The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) made its debut on 07/10/2001, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Technology ETFs category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.Market cap weighted indexes offer a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, and are a good option for investors who believe in market efficiency.But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.While this space offers a number of choices to investors, including simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies, not all these strategies have been able to deliver superior results.Fund Sponsor & IndexSOXX is managed by Blackrock, and this fund has amassed over $6.19 billion, which makes it one of the largest ETFs in the Technology ETFs. SOXX, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index.The ICE Semiconductor Index measures the performance of U.S. traded securities of companies engaged in the semiconductor business.Cost & Other ExpensesFor ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.Annual operating expenses for SOXX are 0.40%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.The fund has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.13%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsEven though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Information Technology sector - about 100% of the portfolio.Looking at individual holdings, Nvidia Corp (NVDA) accounts for about 8.20% of total assets, followed by Broadcom Inc (AVGO) and Texas Instrument Inc (TXN).SOXX's top 10 holdings account for about 48.16% of its total assets under management.Performance and RiskThe ETF has lost about -32.84% and is down about -28.88% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 12/07/2022), respectively. SOXX has traded between $298.68 and $555.63 during this last 52-week period.The fund has a beta of 1.30 and standard deviation of 40.01% for the trailing three-year period, which makes SOXX a high risk choice in this particular space. With about 35 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.AlternativesIShares Semiconductor ETF is an excellent option for investors seeking to outperform the Technology ETFs segment of the market. There are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider as well.SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) tracks S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) tracks MVIS US Listed Semiconductor 25 Index. SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF has $1.08 billion in assets, VanEck Semiconductor ETF has $6.85 billion. XSD has an expense ratio of 0.35% and SMH charges 0.35%.Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Technology ETFs.Bottom LineTo learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX): ETF Research Reports Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN): Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA): Free Stock Analysis Report Broadcom Inc. (AVGO): Free Stock Analysis Report VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH): ETF Research Reports SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD): ETF Research ReportsTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment Research