Data as of .
FTXL vs SMHX: which is really different?
FTXL and SMHX hold 35% of their weight in the same names, and FTXL returned more over the year.
ETFIQ Off-Index Score: SMHX scores higher
How much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?
A percentile among the 379 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All thematic ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
35% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, FTXL and SMHX hold 35% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | FTXL | SMHX |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corporation | 7.49% | 23.10% |
| Broadcom Inc. | 7.19% | 14.75% |
| QUALCOMM Incorporated | 7.76% | 5.25% |
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 4.43% | 6.38% |
| Marvell Technology, Inc. | 4.29% | 5.04% |
| Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. | 1.75% | 3.79% |
| Cirrus Logic, Inc. | 1.71% | 2.03% |
| Rambus Inc. | 0.86% | 2.74% |
| Semtech Corporation | 0.67% | 4.20% |
| Astera Labs, Inc. | 0.55% | 4.22% |
| Lattice Semiconductor Corporation | 0.46% | 3.31% |
| Only in FTXL | Only in SMHX |
|---|---|
| Intel Corporation 9.03% | Arm Holdings Plc 4.13% |
| Micron Technology, Inc. 7.89% | Synopsys Inc 3.97% |
| Analog Devices, Inc. 3.86% | Cadence Design Systems Inc 3.48% |
| Texas Instruments Incorporated 3.80% | Sitime Corp 3.46% |
| NXP Semiconductors N.V. 3.78% | Silicon Motion Technology Corp 3.31% |
| KLA Corporation 3.75% | Silicon Laboratories Inc 2.27% |
| Amkor Technology, Inc. 3.69% | Impinj Inc 1.22% |
| Applied Materials, Inc. 3.61% | Ambarella Inc 0.99% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 17, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | vs the S&P 500 | vs the Nasdaq-100 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTXL | SMHX | FTXL | SMHX | FTXL | SMHX | |
| 3 months | −17.9% | −13.9% | −20.2 pts | −16.2 pts | −15.4 pts | −11.4 pts |
| 6 months | +59.0% | +55.4% | +41.0 pts | +37.4 pts | +34.8 pts | +31.2 pts |
| 1 year | +116.0% | +48.5% | +99.4 pts | +31.9 pts | +94.2 pts | +26.7 pts |
| 3 years | +253.0% | not published | +174.6 pts | not published | +154.8 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +1147.2% | +129.6% | +833.7 pts | +89.6 pts | +593.6 pts | +75.0 pts |
| FTXL First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF Holds 38 stocks in semiconductors, 78% of its weight in S&P 500 companies | SMHX VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF Holds 22 stocks in semiconductors, 66% of its weight in S&P 500 companies | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | VanEck |
| Theme | Semiconductors | Semiconductors |
| In the S&P 500 | 78.5% | 65.8% |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 81.0% | 87.1% |
| In the Nasdaq-100 | 75.1% | 69.9% |
| Holdings | 38 | 22 |
| Top ten, share of the fund | 59.5% | 74.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.60% | 0.35% |
| Fee for the differing part | 0.74% | 0.40% |
| Total return, 1 year | +116.0% | +48.5% |
| vs the S&P 500 | +99.4 pts | +31.9 pts |
| vs the Nasdaq-100 | +94.2 pts | +26.7 pts |
| Below its high | −20.1% | −15.9% |
| Net assets | $1.5bn | $267m |
FTXL in plain words
By weight, 78% 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 60% of the fund across 38 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 18, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned +116.0% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 99.4 pts. It sits 20.1% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.
SMHX in plain words
By weight, 66% of SMHX's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 87%. The top ten holdings are 75% of the fund across 22 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 17, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned +48.5% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 31.9 pts. It sits 15.9% below its all-time high of Jun 3, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do FTXL and SMHX hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 35% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is a meaningful overlap. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
- Which is more different from the S&P 500, FTXL or SMHX?
- FTXL has 78% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SMHX has 66%, so SMHX differs more from the index.
- Which is cheaper, FTXL or SMHX?
- FTXL charges 0.60% a year and SMHX charges 0.35%, so SMHX is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, FTXL against SMHX, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ftxl-vs-smhx Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.