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Should You Invest in the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT)?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market, the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2004.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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 - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $16.69 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market. VHT seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index is made up of stocks of U.S. companies within the health care sector.
Costs
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
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 1.29%.
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, Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH - Free Report) accounts for about 8.79% of total assets, followed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 47.97% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Vanguard Health Care ETF has lost about -7.23% so far, and is down about -3.91% over the last 12 months (as of 10/31/2022). VHT has traded between $219.51 and $267.51 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.75 and standard deviation of 22.24% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 405 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Health Care 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, VHT is a great 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 Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV - Free Report) tracks Health Care Select Sector Index. IShares Global Healthcare ETF has $3.75 billion in assets, Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF has $39.83 billion. IXJ has an expense ratio of 0.40% and XLV 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 Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT)?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market, the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 01/26/2004.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are 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 - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 2, placing it in top 13%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Vanguard. It has amassed assets over $16.69 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market. VHT seeks to match the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index before fees and expenses.
The MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index is made up of stocks of U.S. companies within the health care sector.
Costs
Since cheaper funds tend to produce better results than more expensive funds, assuming all other factors remain equal, it is important for investors to pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio.
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 1.29%.
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, Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH - Free Report) accounts for about 8.79% of total assets, followed by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 47.97% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Vanguard Health Care ETF has lost about -7.23% so far, and is down about -3.91% over the last 12 months (as of 10/31/2022). VHT has traded between $219.51 and $267.51 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.75 and standard deviation of 22.24% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 405 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
Vanguard Health Care 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, VHT is a great 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 Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV - Free Report) tracks Health Care Select Sector Index. IShares Global Healthcare ETF has $3.75 billion in assets, Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF has $39.83 billion. IXJ has an expense ratio of 0.40% and XLV 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.