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Is State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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The State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH - Free Report) made its debut on 06/19/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Health Care ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
XPH is managed by State Street Investment Management, and this fund has amassed over $310.71 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index.
The S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index represents the pharmaceuticals sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Pharmaceuticals Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for XPH are 0.35%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.68%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For XPH, it has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Definium Therapeutics Inc (DFTX) accounts for about 2.91% of the fund's total assets, followed by Viatris Inc (VTRS) and Edgewise Therapeutics Inc (EWTX).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 23.91% of XPH's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has lost about -2.19% so far, and is up roughly 30.55% over the last 12 months (as of 04/03/2026). XPH has traded between $36.65 $58.41 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.59 and standard deviation of 19.45% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 59 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index and the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH) tracks MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index. iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF has $1 billion in assets, VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF has $1.3 billion. IHE has an expense ratio of 0.38% and PPH changes 0.36%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Health Care ETFs
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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Is State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH) a Strong ETF Right Now?
The State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH - Free Report) made its debut on 06/19/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Health Care ETFs category of the market.
What Are Smart Beta ETFs?
Market cap weighted indexes were created to reflect the market, or a specific segment of the market, and the ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on this strategy.
Investors who believe in market efficiency should consider market cap indexes, as they replicate market returns in a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way.
If you're the kind of investor who would rather try and beat the market through good stock selection, then smart beta funds are your best choice; this fund class is known for tracking non-cap weighted strategies.
By attempting to pick stocks that have a better chance of risk-return performance, non-cap weighted indexes are based on certain fundamental characteristics, or a combination of such.
This area offers many different investment choices, such as simplest equal-weighting, fundamental weighting and volatility/momentum based weighting methodologies; however, not all of these strategies can deliver superior results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
XPH is managed by State Street Investment Management, and this fund has amassed over $310.71 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index.
The S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index represents the pharmaceuticals sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Pharmaceuticals Index is a modified equal weight index.
Cost & Other Expenses
For ETF investors, expense ratios are an important factor when considering a fund's return; in the long-term, cheaper funds actually have the ability to outperform their more expensive cousins if all other things remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for XPH are 0.35%, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.68%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
It is important to delve into an ETF's holdings before investing despite the many upsides to these kinds of funds like diversified exposure, which minimizes single stock risk. And, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
For XPH, it has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Definium Therapeutics Inc (DFTX) accounts for about 2.91% of the fund's total assets, followed by Viatris Inc (VTRS) and Edgewise Therapeutics Inc (EWTX).
Its top 10 holdings account for approximately 23.91% of XPH's total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has lost about -2.19% so far, and is up roughly 30.55% over the last 12 months (as of 04/03/2026). XPH has traded between $36.65 $58.41 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.59 and standard deviation of 19.45% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 59 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk .
Alternatives
State Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.
iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index and the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH) tracks MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index. iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF has $1 billion in assets, VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF has $1.3 billion. IHE has an expense ratio of 0.38% and PPH changes 0.36%.
Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Health Care ETFs
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.