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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (IHI)?

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The iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (IHI - Free Report) was launched on 05/01/2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Healthcare - Medical Devices segment of the equity market.

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 are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Medical Devices is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 5, placing it in top 31%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $6.27 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Medical Devices segment of the equity market. IHI seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Medical Equipment Index before fees and expenses.

The Dow Jones U.S. Select Medical Equipment Index measures the performance of the medical equipment sector of the U.S. equity market.

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 0.39%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.44%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. 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, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc (TMO - Free Report) accounts for about 17.47% of total assets, followed by Abbott Laboratories (ABT - Free Report) and Medtronic Plc (MDT - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 64.37% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 2.23% and is down about -10.47% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/19/2023), respectively. IHI has traded between $47.07 and $62.20 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.86 and standard deviation of 25.89% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 69 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares U.S. Medical Devices 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, IHI is a reasonable 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.

First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV - Free Report) tracks INDXX GLOBAL MEDICAL EQUIPMENT INDEX and the SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (XHE - Free Report) tracks S&P Health Care Equipment Select Industry Index. First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF has $2 million in assets, SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF has $394.17 million. MDEV has an expense ratio of 0.70% and XHE charges 0.35%.

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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