Three AI-focused ETFs are sitting in very different positions heading into spring 2026. Invesco AI and Next Gen Software ETF (NYSEARCA:IGPT) is up 3% year-to-date. Roundhill Generative AI & Technology ETF (NYSEARCA:CHAT) has gained 8% in the same stretch. JPMorgan U.S. Tech Leaders ETF (NYSEARCA:JTEK) is down 8%. All three own many of the same underlying companies, yet they have delivered meaningfully different results. The reason comes down to how each fund is constructed and what it is actually trying to do.
For context, the Nasdaq-100 is down about 4% year-to-date. Two of these three funds are beating that benchmark, and one is trailing it by a wide margin. Understanding why tells you most of what you need to know before choosing between them.
IGPT: The Semiconductor-Heavy Foundation Play
IGPT takes a specific angle on AI that most investors overlook: it bets heavily on the hardware that makes AI possible rather than the software companies deploying it. The fund’s largest position is Micron Technology at 12.6%, followed by SK Hynix at 8.5% and Nvidia at 7.6%. Memory chips are the unglamorous backbone of AI training and inference workloads, and IGPT is more exposed to that part of the value chain than any comparable fund.
The portfolio spans over 100 holdings with 53.8% in Information Technology and 17% in Communication Services. A 0.18 portfolio turnover ratio signals a deliberate, low-churn approach. The fund has been around since June 2005, giving it a track record that the other two funds simply cannot match.
That long operating history matters when evaluating a specialized strategy. Its 44% gain over the past year reflects the AI infrastructure buildout that has driven memory and semiconductor demand.
The tradeoff is concentration in cyclical hardware. Memory chip prices are notoriously volatile, and a downturn in enterprise spending or AI capex could hit IGPT harder than a fund weighted toward software. The fund also carries 56 basis points in annual fees, which is reasonable for a specialized strategy but higher than lower-cost passive alternatives in the same space.
CHAT: The Purest Generative AI Bet, With Global Reach
CHAT launched in May 2023, right as generative AI became a mainstream investment theme, and its construction reflects that moment. The fund holds a mix of U.S. mega-caps and international names that most AI ETFs ignore entirely. Among its top positions: Alphabet at 6.8%, Nvidia at 6.5%, Microsoft at 4.4%, and meaningful allocations to Samsung, SK Hynix, TSMC, Tencent, and Alibaba. That international exposure is the defining feature of this fund.
CHAT’s 77% gain over the past year is the strongest of the three funds and well ahead of the Nasdaq-100’s 22% return over the same period. That outperformance traces partly to the fund’s willingness to hold Asian semiconductor and technology companies that benefited from AI infrastructure demand globally, a breadth of exposure that purely domestic funds do not offer.
The fund manages $1.1 billion in assets and charges 75 basis points annually, making it the most expensive of the three. The international holdings introduce currency risk and geopolitical exposure that purely domestic funds avoid. Investors who are comfortable with that complexity get a more globally complete picture of where AI hardware and software is actually being built and deployed.
The Broadcom story is worth noting here specifically. Broadcom reported total revenue of $19.31 billion in Q1 2026, a 29.5% year-over-year increase, with AI-specific revenue hitting a record $8.4 billion. Broadcom appears in CHAT’s holdings, and that kind of AI infrastructure revenue growth is exactly the tailwind funds like CHAT are positioned to capture.
JTEK: JPMorgan’s Active Approach to Tech Leaders
JTEK is the most distinct fund on this list structurally. Managed by JPMorgan and launched in October 2023, it holds $3.2 billion in assets and carries a 0.68 portfolio turnover ratio, nearly four times the turnover of IGPT. That higher turnover reflects active management decisions rather than passive index tracking, and it shows in the holdings.
JTEK’s portfolio is broader and more eclectic than the other two funds. Its top positions include Alphabet Class C at 4.7%, Tesla at 3.9%, Take-Two Interactive at 3.8%, and Nvidia at 3.6%. Take-Two Interactive appearing near the top of an AI ETF is a signal that JTEK’s managers are making active calls about where technology leadership is heading, not just tracking the conventional AI narrative.
The expense ratio is 65 basis points, competitive given the active management component. The year-to-date performance of negative 8% against a Nasdaq-100 that is itself down 4% suggests the active management has not yet justified its cost in 2026. The one-year return of 16.5% is solid in absolute terms but trails both IGPT and CHAT meaningfully over that period.
JTEK suits investors who want a seasoned institutional manager making dynamic decisions about which tech companies are actually leading rather than following a fixed index. The tradeoff is that you are trusting those active calls, and the recent results suggest the portfolio’s positioning has not aligned perfectly with where AI-driven returns have been concentrated.
How to Choose Between Them
These three funds are not interchangeable despite their surface similarities. IGPT offers deep semiconductor and AI hardware exposure through a fund with a long operating history and relatively low turnover. CHAT provides exposure to Asian chipmakers and tech companies alongside U.S. mega-caps, with higher fees and currency risk as the cost of that global breadth. JTEK gives an active manager latitude to make ongoing portfolio decisions across a wider definition of technology leadership, though the fund has trailed both peers and the Nasdaq-100 in 2026, which is a meaningful data point for anyone evaluating it now.
