Roundhill Launches Memory ETF to Capture AI's Hottest Trade
The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) fills a gap that's pushed billions into a South Korea ETF as a workaround.
Roundhill launched the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) today, offering investors exposure to companies that make memory chips and storage products.
While it’s a niche corner of the market, these companies have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom. Over the past year in particular, they’ve outperformed other parts of the AI trade, including GPU makers like Nvidia.
The fund charges a 0.65% expense ratio and currently holds just nine stocks. Three names—Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics, and SK Hynix—make up roughly three-quarters of the portfolio, at about 25% each. The rest is spread across companies like Kioxia, SanDisk, Western Digital, and Seagate.
A Gap in Existing ETF Exposure
Despite the strong performance in memory, investors haven’t always had clean ways to access the space.
Micron has been readily available and a standout performer. It’s one of the three major producers of high bandwidth memory, or HBM, which is critical for feeding data to GPUs in AI data centers.
But the other two key players, Samsung and SK Hynix, don’t trade in the U.S. and aren’t included in major semiconductor ETFs like the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) or the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH).
SK Hynix is reportedly planning to list U.S. ADRs and would likely be included in those ETFs if it does. Samsung, meanwhile, is a broader conglomerate with business lines spanning smartphones, chip foundry services, and consumer electronics, which may keep it out of more narrowly defined semiconductor ETFs.
Up until now, investors have either bought Micron to play the HBM boom or turned to the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) as an indirect route. Samsung and SK Hynix together make up more than 40% of EWY’s portfolio, effectively turning it into a proxy for the memory trade.
That dynamic has driven massive flows into the fund. EWY has pulled in $6 billion year-to-date and $8.3 billion over the past year as investors have looked for ways to tap into the theme.
DRAM appears designed to capture that demand, offering a more targeted bet on memory than EWY, which holds dozens of other stocks outside the space.
Not a Pure HBM Play
Still, the fund isn’t purely an HBM play. Its top holdings produce a range of memory chips, including DRAM and NAND, and it also owns storage-focused companies like SanDisk, Western Digital, and Seagate. That broadens the exposure beyond chips into the wider memory and storage ecosystem.
Whether the fund gains traction remains to be seen. It’s a highly targeted ETF focused on one of the market’s hottest areas, but it’s also launching after a significant run.
