Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
PPA vs SMH: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, PPA returned −0.2% to SMH's +56.8%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $7.4bn for Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF and $71.1bn for VanEck Semiconductor ETF.
77% of PPA's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 23% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 27, 2026.
79% of SMH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 21% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 22, 2026.
Pair scorecard
SMH costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 57.0 points; SMH is 9.6 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | PPA | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −0.2% | +56.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 14.5%, high on Mar 2, 2026 | 15.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026 |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Defense | Semiconductors |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | behind by 13.9 pts | |
| Its benchmark, total return, 1 year | +13.7% | +13.4% |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | behind by 13.9 pts | ahead by 43.4 pts |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.58% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $7.4bn | $71.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
How different its holdings are from the S&P 500, ranked against 112 thematic ETFs with at least half their money in S&P 500 companies. 100 is best. How it is computed
A percentile among the 112 thematic ETFs with at least half their money in S&P 500 companies. Weight not shared with the S&P 500 only; it says nothing about returns, fees or whether the theme pays off. All thematic ETFs ranked by it →
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 30, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 773 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: PPA against IVV, Nov 4, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026; SMH against ACWI, Dec 30, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026.
SMH returned more: +3,977.0% to +883.6%. PPA swung less: 19.9% to 26.9%. PPA fell slightly less at its worst: −41.9% to −44.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | PPA | SMH | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +883.6% | +3,977.0% | SMH | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +16.6% | +28.3% | SMH | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +746.3% | +3,365.0% | SMH | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.9% | 26.9% | PPA | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.4% | 17.5% | PPA | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −41.9% | −44.2% | PPA (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 102.4% | 197.3% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 98.7% | 117.1% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.03 | 1.40 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.74 | 0.63 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.79 | 1.00 | SMH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.17 | 1.53 | SMH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.121 | 0.192 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.40 | 0.64 | SMH | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IVV | ACWI | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.8% a year | +12.6% a year | PPA not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.77 | 2.95 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −2.8% to +6.4% | +4.2% to +20.9% | PPA includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.20 | 0.96 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 10.7% | 17.4% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
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, PPA and SMH hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Window by window
| Total return | vs its benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | PPA | SMH | PPA | SMH |
| 3 months | −7.2% | +12.6% | −13.3 pts vs IVV | +8.2 pts vs ACWI |
| 6 months | −3.0% | +13.6% | −12.1 pts vs IVV | +6.2 pts vs ACWI |
| 1 year | −0.2% | +56.8% | −13.9 pts vs IVV | +43.4 pts vs ACWI |
| 3 years | +102.1% | +316.0% | +6.7 pts vs IVV | +227.1 pts vs ACWI |
| Since launchNot the same days: PPA Oct 2005 · SMH Dec 2011 | +1,190.0% | +4,348.4% | not measured | +3,938.6 pts vs ACWI |
Side by side
As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
PPA and SMH are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Theme. PPA covers Defense and SMH covers Semiconductors.
- What each follows. PPA follows Defense and SMH follows Semiconductors.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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PPA
By weight, 77% of PPA's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 96%. The top ten holdings are 61% of the fund across 70 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −0.2% with distributions reinvested against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 13.9 pts. It sits 14.5% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.
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.
Questions people ask
- Do PPA and SMH hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, PPA against SMH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ppa-vs-smh
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). PPA against SMH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ppa-vs-smh
[PPA against SMH (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ppa-vs-smh)
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