CHPS vs SMHX

CHPSAXtrackers Semiconductor Select Equity ETF

SMHXBVanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF

In short

CHPS Semiconductors without the semiconductor markup. CHPS tracks a global chip index with an ESG screen baked in, holds roughly 50 names, and charges 0.15%, undercutting the category's household names.

SMHX Owns the chip designers and skips the factories. SMHX tracks an index of US-listed fabless semiconductor companies: firms that design silicon in-house and hand the actual manufacturing to outside foundries.

Stated mandate

CHPS The fund seeks investment results corresponding generally to the performance of the Solactive Semiconductor ESG Screened Index before fees and expenses.

SMHX The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MarketVector US Listed Fabless Semiconductor Index, which is intended to represent companies involved in the semiconductor industry.

Why people hold it

• CHPS At 0.15%, one of the cheapest doors into chips. SMH and SOXX each charge more than double.
• Global mandate, so foreign foundries and equipment makers are in scope, not just the US-listed marquee names.
• The ESG screen sits inside the index itself: the chip universe gets filtered before the portfolio is built.
• Simple plumbing. Roughly 50 holdings, one published index, cash paid out quarterly.

• SMHX Purist screen: the index takes only US-listed fabless firms drawing at least half their revenue from semiconductors. No foundries, no equipment makers, no integrated manufacturers.vaneck.com
• Fabless is an asset-light model by construction: design and R&D stay in-house while fabrication is outsourced, sidestepping the cost of owning a chip plant.vaneck.com
• Charges 0.35% a year, level with the median semiconductor ETF, for a far narrower cut of the industry than the broad chip trackers.

Worth knowing

• CHPS Trades thinly next to SMH and SOXX. Spreads can be wider, and size takes more care to get filled.
• Launched in 2023, so the record is short against chip funds that have lived through several boom-bust cycles.
• The screen excludes some chip companies outright, so the lineup can look different from unscreened rivals.

• SMHX By design it skips foundries, equipment makers and integrated manufacturers. Broad chip funds such as SMH and SOXX still cover those links in the supply chain.
• Cheaper doors into chips exist: SOXQ lists 0.19% and CHPS 0.15%, against 0.35% here.
• Launched in 2024 and still a smaller, moderately traded fund, so the track record is short and spreads can run wider than at the category heavyweights.

Full CHPS profile⁠

Full SMHX profile⁠