Launched on 12/20/2011, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market.

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Technology - Semiconductors is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 1, placing it in top 6%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $24.67 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market. SMH seeks to match the performance of the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index before fees and expenses.

The MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in semiconductor production and equipment.

Costs

Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.41%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 19.56% of total assets, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co L (TSM) and Broadcom Inc (AVGO).

The top 10 holdings account for about 71.44% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 44.59% so far this year and is up about 78.66% in the last one year (as of 10/22/2024). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $137.46 and $281.27.

The ETF has a beta of 1.33 and standard deviation of 35.51% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 27 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

VanEck Semiconductor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SMH is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.