FTXL vs SMH

FTXLBFirst Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF

SMHAVanEck Semiconductor ETF

In short

FTXL Most chip ETFs rank by size. FTXL runs roughly 30 US semiconductor names through momentum and profitability screens instead, so the weighting ladder is built on factor scores rather than market cap alone.

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

FTXL The Fund seeks to track the Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index before fees and expenses. The index provides exposure to U.S. semiconductor companies and uses a modified factor-weighting methodology.

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

• FTXL The tracked index screens on momentum and profitability, so position sizes follow factor scores instead of sheer market cap.ftportfolios.com
• Roughly 30 US chip stocks and nothing else: a concentrated, straight-through read on semiconductors rather than a broad tech basket.
• Live since 2016 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund with moderate trading activity, it is one of the longer-running factor takes on the sector.
• Pays distributions quarterly, in line with the sector's typically modest dividend profile.

• 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

• FTXL At 0.60% a year, it costs more than several chip rivals: SOXQ at 0.19%, CHPS at 0.15%, SOXX at 0.33%.
• Factor weighting means the lineup can look quite different from a cap-weighted chip index, and that gap cuts both ways.
• About 30 stocks in one cyclical industry: moves are sharper than a diversified fund's, up and down.

• 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 FTXL profile⁠

Full SMH profile⁠