How-to Nasdaq 100 International ETF Motilal Oswal

How to buy Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 ETF on Zerodha

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The Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 ETF is one of the international ETFs listed on Indian exchanges, providing exposure to the US Nasdaq 100 index without requiring an overseas brokerage account. It operates via a feeder structure (the Indian ETF invests in the underlying US ETF).

Conflict-of-interest disclosure. This guide is published by WebNotes Editorial Team for informational purposes. WebNotes has no commercial relationship with Zerodha or Motilal Oswal MF.

Step-by-step procedure

Four steps per the procedure infobox.

What it tracks

The Nasdaq 100 index is the largest 100 non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq, dominated by US tech:

  • Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta.
  • Tesla, Broadcom, Adobe, Netflix.
  • Other large US tech / non-financial names.

For Indian retail investors, this provides US tech exposure without LRS overhead.

Feeder structure

The Indian ETF (issued by Motilal Oswal MF in India) invests in:

  • An underlying US-listed Nasdaq 100 ETF (typically the largest one).
  • Or directly in Nasdaq 100 constituents.

The structure ensures Indian regulatory compliance while providing the foreign-asset exposure.

Why use this vs LRS direct

LRS direct (overseas brokerage)Indian-listed feeder ETF
Requires US/foreign broker accountBuy on Indian NSE / BSE
LRS limit applies (USD 2.5 lakh per FY per person)No LRS limit for Indian-listed
Foreign tax filing complexityIndian tax filing only
Currency conversion to USD neededINR pricing
Settlement risks across jurisdictionsIndian settlement

For most retail investors, the feeder ETF is operationally much simpler.

Tax treatment

Indian-listed international ETFs are taxed as debt funds (per Section 50AA post April 2023):

  • All capital gains at slab rates.
  • No STCG / LTCG distinction.
  • Independent of holding period.

This is less tax-favourable than equity. For complex tax situations involving international ETF holdings, consult a Chartered Accountant before filing.

SEBI overseas-investment limit

SEBI / RBI maintain limits on mutual funds’ aggregate overseas investment. When the limit is reached, new subscriptions to overseas ETFs may be paused. Check current availability.

Liquidity

Indian-listed international ETFs have variable liquidity:

  • Tighter spreads at peak market hours.
  • Wider spreads outside US market hours (since underlying isn’t actively priced).
  • Larger spreads on less-popular tranches.

Settlement

T+1; not in T+0 segment typically.

International ETFs can trade at a small premium / discount to NAV due to:

  • Time-zone mismatch (Indian market hours vs US market hours).
  • Demand / supply imbalance.
  • Overnight news flow.

The premium / discount is usually small (1-2%) but can spike during volatile US sessions.

See also

External references

References

  1. Motilal Oswal MF, Nasdaq 100 ETF scheme information document, motilaloswalmf.com.
  2. SEBI, Overseas investment framework for MFs, sebi.gov.in.
  3. RBI, LRS framework, rbi.org.in.
  4. Income Tax Act, 1961, section 50AA.

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The WebNotes Editorial Team covers Indian capital markets, payments infrastructure and retail investor procedures. Every article is fact-checked against primary sources, principally SEBI circulars and master directions, NPCI specifications and the official support documentation published by the intermediary in question. Drafts go through a second-pair-of-eyes review and a separate compliance read before publication, and revisions are tracked against the SEBI and NPCI rule changes referenced in the methodology section.

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