FTXL vs SOXQ

FTXLBFirst Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF

SOXQAInvesco PHLX 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.

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

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.

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

• 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

• 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.

• 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 FTXL profile⁠

Full SOXQ profile⁠