Launched on September 20, 2016, the First Trust NASDAQ Semiconductor ETF (FTXL Quick QuoteFTXL - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Technology - Semiconductors is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 3, placing it in top 19%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $346.72 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market. FTXL seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index before fees and expenses.

The Nasdaq US Smart Semiconductor Index is a modified factor weighted index, designed to provide exposure to US companies within the semiconductor industry.

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 0.6%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.33%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector -- about 100% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) accounts for about 10.64% of total assets, followed by Intel Corporation (INTC) and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO).

The top 10 holdings account for about 64.32% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the First Trust NASDAQ Semiconductor ETF has gained about 41.91% so far, and was up about 34.53% over the last 12 months (as of 11/12/2025). FTXL has traded between $62.37 and $128.158 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.44 and standard deviation of 33.89% for the trailing three-year period. With about 32 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust NASDAQ Semiconductor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, FTXL is a great 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.

iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. iShares Semiconductor ETF has $16.63 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $36.62 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.34%, and SMH charges 0.35%.

Bottom Line

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