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It’s been a good year for growth investors. While volatility has taken an upward turn in the past week, with good earnings seemingly no longer able to cause sustained upside moves, there’s reason to be concerned that valuations have crept too high. And, with that, a correction might be necessary to clear out some of the froth in an expectations reset of sorts.
Arguably, the pullback across big tech names after some fantastic quarters (at least for the most part) might already be a correction in itself. If you have no reaction or negativity in response to a good or great quarter, perhaps the lack of positive reaction is, in itself, a means of resetting valuations or providing shares with more opportunity to catch up to the earnings.
Undoubtedly, it took more than just a beat and raise to move the needle higher in Q3. And while the same story could be in the cards for Q4 (beats but no surges), investors might wish to step back and reconsider the names that aren’t sprinting at peak velocity on the so-called “expectations treadmill.”
In this piece, we’ll look at three aggressive growth ETFs that might have what it takes to keep outperforming for the rest of the year and 2026:
VanEck Semiconductor ETF
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) slipped more than 5% in the latest November pullback, and while the 1.7 beta suggests more amplified pain on the way down, I would also gear up for amplified upside come the next bounce-back. Of course, it’s hard to time the latest wave of volatility, especially if we’re in for a big “growth scare” that punishes the more AI-exposed names, like the semiconductor firms. Either way, if you believe in the long-term AI trade, the semis look like a great buy on the way down.
Year to date, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF has beaten the S&P 500 by a mile, now up 43% over the timespan, even with the latest market slip thrown in. Given how China-U.S. relations have smoothed, I wouldn’t be surprised if the semis get a jolt as the Trump administration looks to make more deals and fewer tariff threats. If there is an AI bubble, though, do be ready for extreme volatility and pain, especially if caution and anxiety turn to panic.
SPDR NYSE Technology ETF
The SPDR NYSE Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:XNTK) is an underrated tech ETF that deserves more attention from investors. The ETF is up close to 38% year to date, and that’s despite the November dip of just shy of 5%. As a broad and equal-weight technology ETF composed of just under three dozen tech stocks and a low 0.35% gross expense ratio, the SPDR NYSE Technology ETF really does stand out as a way to benefit, not only from big tech and the Magnificent Seven, but the broader basket of AI plays that might have more room to run.
Undoubtedly, the S&P 500 is too heavy in big tech, while the SPDR NYSE Technology ETF has a nice weighting across the many tech and AI darlings that are underrepresented in more traditional indices. I think the ETF’s market-beating ways will continue as long as the AI trade stays intact, which I think it will, perhaps after the odd correction and “AI winter” here and there.
As for the tech sub-industry allocation, you’re getting just under 30% in semiconductors, 10.6% in semi materials and equipment, 15.5% in application software, and broad exposure to other categories. Undoubtedly, almost 40% of the ETF has semiconductor exposure, making it an ETF that has a good seat to the AI boom, but with perhaps not one that’s front row, center, like the case with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF. Either way, I like the sector breakdown better and the lower beta (1.46 vs. 1.68) of the SPDR NYSE Technology ETF.