SMH vs VNQ: how much do they really overlap?
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF, tracking the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25) and VNQ (Vanguard Real Estate ETF, tracking the MSCI US IMI Real Estate 25/50) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of SMH's top 10 holdings also appear in VNQ. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 34 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 SMH and VNQ. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in SMH | in VNQ |
|---|
Only in SMH
VanEck Semiconductor ETF — semiconductors. Its biggest holdings that VNQ 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% |
Only in VNQ
Vanguard Real Estate ETF — US real estate. Its biggest holdings that SMH doesn’t have:
| VRTPX Vanguard Real Estate II Index Fund Institutional Plus Shares | 14.54% |
| WELL Welltower Inc. | 7.68% |
| PLD Prologis Inc. | 7.17% |
| EQIX Equinix Inc. | 5.65% |
| AMT American Tower Corp. | 4.67% |
| SPG Simon Property Group Inc. | 3.57% |
| DLR Digital Realty Trust Inc. | 3.50% |
| O Realty Income Corp. | 3.04% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
SMH and VNQ hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~34 effective positions (grade B), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — SMH: Jun 27, 2026 (VanEck); VNQ: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard). 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 →SMH vs VNQ — FAQ
- How much do SMH and VNQ overlap?
- SMH and VNQ 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 SMH's 10 largest holdings are also held by VNQ. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both SMH and VNQ?
- 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 34 positions and a B diversification grade.
- What does VNQ hold that SMH doesn't?
- VNQ's largest holdings that SMH doesn't hold include VRTPX, WELL, PLD, EQIX, AMT. Its category is US real estate, versus SMH's semiconductors.
- Which is more concentrated, SMH or VNQ?
- SMH's top 10 holdings are 69% of its listed weight; VNQ's are 62%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.