Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SMH vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SMH returned +56.8% to XAR's −10.0%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $71.1bn for VanEck Semiconductor ETF and $5.0bn for State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF.
79% of SMH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 21% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 22, 2026.
40% of XAR's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 60% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 27, 2026.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.35% a year; their one-year returns differ by 66.8 points; SMH is 14.2 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | SMH | XAR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +56.8% | −10.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 15.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | 24.1%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Semiconductors | Defense |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | behind by 23.7 pts | |
| Its benchmark, total return, 1 year | +13.4% | +13.7% |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | ahead by 43.4 pts | behind by 23.7 pts |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $71.1bn | $5.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
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: SMH against ACWI, Dec 30, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026; XAR against VOO, Oct 7, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026.
SMH returned more: +3,977.0% to +806.9%. XAR swung less: 23.2% to 26.9%. SMH and XAR fell about the same at their worst: −44.2% and −45.1%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SMH | XAR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +3,977.0% | +806.9% | SMH | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +28.3% | +16.0% | SMH | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +3,365.0% | +678.0% | SMH | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 26.9% | 23.2% | XAR | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 17.5% | 15.5% | XAR | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −44.2% | −45.1% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 197.3% | 115.9% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 117.1% | 107.2% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.40 | 1.16 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.63 | 0.62 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 1.00 | 0.68 | SMH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.53 | 1.02 | SMH | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.192 | 0.141 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.64 | 0.35 | SMH | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWI | VOO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +12.6% a year | +0.3% a year | XAR not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 2.95 | 0.08 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | +4.2% to +20.9% | −7.0% to +7.6% | XAR includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.96 | 0.17 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 17.4% | 14.6% | 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, SMH and XAR 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 | SMH | XAR | SMH | XAR |
| 3 months | +12.6% | −12.8% | +8.2 pts vs ACWI | −18.9 pts vs VOO |
| 6 months | +13.6% | −9.9% | +6.2 pts vs ACWI | −19.0 pts vs VOO |
| 1 year | +56.8% | −10.0% | +43.4 pts vs ACWI | −23.7 pts vs VOO |
| 3 years | +316.0% | +103.5% | +227.1 pts vs ACWI | +8.0 pts vs VOO |
| Since launchNot the same days: SMH Dec 2011 · XAR Sep 2011 | +4,348.4% | +945.4% | +3,938.6 pts vs ACWI | +171.9 pts vs VOO |
Side by side
As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
SMH and XAR are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Theme. SMH covers Semiconductors and XAR covers Defense.
- Concentration. The top ten holdings are 69.0% of SMH and 32.2% of XAR, a gap of 36.8 points.
- What each follows. SMH follows Semiconductors and XAR follows Defense.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
XAR
By weight, 40% of XAR's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 32% of the fund across 50 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −10.0% with distributions reinvested against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 23.7 pts. It sits 24.1% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do SMH and XAR 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
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
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ETFIQ, SMH against XAR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/smh-vs-xar
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SMH against XAR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/smh-vs-xar
[SMH against XAR (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/smh-vs-xar)
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