IWM vs SMH: how much do they really overlap?
IWM (iShares Russell 2000 ETF, tracking the Russell 2000) and SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF, tracking the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of IWM's top 10 holdings also appear in SMH. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 55 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade B). In short, the two funds hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant.
The same companies, in both funds
These 0 holdings appear in both IWM and SMH. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in IWM | in SMH |
|---|
Only in IWM
iShares Russell 2000 ETF — US small-cap. Its biggest holdings that SMH doesn’t have:
| MOGA MOOG INC CLASS A | 0.38% |
| HUT HUT CORP | 0.37% |
| VSAT VIASAT INC | 0.35% |
| BTSG BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC | 0.35% |
| CYTK CYTOKINETICS INC | 0.35% |
| MXL MAXLINEAR INC | 0.34% |
| AGX ARGAN INC | 0.34% |
| UMBF UMB FINANCIAL CORP | 0.33% |
Only in SMH
VanEck Semiconductor ETF — semiconductors. Its biggest holdings that IWM doesn’t have:
| NVDA NVIDIA Corporation | 18.16% |
| TSM Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | 9.04% |
| MU Micron Technology, Inc. | 5.99% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 5.49% |
| AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 5.44% |
| AMAT Applied Materials, Inc. | 5.35% |
| INTC Intel Corporation | 5.09% |
| LRCX Lam Research Corporation | 5.00% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
IWM and SMH hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~55 effective positions (grade B), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — IWM: Jun 30, 2026 (iShares (BlackRock)); SMH: Jun 27, 2026 (VanEck). Refreshed monthly. Overlap is measured across each fund’s largest holdings (top 50); the diffuse long tail barely moves the math.
See this for YOUR whole portfolio, free →IWM vs SMH — FAQ
- How much do IWM and SMH overlap?
- IWM and SMH overlap by approximately 0% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 0 of IWM's 10 largest holdings are also held by SMH. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both IWM and SMH?
- Because they hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant, holding both is not redundant — each fund covers largely different holdings, so together they broaden your exposure. A 50/50 blend has an effective 55 positions and a B diversification grade.
- What does SMH hold that IWM doesn't?
- SMH's largest holdings that IWM doesn't hold include NVDA, TSM, MU, AVGO, AMD. Its category is semiconductors, versus IWM's US small-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, IWM or SMH?
- IWM's top 10 holdings are 26% of its listed weight; SMH's are 69%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.