Since its ETF’s launch in early 1999, the Nasdaq-100 actually underperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average on a total return basis for most of 20 years, until last week.

Both the Dow and Nasdaq have outperformed the S&P 500 on a total return basis, leaving the Dow as the clear winner on a risk-adjusted basis.

Fundamentals point to the Nasdaq’s recent catch-up as a repeat of the late 1990s run-up, meaning the Dow is likely to outperform again over the next 20 years.

The Dow’s greatest advantage is its simplicity, and this should make it a leader in the trend towards direct indexing.

If I were to ask 80 investors under the age of 80 to describe the Dow Jones Industrial Average in one word, chances are the answers would include words like “narrow”, “outdated”, or even “irrelevant”.

I’m also sure a vast majority of that same sample of “young” investors would never have guessed that this old Dow index has actually outperformed the much more modern and sexy Nasdaq-100 Index on a total return basis over most of the past 20 years. In this article, I explain: the surprising past outperformance of the Dow over the Nasdaq, and advantages I believe will make the Dow a better starting point than Nasdaq or S&P for outperformance over the next 20 years.
— Read on seekingalpha.com/article/4310588-why-30-stocks-are-better-100-500-how-dow-beat-nasdaq-1999minus-2019