Over the trailing five-year window, SMH and SOXX moved almost in lockstep (daily-return correlation 0.99), so holding both adds little diversification.

SMH delivered the higher five-year annualized total return (34.5% vs 29.2% for SOXX), though it is only one window and says nothing about the future.

SOXX was the more volatile of the two (38.3% vs 36.5% annualized).

On cost, SOXX is cheaper — 0.33% versus 0.35% for SMH.

The numbers, side by side

Per-fund metrics. Returns are total return (dividends reinvested, net of fees); volatility, drawdown and correlation are computed from daily closing prices over the trailing five-year window ending Aug 7, 2026.

Metric SMH SOXX
5-yr annualized returntotal return, incl. dividends & fees 34.5% 29.2%
5-yr annualized volatilitystandard deviation of daily returns 36.5% 38.3%
Max drawdown (5-yr window)worst peak-to-trough decline -45.3% -46.2%
Return per unit of riskSharpe-style, 4.7% risk-free 0.81 0.64
Expense ratioannual fund cost 0.35% 0.33%

How similar are they?

Relationship metricSMH & SOXX
Correlation of daily returns5-yr; 1.00 = moves identically 0.99
Sector overlapΣ min(weight) across sectors 100.0%

Where each fund is concentrated

SMH — top sectors

  • Technology100.0%

SOXX — top sectors

  • Technology100.0%

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Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or tax advice. The information presented reflects the author's opinions and analysis at the time of writing and may not be suitable for your individual circumstances. Always consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results. MinMaxDoc and its authors are not registered investment advisors.
Figures computed by MinMaxDoc from historical market data as of Aug 7, 2026; they will drift as markets move.