[Interview Article] You can invest in the SOX Index with a TSE ETF! I had a discussion with Global X and the Tokyo Stock Exchange!

When investing in US stocks, many people have likely thought at least once, "I wish I could invest directly in the SOX Index."

In the US, there is SOXQ, an ETF that aims to track the SOX Index. However, in Japan, you cannot purchase SOXQ in a specific account (Tokutei Koza).
Therefore, among Japanese investors who want to invest in semiconductor ETFs, SMH is often chosen as an alternative.

Meanwhile, I learned that the "Global X Semiconductor ETF" (Securities Code: 2243), which aims to track the SOX Index, is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

So, this time, with an introduction from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, I was able to conduct an interview with Global X Japan, an asset management company specializing in ETFs.

I actually visited the Tokyo Stock Exchange, met with a representative from Global X Japan in a conference room they provided, and asked detailed questions about the features and usage of the "Global X Semiconductor ETF" (Securities Code: 2243).

Based on the interview, I have organized the design of the SOX Index, as well as the structure and usage of the 2243 ETF, in my own way.

*This article was structured and written by Todai Paffet based on an interview with Global X Japan.

Semiconductors are a long-term theme. However, price movements are volatile.

Semiconductors have become so essential to modern society that they are even called the "oil of the 21st century."

Currently, AI is the center of attention, but the applications for semiconductors are not limited to AI. The importance of semiconductors will continue to grow in areas such as data centers, networking, memory, automotive, industrial equipment, robotics, and even semiconductor quantum computers.

On the other hand, the market for semiconductor-related stocks does not rise in a straight line. In July 2026, semiconductor-related stocks also saw a significant correction in a short period.

While long-term growth is expected for semiconductors, it is an industry prone to large stock price cycles, as it is easily influenced by inventory adjustments, capital investment, supply and demand, and geopolitical risks. For this reason, it is necessary to consider the long-term structural changes of the industry and the short-term fluctuations in stock prices separately.

Sharp declines may continue to occur. Even so, the semiconductor industry as a whole may continue to move to the next stage while repeating cycles of growth and adjustment.

I believe that these downturn phases can be more than just periods of pessimism; they can also be "preparation periods" to review investment methods and positions for the next cycle.
However, it is important not to buy unconditionally just because the price has fallen, but to invest with an understanding that semiconductors are indispensable to modern technology and that it is an industry accompanied by large cycles.

The fear of individual stocks and the difficulty of 3x leverage products

Even if you are hopeful about the future of the semiconductor industry, many people are likely afraid to invest in individual stocks.

For example, Kioxia, which also attracted attention as a semiconductor stock in Japan, saw its stock price fall by more than half in about a month. My Kioxia holdings had exceeded a 10-bagger, but my unrealized gains were whittled down to a 5-bagger...

Even with US stocks, there was a phase where Micron (MU) fell by more than 30% in about a month.

No matter how promising a theme may be, individual stocks will move significantly in a short period if market expectations and valuations are corrected. Even if the outlook for the entire industry is correct, there is no guarantee that the competitiveness or performance of a single company you invested in will turn out as expected.

That is where the option of investing in an index that holds multiple semiconductor-related companies together comes in. It becomes easier to capture the growth of the entire industry while suppressing the risks inherent to individual companies.

On the other hand, one of the products often seen on social media as a semiconductor ETF is the 3x bull-type SOXL. SOXL is a product that aims for investment results that are approximately three times the daily price movement of the NYSE Semiconductor Index.

While you can aim for large profits during an uptrend, losses during a downturn are also significant. Furthermore, because it is designed to aim for 3x the daily price movement, if the market fluctuates repeatedly, it will not simply be 'three times the medium- to long-term rate of return of the index.' It is also affected by the so-called decay of leveraged ETFs and the path of price movements.

While leveraged ETFs have characteristics as tools for short-term trading, when considering investment in the semiconductor industry over the medium to long term, it is natural to first consider index-linked products without leverage.

'I want to invest in semiconductors. However, it is difficult to choose individual stocks, and 3x leverage is scary.'

For investors who think this way, investing in a semiconductor index without leverage becomes a strong option.

SMH and SOXQ. Even though they are both semiconductor ETFs, the 'contents' are different.

One of the semiconductor ETFs well-known to Japanese investors is SMH.
SMH is an attractive ETF that allows you to efficiently invest in major global semiconductor companies.

However, even if they belong to the same category of 'semiconductor ETF,' the number of constituent stocks and the method of determining weights differ depending on the index they track, which leads to differences in actual price movements.

The index that SMH aims to track is designed to be easily influenced by companies with large market capitalizations, and it tends to have a high concentration in top-tier stocks.
As of August 11, 2026, the inclusion ratio of NVIDIA was approximately 21.8%.

On the other hand, SOXQ, an ETF that tracks the SOX Index, is composed of the top 30 companies by market capitalization among semiconductor and semiconductor manufacturing equipment companies listed on the US market.

The SOX Index has a rule that when reviewing the composition ratio, the company with the largest market capitalization is capped at 12%, the second largest at 10%, the third largest at 8%, and other companies at a maximum of 4% each. It is designed to suppress extreme concentration in specific stocks.

The SOX Index reviews its constituent stocks every September and adjusts the composition ratios in March, June, September, and December. It is a mechanism that regularly adjusts weights while incorporating growing companies.

This is also the reason why I wanted to invest in the SOX Index itself.

I want to capture NVIDIA's growth. However, I don't want to bet on NVIDIA alone, but rather diversify across the entire ecosystem, including semiconductor design, manufacturing, manufacturing equipment, and memory. Once you check the index rules, it becomes quite clear which semiconductor ETF you should choose.

For ETFs, it is important to look not only at the product name and popularity, but also at 'which index it tracks and under what rules.'

This is not a matter of good or bad. It is a difference in investment style: whether you want to strongly capture the growth of giant companies, or whether you want to diversify a little more across the entire semiconductor industry while suppressing concentration in specific companies.

The TSE-listed SOX-linked ETF was 'right under my nose'.

I had been thinking for a while about how I could invest directly in the SOX Index.
This is because it is not possible to invest in US ETFs like SOXQ or SOXX in a specific Japanese brokerage account.

In the process of researching, I found the "Global X Semiconductor ETF" (Securities Code: 2243).

For someone like me who was only looking for US ETFs, the fact that a SOX-linked ETF was already listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was truly a case of "the darkest place is under the candlestick." When I actually checked, the net asset value of 2243 was moving in almost perfect correlation with the yen-denominated SOX Index.

Honestly, it tracks so cleanly that it's surprising, so I became very interested in how it is managed.

2243 is an ETF established in April 2023 that aims to track the yen-denominated value of the dividend-inclusive SOX Index.
At the time of the interview, 2243 was the only SOX-linked ETF listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and it can be bought and sold in single-unit increments during Japanese trading hours in Japanese yen.

The assets under management have grown to the 40 billion yen scale as of the time of the interview. However, considering the name recognition of the SOX Index and the potential demand from Japanese investors, I get the impression that awareness of the product has not yet caught up.

To be honest, if I had known about the existence of this ETF sooner, I would have considered investing in it much earlier.

What does 2243 invest in?

The first thing I wanted to confirm in the interview was the specific management method of 2243.

Even if they aim to track the same index on the surface, differences in costs and price movements arise depending on the internal mechanism.
For example, is it managed primarily through SOX Index futures? Or is it a fund-of-funds that incorporates overseas semiconductor ETFs?

According to Global X Japan, 2243 is basically not a fund-of-funds.It conducts management by investing directly in the physical stocks of SOX constituent companies listed on US exchanges and bringing them closer to the index's compositionThe investment targets also include ADRs.

In the case of a structure that constantly holds another ETF in its entirety, the expense ratio of the underlying ETF is incurred twice.
Although they use a small amount of futures and ETFs for the purpose of streamlining management, 2243 is basically designed to hold physical stocks primarily.

The reason for using a small amount of futures is, for example, to avoid the management performance slightly lagging due to the generation of cash from dividends. It feels like they are making various efforts to keep the management performance as closely linked as possible.

Knowing this mechanism, it makes sense that the net asset value of 2243 moves close to the yen-denominated SOX Index and that the management fee is set at an annual rate of 0.4125% (including tax, as of August 13, 2026).

Naturally, the price movement of 2243 does not perfectly match the SOX Index. Differences arise between the index and the ETF due to management fees, trading costs, differences in prices referenced by stocks and the index, the timing of exchange rate acquisition, and the generation of dividends and cash.
Also, discrepancies can occur between the market price traded on the exchange and the net asset value calculated from the assets held by the ETF.
It is important to note that the phrase "aims to track the index" does not mean "always moves exactly the same as the index."
However, the actual returns match quite cleanly, and I believe it is not something that general individual investors need to worry about.

The investment targets of 2243 are foreign currency-denominated assets listed on the US market, and currency hedging is not performed in principle.

Naturally, it can be said to be an ideal management method because there are no unnecessary currency hedging costs.

The order book is deep, and trading volume is sufficient

The second thing I wanted to confirm in the interview was about the trading volume of 2243.

There are many stocks in the world with low trading volume where the execution price becomes significantly disadvantageous if you buy all at once.

According to Global X Japan, 2243 is a stock where market makers function properly, and it is not something that general individual investors need to worry about when investing.

Regarding market makers, it is easy to understand if you think of them as 'institutional investors who firmly place buy and sell orders to ensure that the execution price does not fluctuate significantly'.

As long as market makers are functioning during TSE trading hours, even an order of around 10 million yen at once would generally have a limited possibility of the execution price being significantly disadvantageous, according to them.

Since liquidity may decrease depending on the time of day and market environment, it is important to check the current quotes and order book status before trading.

The following is my personal general opinion, but if you are concerned, it might be safer to trade in 1 million yen increments.
If you place an order exceeding 10 million yen at once with a market order, it might be slightly disadvantageous, so I do think it is better to split orders of that size...

List of Semiconductor ETFs

I have compiled a list of the semiconductor ETFs that have been mentioned so far.

Until now, when investing in US semiconductors via ETFs, I think there were two main choices: SMH and SOXL.

2243, which tracks the SOX and can be bought in a Japanese specific account, is a very strong option!

A strong option for diversified investment for those who are afraid of individual stocks

I want to invest in semiconductors, but I'm afraid of individual stocks. I don't want to use leverage, and I want to diversify as much as possible.

For those who think this way, I believe 2243 is an option worth considering. This is because instead of trying to guess the winners and losers of a single company, you can aim to capture the growth of the entire semiconductor industry through the SOX Index.

On the other hand, even if it is diversified across 30 stocks, you must not forget that it is an ETF concentrated in a single industry called semiconductors. If the entire semiconductor industry corrects, the net asset value of 2243 could also fall significantly.

Rather than chasing semiconductor stocks only when they are rising, it is important to understand the contents of the index and the mechanism of the product, and choose the level of risk you can take, so that you can prepare for the next cycle when prices fall.

In that sense, 2243, which tracks the SOX and can be bought in a Japanese specific account, is a very strong option!

In fact, for many US stock investors, aren't SOXL and SMH the familiar choices when it comes to semiconductor ETFs?

I myself only recently learned that it is possible to invest in the SOX Index through the 'Global X Semiconductor ETF' (Securities Code: 2243) listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

While 2243 can be a strong option for US stock investors, I feel that its feature as a 'TSE ETF that tracks the SOX Index' is not yet widely known.

Therefore, wanting to know more about the features and specific operation methods of 2243, I requested an interview with Global X Japan, introduced by the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Thank you to everyone at the Tokyo Stock Exchange for providing this valuable interview opportunity, and to everyone at Global X Japan for speaking with me in such detail!