Looking for broad exposure to the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market? You should consider the First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF (FBT Quick QuoteFBT - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on June 19, 2006.

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.

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 - Biotech is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 6, placing it in top 38%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by First Trust Advisors. It has amassed assets over $3.1 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market. FBT seeks to match the performance of the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index before fees and expenses.

The NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index is an equal dollar weighted index designed to measure the performance of a cross section of companies in the biotechnology industry that are primarily involved in the use of biological processes to develop products or provide services.

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 0.55%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

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, Natera, Inc. (NTRA) accounts for about 4.74% of total assets, followed by Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (HALO) and Illumina, Inc. (ILMN).

The top 10 holdings account for about 40.05% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has added roughly 33.68% and is up roughly 43.62% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 11/04/2026), respectively. FBT has traded between $190.23 and $280.3 during this last 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.68 and standard deviation of 20.77% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 31 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology 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, FBT 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.

State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) tracks S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has $10.56 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $11.38 billion. XBI has an expense ratio of 0.35%, and IBB charges 0.44%.

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.