As the U.S. heads into the ninth year of the ongoing equity bull market, exchange traded funds (ETFs) tracking the semiconductor segment have led the charge.
Over the past five years, the PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors Portfolio (NYSEArca: PSI) generated a total return of 225.6%, iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (NasdaqGM: SOXX) increased 213.4% and SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (NYSEArca: XSD) gained 200.8%, according to XTF.
The PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors Portfolio is a smart beta ETF that tries to reflect the performance of the Dynamic Semiconductor Intellidex Index, which is comprised of 30 U.S. semiconductor companies screened for price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action and value. Compared to the other market cap-weighted semiconductor ETFs, PSI’s indexing methodology overweights smaller companies, notably small-cap growth stocks 27.6%. Top holdings include Nvidia Corp 5.4%, Micron Technology 5.1% and Lam Research 5.1%.