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Should You Invest in the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB)?

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If you're interested in broad exposure to the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market, look no further than the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 02/05/2001.

While an excellent vehicle for long term investors, passively managed ETFs are a popular choice among institutional and retail investors due to their low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Healthcare - Biotech 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 Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $6.50 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market. IBB seeks to match the performance of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index before fees and expenses.

The ICE Biotechnology Index contains securities of NASDAQ listed companies that are classified as either biotechnology or pharmaceuticals.

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 0.45%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.28%.

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.

This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector--about 99.80% of the portfolio.

Looking at individual holdings, Amgen Inc (AMGN - Free Report) accounts for about 9.01% of total assets, followed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (VRTX - Free Report) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (REGN - Free Report) .

The top 10 holdings account for about 54.73% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

The ETF has lost about -9.88% so far this year and is down about -11.15% in the last one year (as of 11/20/2023). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $112.41 and $138.43.

The ETF has a beta of 0.78 and standard deviation of 23.01% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 268 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares 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, IBB 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.

First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF (FBT - Free Report) tracks NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index and the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI - Free Report) tracks S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology ETF has $1.15 billion in assets, SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has $6.04 billion. FBT has an expense ratio of 0.56% and XBI charges 0.35%.

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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