If You'd Invested $1,000 in SMH 10 Years Ago, Here's How Much You'd Have Today
Key Points
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF has been one of the market's best-performing ETFs of the past decade.
Semiconductor chips have been at the center of AI development.
SMH has returned an average of 35% annually over the past decade.
- 10 stocks we like better than VanEck ETF Trust - VanEck Semiconductor ETF ›
Ten years ago, the semiconductor industry looked nothing like it does now. The artificial intelligence (AI) boom was still years away, and there was no talk of megacap tech companies spending tens of billions of dollars on AI development.
Investors in the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SMH) 10 years ago may not have known that was coming. But their brokerage account balances sure benefited from it.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
Over that time frame, this ETF has produced a total return of 1,930%, which translates to roughly 35% annually. That means a $1,000 investment made 10 years ago with dividends reinvested (which are virtually non-existent) would be worth approximately $20,300.
Over that same time frame, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF earned 14.9% annually, while the Invesco QQQ ETF did approximately 20.6%.
That performance illustrates the potential upside of investing in the right sector at the right time. But the concentration that comes from investing in a single tech subsector means that volatility can be very high. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF has experienced three separate drawdowns of 30% or more just in the 2020s. It was able to generate these substantial returns despite them.
These results are unlikely to carry on indefinitely. But they do show that investing in an industry about to enter a technological revolution can be very lucrative.
Should you buy stock in VanEck ETF Trust - VanEck Semiconductor ETF right now?
Before you buy stock in VanEck ETF Trust - VanEck Semiconductor ETF, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and VanEck ETF Trust - VanEck Semiconductor ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $377,990!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,269,518!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 896% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 206% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of July 28, 2026.
David Dierking has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Recommended Articles
