SMH vs VO: how much do they really overlap?
SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF, tracking the MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25) and VO (Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF, tracking the CRSP US Mid Cap) overlap by roughly 6% by weight. 0 of SMH's top 10 holdings also appear in VO. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 52 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 3 holdings appear in both SMH and VO. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in SMH | in VO |
|---|---|---|
| MRVL Marvell Technology, Inc. | 4.49% | 0.89% |
| MPWR Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. | 1.25% | 0.72% |
| TER Teradyne, Inc. | 1.45% | 0.58% |
Only in SMH
VanEck Semiconductor ETF — semiconductors. Its biggest holdings that VO 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 VO
Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF — US mid-cap. Its biggest holdings that SMH doesn’t have:
| STX Seagate Technology Holdings plc | 1.90% |
| WDC Western Digital Corp. | 1.78% |
| VRT Vertiv Holdings Co. Class A | 1.18% |
| PWR Quanta Services Inc. | 1.06% |
| HWM Howmet Aerospace Inc. | 1.03% |
| CMI Cummins Inc. | 0.89% |
| CEG Constellation Energy Corp. | 0.88% |
| SLB Schlumberger Ltd. | 0.81% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
SMH and VO hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~52 effective positions (grade B), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — SMH: Jun 27, 2026 (VanEck); VO: 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 VO — FAQ
- How much do SMH and VO overlap?
- SMH and VO overlap by approximately 6% 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 VO. They share 3 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both SMH and VO?
- 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 52 positions and a B diversification grade.
- What does VO hold that SMH doesn't?
- VO's largest holdings that SMH doesn't hold include STX, WDC, VRT, PWR, HWM. Its category is US mid-cap, versus SMH's semiconductors.
- Which is more concentrated, SMH or VO?
- SMH's top 10 holdings are 69% of its listed weight; VO's are 31%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.