SMH vs SOXX: Which Semiconductor ETF Should You Own?
Same industry, nearly the same fee, very different weights. We ran both funds back to 2011 to see what the cap on each company really changes.
By Pavel Penev, MScFounder, TradeWize · 10+ years trading the marketsSMH and SOXX are the two big semiconductor ETFs. SMH comes from VanEck and holds 25 chip companies. SOXX comes from iShares and holds 30. They charge almost the same fee and trade about the same amount every day.
The difference is how much each one puts into the biggest names. So we put $10,000 in each at the close on 20 December 2011, SMH's first day as a VanEck fund, reinvested every dividend, and checked the result at the close on 28 October 2026.
The short answer
SMH lets one company reach 20% of the fund. SOXX caps its top five at 8% each. So SMH has 19.56% in Nvidia and SOXX 7.85%. SMH finished 18% ahead since 2011, but SOXX was ahead at every year-end from 2013 to 2023. Pick SMH to bet on the biggest chipmakers, SOXX to spread across the industry. The fee gap is $2 a year on $10,000.
What this article is, and isn't
This compares the funds' published facts and their past returns. It isn't a recommendation to buy either one, and past returns don't tell you the next ten years. TradeWize isn't a broker or an adviser and earns nothing from these funds. Every fund figure was read off the issuer's own page and is linked at the end.
SMH vs SOXX at a glance
| SMH | SOXX | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | VanEck | iShares |
| Tracks | MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 | NYSE Semiconductor |
| Weight cap | 20% per company | 8% for the top five, 4% for the rest |
| Fee a year | 0.35% | 0.33% |
| Fee on $10,000 | $35 | $33 |
| Stocks held | 25 | 30 |
| Nvidia | 19.56% | 7.85% |
| Top 3 stocks | 34.74% | 25.63% |
| Fund size | $72bn | $50bn |
| Shares traded a day | 7.9 million | 8.5 million |
| Median spread | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Dividend yield (SEC) | 0.16% | 0.11% |
| Pays dividends | Once a year | Every quarter |
Read off VanEck's and iShares' fund pages on 2026-10-29. Prices are the 28 October 2026 close. Shares traded is each issuer's 30-day average.
Most rows are a tie. Both trade about $4.5bn a day at a 0.02% spread, so neither is cheaper to trade. The fee gap is 0.02%, or $2 a year. The row that matters is the weight cap.
The cap is the whole difference
Both indexes start by ranking chip companies by size. Then they cap the biggest. SMH's index stops any one company at 20%. SOXX's index stops its five biggest at 8% each and everyone else at 4%. Both reset the weights every quarter, so they drift in between.
| SMH | SOXX | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nvidia | 19.56% | AMD | 9.46% |
| 2 | TSMC | 9.54% | Intel | 8.32% |
| 3 | AMD | 5.64% | Nvidia | 7.85% |
| 4 | Broadcom | 5.58% | Micron | 7.7% |
| 5 | Texas Instruments | 5.4% | Broadcom | 7.35% |
| 6 | Micron | 4.86% | Texas Instruments | 4.71% |
| 7 | Analog Devices | 4.68% | Analog Devices | 4.67% |
| 8 | Marvell | 4.56% | Marvell | 4.57% |
| 9 | ASML | 4.39% | Qualcomm | 4.29% |
| 10 | SK Hynix | 4.21% | NXP | 3.51% |
SMH: VanEck, holdings as of 28 October 2026. SOXX: iShares, holdings as of 27 October 2026.
Look at the top of each list. SMH holds two and a half times as much Nvidia as SOXX, and three times as much TSMC (9.54% against 3.2%). Its top three are 34.74% of the fund. SOXX's top three are 25.63%, and its next seven sit at 4-5% each.
So SOXX holds more of the companies further down. It has 8.32% in Intel against 4.1% in SMH, and it holds Qualcomm and NXP in its top ten. SMH also leans more on companies based outside the US: about 21% of it, mostly TSMC, ASML and SK Hynix. All of them are listed in the US.
In plain terms: SMH is a bet that the biggest chipmakers keep winning. SOXX is a bet on the chip industry as a whole.
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Try the free lesson →What $10,000 became in each
Both turned $10,000 into more than $300,000 in under 15 years. Chips have been one of the best places in the stock market to be. SMH finished $67,132 ahead, about 18%. That's a total return of 4348% against 3677%.
But the lead is recent. Here's how far SMH was ahead of SOXX, or behind it, at the end of each month:
SMH's value divided by SOXX's, minus one, dividends reinvested, at the last close of each month. From 20 December 2011 to 28 October 2026.
For twelve years the cap barely mattered, and when it did, it helped SOXX. SOXX was ahead at the end of every year from 2013 to 2023. At the end of 2023 it was still 0.64% ahead. SOXX's best full year against SMH was 2013, when it gained 41.57% against 33.31%.
Then came Nvidia. Its shares rose 171.2% in 2024. SMH could put up to 20% into it, while SOXX had to stop at 8%. SMH gained 39.08% that year and SOXX 12.92%, a gap of 26.16 points. SMH added another 8.44 points in 2025, and at the end of December 2025 it was 30% ahead.
2026 has gone the other way. Nvidia is up only 15.5%, while AMD is up 170.1%, Intel 158.9% and Micron 244.5%. SOXX holds more of all three, so it's up 73.61% so far against 57.63% for SMH.
SMH's return minus SOXX's, dividends reinvested. 2012 starts at the 20 December 2011 close. 2026 runs to 28 October 2026.
Count the years and it's close: SMH won 9 of 15. Most of those wins were small. Three years did most of the work: 2013 for SOXX, 2024 for SMH, and now 2026, where SOXX is 15.98% points ahead.
How far each one fell
| SMH | SOXX | |
|---|---|---|
| Early 2020 | -33.62% | -34.25% |
| 2022 | -45.3% | -45.75% |
| Mid-2024 to April 2025 | -35.75% | -41.36% |
2020: from 19 February 2020 to 20 March 2020. 2022: from 27 December 2021 to 14 October 2022. 2024-2025: from 10 July 2024 to 8 April 2025.
A spread-out fund didn't protect you. Both lost about a third in a month in 2020, and both lost about 46% in 2022. In the last big fall, SOXX actually fell further, 41.36% against 35.75%. When chip stocks drop, they drop together, and both funds hold only chip stocks.
The risks
- Both are one industry. Chip stocks swing much harder than the market. Neither fund is a substitute for one that owns the whole market, and if you hold an S&P 500 fund you already own most of these companies.
- SMH's 19.56% in Nvidia means one company's results move the whole fund. That's what won it 2024, and it's also why it lags in 2026.
- The cap rules can change. SOXX switched indexes on 20 June 2021, from the PHLX Semiconductor index to the NYSE one. Index providers review their rules from time to time.
- Both have split. SMH split 2-for-1 on 5 May 2023, and SOXX starts trading after a forward split on 5 November 2026. Old charts may show higher prices. Nothing about the funds changes.
- VanEck's fund started in 2011. Price charts that show SMH before then are tracking an older product that used the same ticker. Our test starts on VanEck's first day.
Outside the US
These are US-listed funds. In the UK and the EU, most brokers won't sell them to private investors, because they don't publish the key information document those rules require. VanEck and iShares both sell semiconductor UCITS ETFs in Europe, listed in London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam or Milan. They often track different indexes from the US funds, so check the cap rule before you compare. It's the thing that decides how much Nvidia you get.
So which one?
- You want the biggest chipmakers, Nvidia and TSMC above all: SMH, 0.35%.
- You want the whole chip industry, with no stock above about 8% at each reset: SOXX, 0.33%.
- You trade them: either works. Both trade about $4.4bn a day at a 0.02% spread.
- You already own QQQ or VGT: you already hold plenty of Nvidia and Broadcom. SOXX doubles up less than SMH does. Our QQQ vs VGT comparison is linked below.
- You want to own SMH and SOXX together: there's little point. They hold most of the same companies, just in different amounts.
What's the difference between SMH and SOXX?
Both hold US-listed semiconductor companies. SMH holds 25 and lets one reach 20% of the fund. SOXX holds 30 and caps its top five at 8%. So SMH has 19.56% in Nvidia and SOXX 7.85%. SMH charges 0.35% and SOXX 0.33%.
Which has performed better, SMH or SOXX?
$10,000 put in each on 20 December 2011 was worth $444,844 in SMH and $377,712 in SOXX on 28 October 2026. But SOXX was ahead at every year-end from 2013 to 2023. SMH's lead came from Nvidia's run in 2024 and 2025, and SOXX is ahead in 2026.
Does SOXX own Nvidia?
Yes, 7.85% of the fund on 27 October 2026. Its index caps the five biggest companies at 8% each when it resets every quarter, so Nvidia can't grow as large in SOXX as in SMH.
Does SOXX own TSMC?
Yes, but less: 3.2% against 9.54% in SMH. SMH also holds more ASML and SK Hynix. About 21% of SMH is in companies based outside the US.
Which is cheaper, SMH or SOXX?
SOXX, by 0.02%. It charges 0.33% a year and SMH 0.35%. On $10,000 that's $33 and $35. Both trade at a 0.02% median spread.
Should I own both SMH and SOXX?
There's little point. They hold most of the same companies. Owning both just lands you somewhere between the two weightings, at about the same fee.
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