ETF because you think the Chinese tech sector isn’t going to zero—and might even bounce.

In 2023, the fund’s annual return was negative. In 2024? Flat.
But if sentiment shifts? You’re holding the call option on an entire tech superpower.

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The Contrarian Case

While most investors are still giving China the cold shoulder, I’m allocating a small piece of my portfolio to its potential recovery. I’m not betting the farm—just February.

And that’s the beauty of the monthly strategy: you get to place lots of small, educated bets, month after month. If CQQQ recovers, I was early. If it doesn’t, I was only in for $1,500—and I still got a great blog post out of it.

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TL;DR February Move:

• $1,500 into CQQQ
• Bought 33.53 shares
• Price: $44.73
• Date: 02/10/2025
• Strategy: Be slightly braver than the headlines and invest every month no matter what
• Mood: Cautiously contrarian (with snacks)