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Should You Invest in the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH)?
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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 VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/20/2011.
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Pharma is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 4, placing it in top 25%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $532.92 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Pharma segment of the equity market. PPH seeks to match the performance of the MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index before fees and expenses.
The MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in pharmaceuticals, including pharmaceutical research and development as well a production, marketing and sales of pharmaceuticals.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.78%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Astrazeneca Plc (AZN - Free Report) accounts for about 5.51% of total assets, followed by Mckesson Corp (MCK - Free Report) and Eli Lilly & Co (LLY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 51.72% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF has lost about -8.58% so far, and is down about -3.30% over the last 12 months (as of 10/18/2022). PPH has traded between $66.73 and $83.96 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.74 and standard deviation of 20.75% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 27 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, PPH is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP - Free Report) tracks Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index and the iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index. Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF has $304.55 million in assets, iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF has $399.90 million. PJP has an expense ratio of 0.58% and IHE charges 0.39%.
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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Should You Invest in the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH)?
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Healthcare - Pharma segment of the equity market, look no further than the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/20/2011.
An increasingly popular option among retail and institutional investors, passively managed ETFs offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; they are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Pharma is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 4, placing it in top 25%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $532.92 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Pharma segment of the equity market. PPH seeks to match the performance of the MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index before fees and expenses.
The MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in pharmaceuticals, including pharmaceutical research and development as well a production, marketing and sales of pharmaceuticals.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.35%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.78%.
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.
Looking at individual holdings, Astrazeneca Plc (AZN - Free Report) accounts for about 5.51% of total assets, followed by Mckesson Corp (MCK - Free Report) and Eli Lilly & Co (LLY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 51.72% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF has lost about -8.58% so far, and is down about -3.30% over the last 12 months (as of 10/18/2022). PPH has traded between $66.73 and $83.96 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.74 and standard deviation of 20.75% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 27 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, PPH is an outstanding option for investors seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. There are other additional ETFs in the space that investors could consider as well.
Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP - Free Report) tracks Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index and the iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index. Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF has $304.55 million in assets, iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF has $399.90 million. PJP has an expense ratio of 0.58% and IHE charges 0.39%.
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.