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Should You Invest in the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV)?
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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market, look no further than the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/16/1998.
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.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 7, placing it in top 44%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $40.56 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market. XLV seeks to match the performance of the Health Care Select Sector Index before fees and expenses.
The Health Care Select Sector Index includes companies from the following industries: pharmaceuticals; health care providers & services; health care equipment & supplies; biotechnology; life sciences tools & services; and health care technology.
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 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.59%.
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, Unitedhealth Group Incorporated (UNH - Free Report) accounts for about 9.57% of total assets, followed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) and Eli Lilly And Company (LLY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 54.16% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -2.30% and was up about 5.24% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 07/17/2023), respectively. XLV has traded between $121.11 and $140.10 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 15.26% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 67 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, XLV 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.
IShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ - Free Report) tracks S&P Global 1200 Healthcare Sector Index and the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index. IShares Global Healthcare ETF has $3.88 billion in assets, Vanguard Health Care ETF has $16.82 billion. IXJ has an expense ratio of 0.40% and VHT charges 0.10%.
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 Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV)?
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market, look no further than the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/16/1998.
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.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 7, placing it in top 44%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $40.56 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market. XLV seeks to match the performance of the Health Care Select Sector Index before fees and expenses.
The Health Care Select Sector Index includes companies from the following industries: pharmaceuticals; health care providers & services; health care equipment & supplies; biotechnology; life sciences tools & services; and health care technology.
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 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.59%.
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, Unitedhealth Group Incorporated (UNH - Free Report) accounts for about 9.57% of total assets, followed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) and Eli Lilly And Company (LLY - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 54.16% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -2.30% and was up about 5.24% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 07/17/2023), respectively. XLV has traded between $121.11 and $140.10 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.70 and standard deviation of 15.26% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 67 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, XLV 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.
IShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ - Free Report) tracks S&P Global 1200 Healthcare Sector Index and the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index. IShares Global Healthcare ETF has $3.88 billion in assets, Vanguard Health Care ETF has $16.82 billion. IXJ has an expense ratio of 0.40% and VHT charges 0.10%.
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.