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Is iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 07/10/2001.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $4.35 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Technology ETFs. SOXX, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index.
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.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.66%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 100% of the portfolio.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 10.17% of the fund's total assets, followed by Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD - Free Report) and Broadcom Inc (AVGO - Free Report) .
SOXX's top 10 holdings account for about 60.21% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares Semiconductor ETF has added about 18.80% so far, and is up about 63.54% over the last 12 months (as of 03/11/2024). SOXX has traded between $133.67 and $237.75 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.39 and standard deviation of 33.99% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SOXX a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 36 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 $1.50 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $17.46 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?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund launched on 07/10/2001.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
The ETF industry has long been dominated by products based on market cap weighted indexes, a strategy created to reflect the market or a particular market segment.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
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.
This kind of index follows this same mindset, as it attempts to pick stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance; non-cap weighted strategies base selection on certain fundamental characteristics, or a mix of such characteristics.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by Blackrock, and has been able to amass over $4.35 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Technology ETFs. SOXX, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index.
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.
The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.66%.
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.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 100% of the portfolio.
Taking into account individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 10.17% of the fund's total assets, followed by Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD - Free Report) and Broadcom Inc (AVGO - Free Report) .
SOXX's top 10 holdings account for about 60.21% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the iShares Semiconductor ETF has added about 18.80% so far, and is up about 63.54% over the last 12 months (as of 03/11/2024). SOXX has traded between $133.67 and $237.75 in this past 52-week period.
The fund has a beta of 1.39 and standard deviation of 33.99% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SOXX a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 36 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 $1.50 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $17.46 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.