This Chip Supercycle Has One Collective Blind Spot

The chip industry seems to be the only game in town lately. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, known as the SOX, has risen 48% this year. Bourses in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are riding the wave and hitting record highs, brushing away potential energy shocks from the military conflict over Iran.

Investors can’t get enough of the chips. The Roundhill Memory ETF, where three memory chip makers — SK Hynix Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and Micron Technology Inc. — constitute about 65% of the total portfolio, came to market on April 2. It has already attracted $1.4 billion net inflows, a resounding success for the asset manager.