The NASDAQ-30 Portfolio: the Nasdaq-100's 30 largest companies, a leverage switch, and why that changes the risk

I'm Chris, one of the co-founders of Autopilot. The NASDAQ-30 Portfolio has a simple name and one clause in its description that changes everything about its risk.

Most people read the name and stop. Read the clause. Here's what it holds by rule, who runs it, and what a leveraged ETF actually does.

One thing first, because we're an SEC-registered investment adviser and I have to say it. Autopilot is the app. The actual investment advice comes from Autopilot Advisers, LLC. If you want the full legal version of anything in here, it's on our legal page.

1) The rule

NASDAQ-30 is created and managed by Raincheck Capital, an independent Pilot.

The description says it focuses on the 30 largest holdings of QQQ by market value. QQQ is the Invesco fund that tracks the Nasdaq-100.

Then the clause. Depending on the strength of what Raincheck calls its Market Signal, the corresponding two-times leveraged ETF may be held in place of the underlying. So it's a big-company Nasdaq Portfolio with a leverage switch.

2) It used to be NASDAQ-10

If you've read about the NASDAQ-10 Portfolio, this is the same Portfolio under a new name, and the description changed with it.

The old description picked the ten best-performing Nasdaq-100 holdings and added extra high-conviction picks. The one in the app now is built on size, the 30 largest holdings, not on recent performance. The leverage switch is still there.

That's a real change in character, and I'd rather you know about it than find it on the performance chart.

3) Who runs it

Raincheck's bio describes a proprietary Market Signal, its own algorithm for reading whether QQQ is in an uptrend or a downtrend. Raincheck runs four Portfolios built around that signal, each calibrated to a different level of exposure.

Raincheck describes NASDAQ-30 as its two-times sleeve, a lower-beta version of its three-times strategies. That's the Pilot's own description of its method, and I'm presenting it as theirs.

All four are on Raincheck Capital's Portfolios on Autopilot.

4) What a leveraged ETF does

For those unaware, a leveraged ETF is a fund engineered to deliver a multiple of the daily move of something, using derivatives and daily rebalancing.

Two things follow that the name doesn't say. First, the multiple applies to each day, not to the long run. Because the fund resets daily, its return over weeks or months can differ sharply from two times the move of what it tracks. In choppy markets that resetting creates a drag.

Second, leverage cuts both ways at the same speed. A two-times fund on something that falls hard falls about twice as hard that day. Leveraged ETFs also tend to cost more to hold than plain index funds.

That's why the switch in this Portfolio's description matters more than the number in its name.

5) Is it the same as buying QQQ

No, in three ways.

QQQ holds about a hundred companies at index weights. This Portfolio focuses on the 30 largest.

QQQ never uses leverage. This Portfolio may hold two-times leveraged ETFs when the signal calls for it.

And QQQ is one fund you buy once. This is a Portfolio that changes, and each change reaches your account as orders.

It's a concentrated, sometimes-leveraged version of the index's biggest names, not the index.

6) How following works

Pick the Portfolio, connect the brokerage you already use, and allocate money. You give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to send orders to the account you already have. When the Portfolio changes, we send them and your broker fills them. The money stays put.

A flat cash subscription, not a percentage of your balance. Per our Form CRS dated February 2026, Basic Tier has no Base Advisory and Licensing Fee, and Premium Tier is $29.99 to $199.99 a quarter or $99.99 to $699.99 a year. Pilot subscriptions are separate and add on for each Pilot you subscribe to. Because it's a flat dollar amount, it's a bigger share of a small account than a big one, so do the math at your balance.

Before you follow, read the worst stretch on its performance chart in the app and ask whether you'd hold through a worse one, because leverage makes worse ones more likely. And know that the risk isn't constant. By design, it can be a plain big-company basket one month and a leveraged one the next.

TLDR: NASDAQ-30, formerly NASDAQ-10, focuses on the 30 largest companies in QQQ, and Raincheck's Market Signal can swap in a two-times leveraged ETF. That switch is the risk. Leveraged ETFs reset daily, drift from their multiple over time, and fall as fast as they rise. Read the performance chart first.

Frequently asked questions

What is the NASDAQ-30 Portfolio on Autopilot?

A Portfolio created and managed by Raincheck Capital, an independent Pilot. Per its description it focuses on the 30 largest holdings of QQQ by market value, and depending on the strength of Raincheck's Market Signal, the corresponding two-times leveraged ETF may be held in place of the underlying. You follow it in your own brokerage account.

What happened to the NASDAQ-10 Portfolio?

It's now called NASDAQ-30, and its description changed with the name. The old version picked the ten best-performing Nasdaq-100 holdings plus extra picks. The version in the app focuses on the 30 largest QQQ holdings by market value, with the same leverage switch driven by Raincheck's Market Signal.

Does the NASDAQ-30 Portfolio use leveraged ETFs?

It may. The description says that depending on Market Signal strength, the corresponding two-times leveraged ETF may be selected in place of the underlying. Leveraged ETFs reset daily, can drift sharply from their multiple over longer periods, amplify losses as fast as gains, and tend to cost more. What it holds on any given day is in the app.

Is the NASDAQ-30 Portfolio the same as buying QQQ?

No. QQQ holds about a hundred companies at index weights with no leverage, bought once. NASDAQ-30 focuses on the 30 largest, may hold two-times leveraged ETFs when Raincheck's signal calls for it, and changes over time, with each change sent to your brokerage as orders.

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Since Autopilot Advisers is an SEC-registered investment adviser, we have to put disclaimers on stuff like this. They're below, and the full version is on our legal page.

Disclosures

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