Thematic ETFs

• One idea each. These funds hold semiconductors, robotics, AI or cloud companies, not the whole market.
• Cost range. Expense ratios run from 0.33% to 0.95%, which is $620 a year on $100,000.
• Concentration varies. The ten largest holdings are 69% of SMH and 18% of ROBO.
• Labels mislead. BOTZ and ROBO are both robotics funds but share only 28% of their weight.
• Wide return gaps. One-year NAV returns to Sep 30, 2026 ran from 0% to 110%.
• Little income. SEC yields are close to zero, so returns depend on price.

Holdings are dated Nov 9, 2026 (SOXX Nov 6, 2026) and returns Sep 30, 2026, all from issuer pages. Net assets are issuer figures dated Nov 9, 2026.

A thematic ETF is built around one idea instead of the whole market. The six funds here cover four ideas that sit close together: the chips that power computing, the robots and automation that use them, artificial intelligence, and the cloud platforms that deliver it. Each fund follows an index that decides which companies belong to the theme and how much of each to hold.

The two semiconductor funds, SMH and SOXX, hold only chip companies and overlap by 71%. The two robotics funds, BOTZ and ROBO, overlap by only 28% even though the labels sound alike, because one weights by size and the other spreads weight evenly. AIQ reaches across chips, software and internet platforms, and SKYY holds cloud software and infrastructure companies.

What these funds leave out matters as much. None of them holds banks, health insurers, energy producers or consumer staples, and several are more than 90% technology. They are satellites to place beside a core fund, such as the ones on the broad market ETFs page.

When SMH or SOXX fits: you want direct exposure to chip makers. When BOTZ or ROBO fits: you want industrial and medical robotics, much of it outside the U.S. When AIQ fits: you want a wide AI basket. When SKYY fits: you want cloud software and infrastructure. These describe what the funds hold, not recommendations.

Two funds can share a theme and still behave differently, because the index rules differ. SMH weights 25 companies by market value, so Nvidia alone is 18.9% of the fund and the ten largest holdings are 69%. SOXX caps its largest names, so its top holding is 9.5% and the top ten are 63%.

The robotics pair shows the same thing more sharply. BOTZ puts 57% in its ten largest holdings, led by Intuitive Surgical, Fanuc and Keyence. ROBO spreads its money so that the top ten are only 18%. Over the year to Sep 30, 2026, that difference in design produced returns of 0.06% for BOTZ and 23.09% for ROBO.

The table below groups each fund’s holdings by main business, using one scheme for all six funds.

Industry groups are assigned by this site from each stock’s main business, so they are comparable across funds but will not match an issuer’s own sector table. Cash and futures are left out.

All six issuers report returns to Sep 30, 2026, so the table compares like with like. Figures are annualized NAV total returns, net of fees.

Source: issuer fund pages (VanEck, iShares, Global X, ROBO Global and First Trust). AIQ launched in 2018, so it has no 10-year figure. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

The spread is wide. Over one year the funds ran from 0.06% for BOTZ to 110.14% for SOXX. Over five years they ran from -0.47% a year for BOTZ to 37.37% for SMH. A theme can be right about the technology and still disappoint as an investment if the stocks were expensive to begin with.

Semiconductor returns above 100% in a single year are unusual, and VanEck’s own month-end figures show SMH at 44.47% for the year to Oct 31, 2026 against 86.89% a month earlier, which shows how fast these numbers move. Read how to measure investment growth and P/E ratio explained before treating any figure as a forecast.

These funds pay very little. The 30-day SEC yield was 0.23% for SMH and 0.11% for SOXX, and Global X reports -0.01% for BOTZ and -0.07% for AIQ, which means fund costs use up roughly all of the dividends their stocks pay. ROBO and SKYY did not show a comparable figure on the pages used.

Payout schedules differ. SOXX pays quarterly, SMH and ROBO once a year and the Global X funds twice a year. None of the amounts is large enough to be a reason to hold the fund.

See what is dividend yield and yield vs total return for how income and price change add up.

Every comparison page matches the two funds’ full holdings by ticker and adds up the smaller of the two weights for each stock both hold.

Overlap runs from 0% for SMH and SKYY to 71% for SMH and SOXX. Only the two chip funds repeat most of each other. AIQ shares 20% with SMH because it holds the large chip makers, and 28% with SKYY because both hold the large cloud platforms.

Overlap is an estimate from issuer holdings dated Nov 9, 2026 (SOXX Nov 6, 2026). Foreign shares are matched on the exchange ticker each issuer reports. Cash and futures are excluded.

Each page below puts two funds side by side on cost, holdings overlap, industry mix, concentration, returns and trading. Every figure carries its date, and the data room at the bottom of each page lists the source and grade of each number.

• 1. Theme Read what the index counts as part of the theme. Two funds with similar names can hold different companies.
• 2. Weighting Check whether the fund weights by size or spreads weight evenly. It changes concentration and returns.
• 3. Top holdings Look at the largest position and the top ten. They run from 18% to 69% here.
• 4. Cost Expense ratios run from 0.33% to 0.95% here. Add the bid/ask spread when you trade.
• 5. Overlap Compare with your core fund as well as with other theme funds.
• 6. Geography BOTZ is about a third U.S. companies, while SMH is nearly four fifths.
• 7. Dates and sources Compare returns only when the periods match, as they do on this page.

Start with how to research an ETF if the terms are new, and size any theme fund inside your whole allocation with asset allocation explained.

Theme funds cost more than broad index funds. On a $100,000 balance, 0.33% is $330 a year, 0.68% is $680 and 0.95% is $950. Use the ETF Fee Calculator to turn a fee gap into dollars over time.

Trading costs vary more than usual in this group. Issuers reported 30-day median bid/ask spreads of 0.02% for SMH, SOXX and AIQ, 0.03% for BOTZ, 0.08% for SKYY and 0.32% for ROBO. Funds with many foreign holdings can also trade at a premium to NAV, as BOTZ did at about 1.4% on Nov 9, 2026. Use limit orders.

A fee that looks small against a 50% year looks large against a flat one. BOTZ returned about zero over five years to Sep 30, 2026 while charging 0.68% a year.

You want chip makers: SMH is more concentrated and SOXX flatter. Compare them on the SMH vs SOXX page.

You want robotics and automation: BOTZ concentrates in a few leaders and ROBO spreads out. See BOTZ vs ROBO.

You want a broad AI basket: AIQ holds chips, software and platforms together. Read SMH vs AIQ and BOTZ vs AIQ.

You want cloud computing: SKYY holds cloud software and infrastructure. See AIQ vs SKYY.

You already own a Nasdaq-100 or S&P 500 fund: you already hold many of these companies. Check with the Diversification Calculator and size any theme position against your whole portfolio.

Buying the label. BOTZ and ROBO share a theme and only 28% of their weight. Read the holdings.

Ignoring concentration. Nvidia is 18.9% of SMH. A theme fund can be a bet on a few companies.

Doubling up on big technology. Many top holdings here also lead the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100.

Chasing last year. SOXX returned 110% in the year to Sep 30, 2026 after losing 35% in calendar 2022, on iShares figures.

Forgetting the fee. A 0.95% fee is paid in flat years too.

Making a theme the core. These funds leave out most of the economy, so they belong beside a diversified core.

Owning dozens of companies inside one theme lowers single-company risk, but it does not remove theme risk. The funds can fall together and the recovery can take years. Past gains are not a limit on future losses.

U.S.-listed funds such as SMH, SOXX, BOTZ, ROBO, AIQ and SKYY trade in U.S. dollars. Buying them from a Canadian account usually involves converting Canadian dollars, which adds a cost, and a move in the U.S. dollar also changes your return in Canadian dollars.

Dividends paid to Canadian holders are generally subject to U.S. withholding tax, with treatment that depends on the account type. These funds pay little income, so the effect is small.

Confirm the rules for your accounts with a qualified tax professional, and see how to build an ETF portfolio for how a theme fund fits inside an allocation.

Figures come from the issuer pages for each fund: VanEck for SMH, iShares for SOXX, Global X for BOTZ and AIQ, ROBO Global for ROBO and First Trust for SKYY. Fund facts and holdings are dated Nov 9, 2026 (SOXX holdings Nov 6, 2026) and returns Sep 30, 2026. Gaps are shown as Not captured, and nothing was filled from memory or from another fund.

Overlap sums the smaller weight of each ticker held by both funds and is an estimate. Industry groups are assigned by this site so every fund uses the same labels. The pages are educational research, not personal advice, and they do not recommend any fund.

Pathways, not rankings or recommendations.