DRAM vs SOXQ

DRAMCRoundhill Memory ETF

SOXQAInvesco PHLX 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.

SOXQ SOXQ owns the semiconductor industry's landmark benchmark, the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index, for 0.19% a year. About 30 US-listed chip names, at roughly half the fee of the typical semiconductor fund.

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.

SOXQ The Fund seeks to track the investment results, before fees and expenses, of the PHLX Semiconductor Sector 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

• SOXQ Charges 0.19% a year against a semiconductor-fund median near 0.35%. Same industry, less friction.
• Undercuts the category's best-known tickers on fee: SMH at 0.35% and SOXX at 0.33%.
• Tracks the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index, a focused basket of roughly 30 US chip companies. No stock-picking, no theme drift.
• A multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund, and one of the stronger builds in the semiconductor cohort.

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.

• SOXQ About 30 stocks in one industry. That concentration puts it among the more volatile funds in its peer group, in both directions.
• Not the absolute cheapest chip ETF: CHPS runs 0.15%, though it tracks a different index.
• Launched in 2021, so its record is shorter than the decade-plus histories of the category's older funds.

Full DRAM profile⁠

Full SOXQ profile⁠