The SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (XHE Quick QuoteXHE - Free Report) was launched on 01/26/2011, 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.

Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient 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 16, placing it in bottom 0%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $775.44 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Medical Devices segment of the equity market. XHE seeks to match the performance of the S&P Health Care Equipment Select Industry Index before fees and expenses.

This Index represents the health care equipment and supplies sector of the S&P Total Market Index. The Index is one of nineteen S&P Select Industry Indices, each designed to measure the performance of a narrow sub-industry or group of sub-industries as defined by the GICS.The Health Care Index is a modified equal weight index.

Costs

When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.

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

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

ETFs offer a diversified exposure and thus minimize single stock risk but it is still important to delve into a fund's holdings before investing. Most ETFs are very transparent products and many 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, Genmark Diagnostics Inc. accounts for about 1.84% of total assets, followed by Inari Medical Inc. and Penumbra Inc. (PEN Quick QuotePEN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 17.07% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF return is roughly 9.58% and it's up approximately 41.39% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 06/11/2021), respectively. XHE has traded between $83.62 and $128.96 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.96 and standard deviation of 24.72% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 84 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment 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, XHE is a good 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. Medical Devices ETF (IHI Quick QuoteIHI - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Medical Equipment Index. The fund has $7.46 billion in assets. IHI has an expense ratio of 0.42%.

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.