SOXL vs SMH: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
SOXL and SMH are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. SOXL is Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF, while SMH is VanEck Semiconductor ETF. SOXL is broader by holdings count, with 43 positions versus 27 for SMH. SMH has the lower expense ratio. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has SMH ahead on AIQ Score, 39 versus 33.
| Metric | SOXL | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.91% | 0.35% |
| Holdings | 43 | 27 |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Average volume | 64,443,503 | 9,343,290 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | +144% | +59.9% |
| YTD return | +132.1% | +51.7% |
| 5Y annualized returnTotal return, distributions reinvested | +18% | +33.4% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 135.5% | 39.7% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -69.4% | -24.6% |
| Max drawdown (5Y)Total return, distributions reinvested | -90.5% | -45.3% |
| Beta | 7.73 | 2.38 |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.31 | 1.28 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.91 | 1.88 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 33/100 | 39/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 1/10 | 2/10 |
| Momentum | 8/100 | 15/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 0/100 | 29/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF vs VanEck Semiconductor ETF
SMH leads
SMH leads by 6 AIQ points, primarily on Risk Resilience and Momentum.
Competitive: 3 of 4 evidence groups support SMH, and its current signal state is conflicted.
Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF
VanEck Semiconductor ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors SMH over SOXL, 39 versus 33 as of Oct 21, 2026. SMH's advantage is driven primarily by stronger risk resilience and momentum, while SOXL holds the stronger quality profile. SMH also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 3 of 4 covered evidence groups favor SMH today, and the comparison is rated Competitive on stability: the leader is throwing conflicting signals. SMH lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 6 points over 30 sessions.
Compare Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF and VanEck Semiconductor ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
SOXL vs SMH: which fits what
Each row is settled by a single measure. Where the gap is too small to matter it reads Similar, and no row decides the comparison as a whole.
| If you want | SOXL | SMH | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.91% | 0.35% | SMH |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 43 | 27 | SOXL |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 0.1% | 0.2% | Similar |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 5 years | -90.5% | -45.3% | SMH |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 135.5% | 39.7% | SMH |
Similar means the gap is within 0.01 percentage points of expense ratio, 25% more holdings, 3 points of top-10 weight, 0.2 points of yield, 2 points of drawdown or 1 point of volatility. Past drawdowns and volatility describe the funds’ history, not their future.
Performance over time
Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested
Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.
Compare SOXL and SMH against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Risk Resilience0 vs 29SMH +29
- Momentum8 vs 15SMH +7
- Quality75 vs 71SOXL +4
- Value29 vs 31Even
3 of 4 evidence groups favor SMH. SMH’s edge is concentrated in risk resilience and momentum; SOXL keeps a meaningful quality edge.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.
Largest factor move: Value -1
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 5 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Value -1, not enough on its own to move the overall score.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 4 active signals are unchanged.
SMH's lead widened by 1 AIQ point in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — SOXL and SMH both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by risk resilience and momentum.
SOXL (Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF): the counter-case, on quality — but at materially higher volatility, 90.4% against 26.2%.
Fund facts, side by side
Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.
| Measure | SOXL | SMH | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.91% | 0.35% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 43 | 27 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 64,443,503 | 9,343,290 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 135.5% | 39.7% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -69.4% | -24.6% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.31 | 1.28 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 7.73 | 2.38 | Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio. |
Where the exposure actually sits
Sector exposure for each fund, ordered by the size of the difference.
SOXL vs SMH: five-year payout growth
SOXL grew its split-adjusted payout faster over 2020-2025 — 57.06% a year against SMH's 8.02%. SOXL: The 2020 payout was 78.4% below 2019, so the growth rate measures a recovery from a weak starting year. SOXL: The payout jumped 241.7% in 2022, a single step rather than steady compounding - often an index or mandate change. SMH: The 2020 payout was 64.6% below 2019, so the growth rate measures a recovery from a weak starting year. SMH: The payout jumped 52.6% in 2022, a single step rather than steady compounding - often an index or mandate change.
| Dividend metric | SOXL | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| 5Y payout CAGR | 57.06% | 8.02% |
| 2020 annual payout | $0.015 | $0.751 |
| 2025 annual payout | $0.143 | $1.105 |
| Calendar-year declines | 1 | 1 |
| Peer rank | #6 of 138 | #69 of 138 |
Split-adjusted annual distributions, 2020–2025. Research as of Sep 19, 2026. Yield and expense ratio above are current values, not part of this window.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
3 of 4 covered evidence groups favor SMH. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | SMH | 33 vs 39 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | Even | Value 29 vs 31 |
| Technicals | SMH | Price vs 50-day -19.3% vs -3.7%; vs 200-day -20.4% vs 6.5% |
| Risk Resilience | SMH | Risk Resilience 0 vs 29 |
| Analyst expectations | Not covered | Not covered |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of SOXL and SMH and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The two are close enough that your objective, not the score, should decide.
- The AIQ gap is moderate at 6 points.
- The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on SMH.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20SMH lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 6 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- SMH +6
- 33 vs 39
- 7 sessions ago
- SMH +5
- 33 vs 38
- 30 sessions ago
- SMH +5
- 51 vs 56
- 90 sessions ago
- SMH +4
- 52 vs 56
The lead changed hands 13 times in this window, most recently on Sep 18 when SMH moved ahead of SOXL.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
2 bullish / 2 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only SOXL
- ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode — neutral, volatility, short horizon (13.06%)
2 bullish / 2 bearish, conflicted
No signal that the other name lacks.
Both carry 4 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, Keltner Channel Breakdown, RSI Oversold - Potential Bounce, MACD Bearish Crossover.
SMH leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Price is up while the AIQ Score moved down 1 points over the same session — price and model disagree (price +5.83%, AIQ -1 points).
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price +1.89%, AIQ 0 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1SOXL closes the Risk Resilience gap — currently 29 points behind, the largest single contributor to SMH's edge.
- 2SOXL's Keltner Channel Breakdown resolves — a bearish volatility rule currently active against it.
- 3SMH's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 2 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Performance
SMH leads 4 of 6 windows| Metric | SOXL | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -23.5% | -7.1% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -35.8% | -10.1% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | -39.4% | -6.9% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 2.3% | 17.6% |
| Year to date | 132.1% | 51.7% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 144% | 59.9% |
Technicals
SMH has the stronger structure| Metric | SOXL | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 24.1 | 27.7 |
| ADX (14) | 22.4 | 22.4 |
| Price vs 50-day | -19.3% | -3.7% |
| Price vs 200-day | -20.4% | 6.5% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 90.4% | 26.2% |
Risk
SMH is the more resilient| Metric | SOXL | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 7.73 | 2.38 |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.31 | 1.28 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.91 | 1.88 |
| Max drawdown | -69.4% | -24.6% |
| Current drawdown | -67.6% | -18.3% |
| Annualized volatility | 135.5% | 39.7% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -14.4% | -4% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
Which ETF is more diversified, SOXL or SMH?
SOXL holds more positions: 43 versus 27 for SMH.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
SMH has the lower expense ratio, 0.35% a year against 0.91% for SOXL.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
Their trailing 12-month distribution yields are similar: 0.1% for SOXL and 0.2% for SMH.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
SOXL has been more volatile over the past year, at 135.5% annualized against 39.7% for SMH.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
SMH fell less from peak to trough over the past five years: -45.3% against -90.5% for SOXL.
Compare SOXL and SMH with others
Continue your research
This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.
How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.