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Should You Invest in the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH)?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Healthcare - Pharma segment of the equity market, look no further than the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/19/2006.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Healthcare - Pharma is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 15, placing it in bottom 6%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $228.49 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Pharma segment of the equity market. XPH seeks to match the performance of the S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.

The S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index represents the pharmaceuticals sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Pharmaceuticals Index is a modified equal weight index.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.64%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector--about 100% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Cassava Sciences Inc. (SAVA - Free Report) accounts for about 5.33% of total assets, followed by Zoetis Inc. Class A (ZTS - Free Report) and Eli Lilly And Company (LLY - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 46.74% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has lost about -9.31% so far, and is up roughly 3.53% over the last 12 months (as of 10/07/2021). XPH has traded between $44.11 and $56.01 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.04 and standard deviation of 25.39% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 50 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, XPH is a sufficient option for those seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.

IShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index and the Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP - Free Report) tracks Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index. IShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF has $371.05 million in assets, Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF has $429.84 million. IHE has an expense ratio of 0.42% and PJP charges 0.56%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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