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Should You Invest in the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH)?

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The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH - Free Report) was launched on 12/20/2011, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer 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 5, placing it in top 31%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $18.27 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market. SMH seeks to match the performance of the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index before fees and expenses.

The MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in semiconductor production and equipment.

Costs

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

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.48%.

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.

Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA - Free Report) accounts for about 27.75% of total assets, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co L (TSM - Free Report) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 73.57% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF return is roughly 24.30% so far, and is up about 73.28% over the last 12 months (as of 04/16/2024). SMH has traded between $119.59 and $234.17 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.37 and standard deviation of 32.99% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 27 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

VanEck Semiconductor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SMH is an outstanding 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.

SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD - Free Report) tracks S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX - Free Report) tracks PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index. SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF has $1.40 billion in assets, iShares Semiconductor ETF has $12.29 billion. XSD has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SOXX charges 0.35%.

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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