SMH vs SOXX

SMHAVanEck Semiconductor ETF

SOXXAiShares 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.

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

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

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

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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 SMH profile⁠

Full SOXX profile⁠