Owns US-listed fabless chip companies: the ones that design semiconductors and earn at least half their revenue from them but leave the manufacturing to others.
SMHX, the VanEck Fabless Semiconductor ETF, is a $303 million ETF whose main story is the AI compute core. Over the past year it returned +62.4%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.
The narrative it carries
This is its only narrative.
The AI compute core →
The chips, memory and data centers AI runs on, and the big technology companies that build and buy them.
The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.
| # | ETF | SHARE | ASSETS | 1 YEAR | COST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VGT | 23.8% | $147.56bn | +36.0% | 0.09% |
| 2 | XLK | 20.5% | $127.30bn | +40.4% | 0.08% |
| 3 | SMH | 12.1% | $74.88bn | +87.0% | 0.35% |
| 4 | SOXX | 7.8% | $48.43bn | +109.7% | 0.33% |
| 5 | IYW | 4.3% | $26.53bn | +36.0% | 0.37% |
| 391 other ETFs | 31.5% |
Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 396 ETFs on the narrative page →
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
| 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y* | 5Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMHX | +15.2% | +7.8% | +66.2% | +62.4% | – | – |
| The AI compute coreits narrative | +9.5% | +8.7% | +47.8% | +50.2% | +41.6% | +24.5% |
| The marketbroad US ETFs | +0.8% | +2.6% | +14.6% | +16.8% | +22.9% | +12.9% |
1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on August 28, 2024: +56.2% a year.
$10,000 invested August 31, 2024
Year by year
Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if SMHX traded for all of it.
Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
How closely it moves
SMHX moves closely with the market. When the market has moved 1%, SMHX has tended to move 2.02%.
SMHX moves closely with the AI compute core. When the AI compute core has moved 1%, SMHX has tended to move 1.37%.
Weekly returns over 109 weeks. The narrative is measured without SMHX in it, so it is not compared with itself.
ETFs it moves most and least like
Correlation of weekly returns over the last 3 years, among unlevered ETFs StoryVector covers.
Where it sits in The AI compute core
Each dot is one of 77 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is the AI compute core, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
Cost against its peers
SMHX is the 12th cheapest of 69 ETFs in the AI compute core. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.60% a year.
How it is built
An unlevered long ETF that owns its holdings directly. It counts toward Share of Narrative.
Narrative exposure
Common questions
What story is SMHX selling?
SMHX’s main story is the AI compute core, which covers the chips, memory and data centers AI runs on, and the big technology companies that build and buy them.
Which ETFs compete with SMHX?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like SMHX’s over the past 3 years are SOXQ (0.95), SMH (0.95) and SHOC (0.95).
How has SMHX performed against its story?
Over the past year SMHX returned +62.4%, the ETFs carrying the AI compute core +50.2% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.95 with the story. Past performance only.
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