Data as of . Every figure is the themes desk's own, on published data.
FTXL vs SMH
First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF and VanEck Semiconductor ETF, side by side on the themes desk.
59% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ| FTXL First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF | SMH VanEck Semiconductor ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | VanEck |
| Theme | Semiconductors | Semiconductors |
| In the S&P 500 | 85.6% | 82.0% |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 81.2% | 80.6% |
| In the Nasdaq-100 | 80.2% | 85.9% |
| Holdings | 35 | 25 |
| Top ten, share of the fund | 68.3% | 70.3% |
| Expense ratio | 0.60% | 0.35% |
| Fee for the differing part | 0.74% | 0.43% |
| Total return, 1 year | +131.1% | +96.2% |
| vs the S&P 500 | +111.2 pts | +76.3 pts |
| vs the Nasdaq-100 | +105.5 pts | +70.6 pts |
| Below its high | −23.3% | −15.2% |
FTXL in plain words
By weight, 86% of FTXL'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 68% of the fund across 35 positions, as filed for Sep 3, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +131.1% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 111.2 pts. It sits 23.3% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.
SMH in plain words
By weight, 82% 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 70% of the fund across 25 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +96.2% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 76.3 pts. It sits 15.2% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do FTXL and SMH hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 59% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is close to holding one of them twice. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
- Which is more different from the S&P 500, FTXL or SMH?
- FTXL has 86% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SMH has 82%, so FTXL differs more from the index.
- Which is cheaper, FTXL or SMH?
- FTXL charges 0.60% a year and SMH charges 0.35%, so SMH is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Cite this page. ETFIQ, FTXL against SMH, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/FTXL-SMH.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
ETFIQ is an independent publisher of exchange-traded fund data. It is not a fund issuer, broker-dealer or investment adviser, and it makes no recommendations; every figure here is stated arithmetic on published data. Standards and sources