DRAM vs SOXX

DRAMCRoundhill Memory ETF

SOXXAiShares 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.

SOXX The original chip ETF, running since 2001 and still one of the most heavily traded ways to own the semiconductor complex: roughly 30 US-listed names, from chip designers to the equipment makers who supply them.

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.

SOXX The Fund is designed to follow an index of U.S.-listed companies operating in the semiconductor sector.

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

• SOXX Live since 2001, it is one of the longest-running semiconductor funds and now a multi-billion-dollar one, with heavy daily volume that typically keeps bid-ask spreads narrow.
• 0.33% a year, slightly under the typical fee among semiconductor ETFs.
• A clean pure play: the index tracks US-listed semiconductor companies only, roughly 30 of them, spanning the chip value chain rather than one slice of it.ishares.com
• On cost, liquidity and index execution together, it stands among the stronger builds in a crowded semiconductor field.

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.

• SOXX One sector, roughly 30 stocks, non-diversified by design. Moves are bigger than a broad market fund's in both directions.ishares.com
• Cheaper chip funds exist: SOXQ charges 0.19% and CHPS 0.15%, so part of this fee buys the deeper trading pool rather than the exposure itself.
• Not an income vehicle. Chipmakers tend to pay modest dividends, and the fund distributes quarterly.ishares.com

Full DRAM profile⁠

Full SOXX profile⁠