SOXX: iShares Semiconductor ETF

SOXX is the iShares Semiconductor ETF, a broader and more diversified alternative to SMH for semiconductor sector exposure. It holds approximately 30 US-listed semiconductor companies with caps on individual weights to keep concentration manageable. Expense ratio of 0.35%, identical to SMH.

SOXX, listed on Nasdaq. The official name is iShares Semiconductor ETF, issued by BlackRock. It tracks the ICE Semiconductor Index, which differs methodologically from SMH's MVIS index in how it caps individual weights.

Approximately 30 US-listed semiconductor companies including NVIDIA (~9.5%), Broadcom (~8.4%), AMD (~7.6%), Qualcomm (~7.2%), Texas Instruments (~5.4%), Applied Materials (~4.9%), Micron (~4.5%), Lam Research (~4.3%), Marvell (~3.6%), and Analog Devices (~3.5%). The top 10 account for ~60% of the fund. More diversified than SMH.

Both cover US semiconductors at 0.35% expense ratio. SOXX is more diversified at the top: NVIDIA at ~9.5% versus ~20.5% in SMH. SOXX includes more analog and equipment names; SMH is more concentrated in the AI leaders. For diversified semiconductor exposure with less NVIDIA risk, SOXX. For concentrated AI infrastructure expression, SMH. Returns over multi-year windows have been close; SMH outperforms in strong AI legs, SOXX is steadier across cycles.

0.35% per year, identical to SMH. On a $10,000 investment, that's $35/year in fees. Both ETFs charge the same fee for sector-specific semiconductor exposure; the differentiation between them is methodology rather than cost.

Approximately 0.6% as of early 2026, paid quarterly. Higher than SMH's ~0.4% because SOXX has more weight in analog and equipment names (Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Applied Materials, Lam Research) that pay more meaningful dividends than the growth-tilted semiconductor leaders.

SOXX trades like any stock during US market hours. Buy it through any broker: Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Public, M1, or any other. Fractional shares supported at most modern brokers.

Approximately $14 billion as of early 2026. SOXX is smaller than SMH (~$28 billion) because more investors have concentrated in SMH for its higher-conviction NVIDIA and TSMC exposure during the AI cycle. SOXX has grown materially but has not matched SMH's growth pace.

SOXX gives you broader exposure to semiconductors than SMH but with somewhat diluted AI concentration because of the larger weights to analog and equipment. Walnut isn't an investment adviser; whether SOXX fits your portfolio depends on whether you want AI leadership concentrated (SMH) or broader semi cycle exposure (SOXX).

July 2001. SOXX has been one of the standard semiconductor sector ETFs for over two decades. Its methodology has evolved (it tracked PHLX Semiconductor Sector before transitioning to the ICE Semiconductor Index) but the broad universe coverage has been consistent.

SOXX historically did not include foreign-domiciled companies even with US ADRs, which excluded TSMC and ASML from earlier methodology. The 2021 methodology update broadened the universe and SOXX now includes them at meaningful weights. SMH has had longer-standing TSMC and ASML inclusion.

Yes, at brokers that support fractional ETF purchases: Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Public, M1, and several others. Fractional purchases reduce the minimum dollar commitment required to gain SOXX exposure.

Semiconductor sector ETFs have higher volatility than broad-market ETFs because of cyclical industry dynamics. SOXX's diversification reduces single-name risk versus SMH but doesn't eliminate sector cyclicality. Position sizing of 5-15% of portfolio weight is typical for thematic investors using SOXX; concentration above that is sector-cycle volatile.

SOXX is pure semiconductors (~30 names). VGT (Vanguard Information Technology) is the entire tech sector (~300+ names) including software, IT services, and semiconductors as a subset. VGT is broader and cheaper (0.09%) but you get diluted semiconductor exposure. SOXX is concentrated semi exposure at higher cost.