Making its debut on 10/06/2022, smart beta exchange traded fund Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF (SHOC Quick QuoteSHOC - Free Report) provides investors broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market.

What Are Smart Beta ETFs?

Products that are based on market cap weighted indexes, which are strategies designed to reflect a specific market segment or the market as a whole, have traditionally dominated the ETF industry.

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.

There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.

Non-cap weighted indexes try to choose stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, which is based on specific fundamental characteristics, or a mix of other such characteristics.

Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.

Fund Sponsor & Index

The fund is sponsored by Strive Etfs. It has amassed assets over $203.47 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Technology ETFs. SHOC, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the BLOOMBERG US LISTED SEMICNDUCTRS SLCT ID.

The Bloomberg U.S. Listed Semiconductors Select Index measures the performance of the top 30 U.S.-listed semiconductor companies.

Cost & Other Expenses

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins if all other fundamentals are the same.

With one of the cheaper products in the space, this ETF has annual operating expenses of 0.40%.

The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.14%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

While ETFs offer diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk, a deep look into a fund's holdings is a valuable exercise. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

SHOC's heaviest allocation is in the Information Technology sector, which is about 100% of the portfolio.

Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 21.67% of the fund's total assets, followed by Micron Technology Inc (MU) and Broadcom Inc (AVGO).

SHOC's top 10 holdings account for about 75.04% of its total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the Strive U.S. Semiconductor ETF has added about 33.46% so far, and is up roughly 35.99% over the last 12 months (as of 11/12/2026). SHOC has traded between $62.11 $124.62 in this past 52-week period.

SHOC has a beta of 1.98 and standard deviation of 38.70% for the trailing three-year period. With about 32 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers .

Alternatives

Strive U.S. 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.

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 $39.81 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $65.26 billion. SOXX has an expense ratio of 0.33% and SMH changes 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.