SMH vs SOXQ

SMHAVanEck Semiconductor ETF

SOXQAInvesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF

In short

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.

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

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

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

Why people hold it

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 SMH profile⁠

Full SOXQ profile⁠