DRAM vs SMH

DRAMCRoundhill Memory ETF

SMHAVanEck Semiconductor ETF

In short

DRAM Most chip ETFs own memory in passing. DRAM makes it the whole point: an actively managed, global basket of companies that earn at least half their money from memory technology like HBM, DRAM and NAND.

SMH Chip exposure, undiluted. SMH tracks roughly 25 of the largest, most liquid US-listed semiconductor names (foreign chipmakers included) and trades like a household ticker in its category.

Stated mandate

DRAM DRAM is an actively managed ETF investing primarily in equity securities of memory companies. Eligible companies derive at least half of their revenues or profits from semiconductor memory technologies such as HBM, DRAM, NAND, NOR, HDD, or specialty and embedded memory.

SMH The Fund aims to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index.

Why people hold it

• DRAM A purity screen with teeth: to qualify, a company must derive at least half its revenue or profit from memory tech (HBM, DRAM, NAND, NOR, HDD, embedded), so the theme stays undiluted.roundhillinvestments.com
• Actively managed and global in reach, so the roster can shift across the memory supply chain as conditions change rather than waiting on an index reconstitution calendar.roundhillinvestments.com
• Straightforward plumbing: a 1940 Act equity fund holding stocks, not a leveraged or commodity-style wrapper, so no K-1 and no daily reset math to track.roundhillinvestments.com

• SMH The index rule is simple: the 25 largest, most liquid US-listed chip stocks, each earning over half its revenue from semiconductors or semi equipment. No tech-adjacent filler.marketvector.com
• Depositary receipts count, so US-listed foreign chipmakers are in scope. That reaches parts of the supply chain a domestic-only screen leaves out.sec.gov
• Single-name weights are capped at 20%, so the giants of the industry carry real weight rather than being trimmed toward sector-average size.marketvector.com
• One of the most actively traded funds in its peer group, a multi-billion-dollar book, and VanEck has run it since 2011.

Worth knowing

• DRAM Costs 0.65% a year, roughly double the typical semiconductor ETF. Broad chip funds such as SOXX and SMH already hold the big memory names for a fraction of that.
• It is one narrow slice of the chip world. The half-revenue test keeps the lineup small and concentrated, which can mean sharper swings than a diversified semiconductor fund.
• A 2026 launch, so there is little history to judge it by, and it has not been paying distributions, meaning any return has to come from share price.

• SMH Fees sit mid-pack: 0.35% matches the semiconductor cohort median but runs above SOXQ at 0.19% and CHPS at 0.15%.
• Roughly 25 names with a 20% cap is concentration by design: the largest holdings drive most of the fund's day-to-day movement.marketvector.com
• Built as a single-industry chip sleeve, not an income holding. Distributions come once or twice a year.

Full DRAM profile⁠

Full SMH profile⁠