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Opinions John Hood
iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF.SOXXBUYOct 15, 2018
John HoodUnknown
$168.25
Stock price when the opinion was issued
$639.50
As of Jun 18, 2026. Market Open.
E.T.F.'s
It's the ideal tool to help you make quicker, more informed decisions for managing and tracking your investments.
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PARTIAL SELL
ZQQ vs. SOXX
Both have had very good runs. He'd take a third off the table. If it goes up, you still have two thirds. If it goes down, pat yourself on the back for being so smart. Then you can figure out if the trend is there to go lower. For both he'd trim a bit, and either way you'll feel good about yourself. :)
E.T.F.'s
BUY
Timely. It's a US semis index, including Texas Instruments and Broadcom as the biggest holdings. It charges an MER of 0.43%. For Canadians, it's worth looking at CHPS, which holds global semi stocks, including Taiwan and Broadcom. Note that Warren Buffett has just invested in semis, and he rarely invests in tech.
E.T.F.'s
BUY
Hasn't been following it, and he should have. Semis are huge. Tech got beaten up in January. It might be time to buy. He's not as negative on the tech giants as many are. A lot of the surprise on the downside has perhaps already happened. Increase in rates will diminish valuations, but everybody already knows that. He wouldn't be negative on the semiconductor market at all.
E.T.F.'s
COMMENT
SOXX vs. QQQ vs. TDOC QQQ and SOXX, he has no idea where the market's going to be next month, next quarter, or this year. All he knows is that there's going to be a lot of volatility. So it's an environment of less investing, more trading. Have to be nimble, active. SOXX charts very well, it's the DOW modern day Transport Index, so you need to watch it. He was in TDOC a year ago, and backed away. Healthcare and biotech have had a difficult time.
E.T.F.'s
WEAK BUY
Are semiconductors a solid bet for the next 5 years?
He doesn't look at it that way. He'd rather look at the indices themselves for strategy. This is a new ETF, founded in June, and contains big names like Qualcomm. That's fine. The sector is hurt of supply chain issues. It's okay as a sector trade.
E.T.F.'s
DON'T BUY
Unless you're currently in semiconductors and have done well, you're effectively buying top of market. The two big names you want are TSM and Samsung, or Lam Research and Applied Materials on the equipment side. The ETFs are heavily influenced by these 4 names. If you're not there already, don't do it. Semiconductors are very extended right now. You never go bankrupt taking a profit.
E.T.F.'s
Holds all the big semiconductors, but it's a concentrated space. This ETF equal-weights these semis, which is good. This is a good long-term hold. The big growth spurts in semis has passed, though, but this sector is worth holding onto. Charges 47 basis-points in their MER, which is fine, because you're keeping your investing costs below 1%.