Semiconductor ETFs in the UK
Six funds, wildly different products. One is nearly a third NVIDIA, one caps every holding at 10%, one isn't a tracker at all — and the one with the longest chart spent most of its life as a Taiwan equity fund.
The short answer
Six semiconductor ETFs are listed in London and they are far less alike than the names suggest. One is nearly a third NVIDIA. One caps every holding at 10%. One isn't a tracker at all. And the one with the longest-looking chart spent most of its life as a Taiwan equity fund. None of them has a genuine ten-year record as a semiconductor fund.
The one that isn't what its chart says
SEMG shows a price history running back over a decade, and an all-time gain above 1,300%. Both are real. Neither tells you what you'd think.
Amundi's own factsheet states that until 21 February 2019 the performance shown is that of the Lyxor MSCI Taiwan UCITS ETF, which was absorbed into this fund, and that the benchmark remained a MSCI Taiwan index until 4 November 2021. So the fund only became a semiconductors strategy at the end of 2021. Everything before that is a Taiwan equity fund's record.
Concentration: the difference that actually matters
These funds hold the same handful of companies in very different proportions, and that decides almost everything about how they behave.
| Fund | Approach | Concentration |
|---|---|---|
| SEMG (Amundi) | MSCI ACWI IMI semis, filtered | NVIDIA ~31%, Broadcom ~18%, TSMC ~14% |
| SMGB (VanEck) | 25 US-listed names, 10% cap | No holding above ~10% |
| SEMI (iShares) | 279 holdings, broad | Only ~21 positions above 1% |
SEMG being roughly 31% NVIDIA and 18% Broadcom means half the fund sits in two companies. That is not a criticism — it's what an uncapped market-weighted index does when two companies dominate a sector — but anyone buying it as diversification has misunderstood what they own.
SMGB's 10% cap at each rebalance is the opposite design choice, deliberately trimming the winner. SEMI casts the widest net, though it allocates a basis point or less to 118 of its 279 holdings, so the diversification is thinner than the number implies.
What each one actually is
SMGB — VanEck Semiconductor
The largest of the group. Tracks 25 US-listed companies deriving at least half their revenue from semiconductors, capped at 10% each. Launched December 2020, TER 0.35%, accumulating, and now several billion in assets. It's the UCITS mirror of the US-listed SMH.
SEMI — iShares MSCI Global Semiconductors
Launched August 2021. Physically replicates a global index of 279 securities across developed and emerging markets. The broadest of the group and historically the least volatile, at the cost of some dilution.
SEMG — Amundi MSCI Semiconductors ESG Screened
Global, ESG-filtered, uncapped — hence the concentration above. TER 0.35%, accumulating. Read the strategy-change note before using its long-run chart.
HNSS — HSBC NASDAQ Global Semiconductor
Tracks a NASDAQ semiconductor index. Newer and smaller than the three above.
CHPG — Global X AI Semiconductor & Quantum
A narrower thematic slice combining AI chips with quantum computing exposure. Newer again, and a different bet from a broad semiconductor fund.
CHPP — HANetf YieldMax Semiconductor Option Income
Not a tracker. It sells call options against semiconductor exposure to generate income, which caps upside in exchange for yield. It will behave nothing like the others and shouldn't be compared to them on total return.
What the returns do and don't tell you
SMGB has returned roughly 35.6% a year since its December 2020 launch. That is a genuinely extraordinary number and it covers almost exactly the AI boom — the most flattering window in the sector's history. It also contains a drawdown of about 36% in April 2025.
For a longer view, the US-listed SMH — the same strategy, a decade older — has returned roughly 27.7% a year over ten years. That figure includes the 2022 semiconductor bust, which makes it the more honest guide to what this sector does over a full cycle.
What to check before buying one
Whether the strategy ever changed
As SEMG shows, a long chart can belong to a different fund. Check the factsheet's small print for absorbed funds and benchmark changes.
The top three weights
Not the number of holdings. Half the fund in two companies is the fact that matters.
What you already own
An S&P 500 tracker is already around 8% NVIDIA and 3% Broadcom. Adding a semiconductor fund concentrates a position you hold twice over — see best performing ETFs.
Whether it's a tracker at all
Option income and thematic funds sit in the same list and do completely different things.
See the companies inside the fund
Oak Growth values roughly 1,000 companies including the major semiconductor names across eight markets — so you can judge the holdings rather than the wrapper.
Explore Oak GrowthCommon questions
What is the best semiconductor ETF in the UK?
There is no single best one, because they differ enormously in concentration. VanEck's SMGB caps every holding at 10%, Amundi's SEMG is roughly 31% NVIDIA and 18% Broadcom, and iShares' SEMI holds 279 names but allocates a basis point or less to 118 of them. The right choice depends on how much single-company risk you want.
Do any UK semiconductor ETFs have a ten-year record?
Not as semiconductor funds. The oldest is VanEck's SMGB from December 2020. Amundi's SEMG shows a longer chart, but its own factsheet confirms the performance before February 2019 is that of an absorbed Lyxor MSCI Taiwan fund, with a Taiwan benchmark until November 2021.
How concentrated are semiconductor ETFs?
Very. An uncapped market-weighted fund like SEMG holds roughly half its assets in two companies, NVIDIA and Broadcom. VanEck's SMGB caps each holding at 10% at every rebalance, which produces a materially different risk profile from the same sector.
Is a semiconductor ETF diversification?
Not if you already hold a broad index fund. An S&P 500 tracker is already around 8% NVIDIA and 3% Broadcom, so adding a semiconductor fund increases exposure to companies you already own rather than spreading risk.
Also see: Best performing ETFs → · Are semiconductor stocks undervalued? → · What is an ETF? →