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Is iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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A smart beta exchange traded fund, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) debuted on 07/10/2001, and offers broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $11.30 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Technology ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index before fees and expenses.
The ICE Semiconductor Index measures the performance of U.S. traded securities of companies engaged in the semiconductor business.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for SOXX are 0.35%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
SOXX's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.75%.
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.
For SOXX, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Broadcom Inc (AVGO - Free Report) accounts for about 9.88% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) and Qualcomm Inc (QCOM - Free Report) .
SOXX's top 10 holdings account for about 57.78% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares Semiconductor ETF has lost about -7.78% so far, and is down about -10.29% over the last 12 months (as of 03/27/2025). SOXX has traded between $192.12 and $265.49 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.33 and standard deviation of 34.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 35 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
IShares Semiconductor ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD - Free Report) tracks S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF has $1.12 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $20.28 billion. XSD has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SMH charges 0.35%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Technology ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Is iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
A smart beta exchange traded fund, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) debuted on 07/10/2001, and offers broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Market cap weighted indexes work great for investors who believe in market efficiency. They provide a low-cost, convenient and transparent way of replicating market returns.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $11.30 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs in the Technology ETFs. This particular fund seeks to match the performance of the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index before fees and expenses.
The ICE Semiconductor Index measures the performance of U.S. traded securities of companies engaged in the semiconductor business.
Cost & Other Expenses
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for SOXX are 0.35%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
SOXX's 12-month trailing dividend yield is 0.75%.
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.
For SOXX, it has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Broadcom Inc (AVGO - Free Report) accounts for about 9.88% of the fund's total assets, followed by Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) and Qualcomm Inc (QCOM - Free Report) .
SOXX's top 10 holdings account for about 57.78% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares Semiconductor ETF has lost about -7.78% so far, and is down about -10.29% over the last 12 months (as of 03/27/2025). SOXX has traded between $192.12 and $265.49 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 1.33 and standard deviation of 34.80% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 35 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
IShares Semiconductor ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.
SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD - Free Report) tracks S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF has $1.12 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $20.28 billion. XSD has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SMH charges 0.35%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Technology ETFs.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.