# What is a thematic ETF?

> As of Nov 4, 2026, ETFIQ covers 427 thematic ETFs, with a median fee of 0.59% and a median 50% of the fund in its top ten holdings.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

## What is a thematic ETF?

Data as of Nov 4, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

As of Nov 4, 2026, ETFIQ covers 427 thematic ETFs, with a median fee of 0.59% and a median 50% of the fund in its top ten holdings.

### In plain words

A thematic ETF picks companies by an idea instead of a market index: a technology such as robots, a trend such as clean energy, or firms sharing a feature.

Themes cost more and are more concentrated than the market: median fee 0.59% against 0.45% for stock ETFs, and 50% in the top ten against 36%. Many also own the same large companies as the S&P 500. ETFIQ measures how much of each fund is already in the index; a fund that mostly copies it adds little new exposure.

### Questions

How is a theme chosen? ETFIQ assigns a theme from what a fund says it owns and what its filings show, not from its name alone.

Do theme funds beat the market? Some do in a year and some do not. ETFIQ shows each fund against the S&P 500 with the window and the date.

What is the S&P 500 difference? It is 100 minus the fund’s weight overlap with the S&P 500. A higher number means a fund differs more from the index.

### Where to next

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Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.
Cite: ETFIQ, What is a thematic ETF?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-a-thematic-etf
Licence: https://etfiq.com/license/ Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.
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