Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SMH vs VTI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SMH returned +56.8% to VTI's +13.5%, and VTI charges 0.03% to SMH's 0.35%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about SMH and VTI
Net assets: $71.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for VanEck Semiconductor ETF, and $689.2bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF.
Pair scorecard
VTI costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 43.3 points.
| Measure | SMH | VTI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +56.8% | +13.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 15.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Semiconductors | Morningstar US Total Market Index |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | ahead by 43.4 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, SMH as of Oct 27, 2026 and VTI as of Sep 30, 2026 | $71.1bn | $689.2bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 81% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 16% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 69% | 34.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 30, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 773 weekly returnsSMH returned more: +3,977.0% to +646.4%. VTI swung less: 16.0% to 26.9%. VTI fell less at its worst: −32.9% to −44.2%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SMH | VTI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +3,977.0% | +646.4% | SMH | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +28.3% | +14.5% | SMH | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +3,365.0% | +480.1% | SMH | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 26.9% | 16.0% | VTI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 17.5% | 11.0% | VTI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −44.2% | −32.9% | VTI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 1.00 | 0.82 | SMH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.53 | 1.19 | SMH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.64 | 0.44 | SMH | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 773 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SMH and VTI hold 16% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
16% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SMH and VTI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SMH and VTI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SMH follows Semiconductors and VTI follows Morningstar US Total Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 16% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SMH returned +56.8% and VTI +13.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 43.3 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
SMH
By weight, 79% of SMH's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 81%. The top ten holdings are 69% of the fund across 25 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +56.8% with distributions reinvested against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Index, so a holder was ahead by 43.4 pts. It sits 15.1% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.
VTI
VTI tracks an index of US total market. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 88% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,521 positions, with the top ten at 34.7%.
Questions people ask
- Are SMH and VTI in the same category?
- SMH is a thematic ETF and VTI is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, SMH or VTI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SMH returned +56.8% and VTI +13.5%.
- Which is cheaper, SMH or VTI?
- VTI is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, SMH against VTI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/smh-vs-vti
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SMH against VTI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/smh-vs-vti
[SMH against VTI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/smh-vs-vti)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.