Should You Invest in the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX)?

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on July 10, 2001.

An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Technology - Semiconductors is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $41.02 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Technology - Semiconductors segment of the equity market. SOXX seeks to match the performance of the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index before fees and expenses.

The ICE Semiconductor Index measures the performance of U.S. traded securities of companies engaged in the semiconductor business.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.33%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.29%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector -- about 100% of the portfolio.

The top 10 holdings account for about 60.9% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 66.3% so far this year and is up roughly 104.54% in the last one year (as of 09/02/2026). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $241.68 and $655.01.

The ETF has a beta of 1.80 and standard deviation of 38.8% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 34 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

iShares Semiconductor ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, SOXX is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.

Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXQ) tracks PHLX SEMICONDUCTOR SECTOR INDEX and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF has $2.91 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $66.62 billion. SOXQ has an expense ratio of 0.19%, and SMH charges 0.35%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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