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How much of a theme is already the index

By their latest holdings filings, the typical thematic ETF has 29% of its weight in stocks the S&P 500 already holds, and 74 of 379 funds are more than sixty percent index names.

Across 54 themes and 405 funds, the median fee is 0.60%; measured against only the part of each fund that differs from the S&P 500, the median fee for the difference is 0.60%. 139 pairs of funds hold portfolios that are more than half identical by weight; holding both is close to holding one of them twice.

Share on XDownload as PDFEvery thematic ETF, live
Beat the S&P 500 over one year, by theme
Broad innovation and megatrends
15 of 27
Artificial intelligence
17 of 24
Clean energy
4 of 16
Defense
0 of 14
Blockchain and crypto equities
0 of 14
Internet and e-commerce
0 of 13
Semiconductors
9 of 9
Gold miners
9 of 9
Nuclear and uranium
0 of 8
Digital infrastructure and data centers
7 of 8
Energy transition and decarbonisation
6 of 8
Healthcare innovation and GLP-1
5 of 8

72 of 158 thematic ETFs with a full year beat the S&P 500 over the year to Sep 22, 2026.

ETFIQ Narrative

A thematic ETF is built to look different from the broad market, but the holdings filings show that difference is often smaller than the label implies. Across 379 funds with usable data, the typical thematic ETF has 29% of its weight in stocks the S&P 500 already holds. That median masks a wide range: 74 of the 379 funds carry more than sixty percent of their weight in index names, meaning a majority of the portfolio overlaps with a benchmark most investors already own through a core holding.

The overlap varies sharply by theme. Gold miners, silver miners, copper, nuclear and uranium, clean energy, space, rare earth and critical materials, and lithium and battery metals all show single-digit to teens median in-index weight, with active share at or near 100%. These themes sit far from the S&P 500's usual composition. At the other end, energy security and critical technology shows 86% in the S&P 500, and semiconductors, AI infrastructure and chips, and digital infrastructure and data centers each show more than 60%, with active share in the 80s to high 80s. Artificial intelligence, at 36 funds, sits at 56% in-index weight with 80% active share.

Fees do not track this difference in a consistent way. Across 54 themes and 405 funds, the median fee is 0.60%, and the median fee for just the portion of each fund that differs from the S&P 500 is also 0.60%. Some themes show a fee premium once the index-overlapping part is set aside: broad innovation and megatrends moves from 0.50% to 0.60%, artificial intelligence from 0.70% to 0.80%, and electrification and the grid from 0.50% to 0.60%. Others, including semiconductors, gold miners, and cybersecurity, show no change between the two measures.

One-year total returns and index-beating records also sit alongside these overlap numbers without a fixed relationship. Semiconductors, at 66% in-index weight, beat the S&P 500 in 9 of 9 funds with a median total return of +101.2%. Gold miners, at 5% in-index weight, also beat in 9 of 9 funds, returning +37.4%. Defense, at 39% in-index weight and 98% active share, beat in 0 of 14 funds, returning +1.9%.

Separately, the holdings data show that owning more than one thematic fund does not always mean owning two different things. Among the funds compared, 139 pairs hold portfolios more than half identical by weight. The closest matches include EVMT and PDBA in electric vehicles and batteries at 97% weight overlap, SOXQ and SOXX in semiconductors at 86%, and AUAU and GDX in gold miners at 84%. In these cases the two funds carry different fees despite near-duplicate holdings, for example 0.19% versus 0.33% for SOXQ and SOXX.

Readers can check any fund's current in-index weight, active share, fee, and overlap with named peers on the live desk before comparing a thematic ETF to a core index holding.

Median weight already in the S&P 500, by theme
Energy security and critical technology
86%
Semiconductors
66%
Millennial and Gen Z consumers
66%
AI infrastructure and chips
63%
Digital infrastructure and data centers
62%
Artificial intelligence
56%
Cooling and thermal management
56%
Longevity and aging
55%
Broad innovation and megatrends
51%
Electrification and the grid
50%
Cloud and software
47%
Beauty and personal care
47%

Across 405 thematic ETFs on Sep 22, 2026, each bar is a theme’s median weight already in the S&P 500.

By theme, largest assets first

ThemeFundsMedian in the S&P 500Median active shareMedian feeMedian fee for the differenceBeat the S&P 500, one yearMedian total return, one year
Semiconductors1166%85%0.30%0.40%9 of 9+101.2%
Defense2239%98%0.50%0.50%0 of 14+1.9%
Gold miners105%100%0.50%0.50%9 of 9+37.4%
Artificial intelligence3656%80%0.70%0.80%17 of 24+30.4%
Memory and storage526%97%0.70%0.70%0 of 0·
Cybersecurity728%99%0.50%0.50%7 of 7+33.8%
Cloud and software847%92%0.40%0.40%3 of 7+11.6%
Infrastructure736%97%0.50%0.50%0 of 6+11.9%
Broad innovation and megatrends3051%86%0.50%0.60%15 of 27+21.6%
Nuclear and uranium1016%100%0.70%0.70%0 of 8−9.1%
Electrification and the grid1150%97%0.50%0.60%3 of 7+12.0%
Internet and e-commerce1331%95%0.70%0.70%0 of 13−13.0%
Silver miners42%100%0.50%0.50%4 of 4+47.2%
Reshoring and manufacturing1035%97%0.60%0.70%5 of 7+23.9%
Copper610%100%0.60%0.60%6 of 6+70.5%
Robotics and automation923%93%0.70%0.70%3 of 5+18.6%
Miners and metals612%100%0.60%0.60%5 of 6+27.3%
Quantum computing424%90%0.50%0.50%1 of 1+46.8%
Clean energy1610%99%0.60%0.60%4 of 16+13.8%
Water646%100%0.50%0.60%0 of 6−3.2%
Space1013%100%0.80%0.80%2 of 2+21.1%
Digital infrastructure and data centers962%88%0.50%0.60%7 of 8+36.3%
Biotech730%99%0.30%0.30%6 of 6+50.3%
Therapeutics and medical devices523%98%0.70%0.70%3 of 5+37.5%
Blockchain and crypto equities1519%98%0.60%0.60%0 of 14−3.1%
Rare earth and critical materials78%100%0.60%0.60%3 of 4+34.8%
Genomics and gene editing422%99%0.50%0.50%3 of 3+84.4%
Lithium and battery metals68%100%0.60%0.60%6 of 6+32.5%
Food and agriculture629%100%0.60%0.60%4 of 6+19.7%
Cannabis50%100%0.80%0.80%2 of 5+12.6%
AI infrastructure and chips1163%86%0.70%0.80%2 of 2+47.0%
Fintech and digital payments639%98%0.70%0.70%0 of 4−18.0%
Shipping, aviation and logistics636%99%0.60%0.60%3 of 4+35.2%
Energy security and critical technology586%95%0.50%0.60%1 of 3+14.6%
Electric vehicles and batteries820%98%0.60%0.60%2 of 6−0.3%
Energy transition and decarbonisation942%98%0.60%0.60%6 of 8+24.2%
Gaming, esports and betting813%100%0.60%0.60%0 of 7−17.7%
Travel and leisure335%99%0.70%0.70%0 of 2−11.6%
Timber and forestry219%100%0.60%0.60%0 of 2+1.0%
Metaverse and immersive tech446%77%0.60%0.80%2 of 4+11.6%
Stablecoins and tokenisation519%98%0.70%0.70%1 of 2+14.9%
Photonics and optics327%100%0.80%0.80%0 of 0·
Humanoid robots315%94%0.60%0.60%0 of 2+3.2%
Healthcare innovation and GLP-1834%98%0.60%0.60%5 of 8+24.5%
Millennial and Gen Z consumers166%84%0.50%0.60%0 of 1−14.2%
Longevity and aging255%96%0.50%0.50%0 of 1+12.4%
Coal10%100%0.80%0.80%1 of 1+19.5%
3D printing126%99%0.70%0.70%0 of 1+8.6%
Streaming and live entertainment419%99%0.80%0.80%0 of 2−21.9%
Pets131%99%0.50%0.50%0 of 1−11.9%
Cooling and thermal management156%98%1.00%1.00%0 of 1+10.0%
Nanotechnology119%93%0.60%0.60%1 of 1+51.3%
Beauty and personal care147%99%0.30%0.30%0 of 0·
AI labs and single company AI6··0.60%·0 of 0·

Same portfolio, two names: pairs more than half identical

PairWeight overlapThemeFee, firstFee, second
EVMT and PDBA97%Electric vehicles and batteries0.59%0.59%
SOXQ and SOXX86%Semiconductors0.19%0.33%
AUAU and GDX84%Gold miners0.35%0.51%
ORBX and MARS81%Space0.50%0.75%
ORBX and WARP79%Space0.50%0.50%
MARS and WARP79%Space0.75%0.50%
SHOC and SMH78%Semiconductors0.40%0.35%
SOXQ and SMH77%Semiconductors0.19%0.35%
SOXQ and SHOC77%Semiconductors0.19%0.40%
GDX and GDMN77%Gold miners0.51%0.45%
SPAM and PSWD76%Cybersecurity0.35%0.20%
FIW and PHO76%Water0.50%0.59%
BUG and WCBR75%Cybersecurity0.50%0.45%
AUAU and GDMN75%Gold miners0.35%0.45%
FTXL and SOXX74%Semiconductors0.60%0.33%
Method

Holdings from each fund’s latest public SEC N-PORT filing (issuer daily files for ARK and First Trust); in-index weight and active share computed by ETFIQ against the IVV and QQQM books; fees from prospectus XBRL; returns from Tiingo end-of-day prices with distributions reinvested. Themes are ETFIQ’s editorial taxonomy. Medians across funds. Rebuilt every trading night.

Data file: thematic.json. ETFIQ is an independent publisher and makes no recommendations. Standards →

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Cite this page

ETFIQ Research, How much of a theme is already the index, data as of Sep 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/research/2026-09-22/themes-index

Open data →

Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.