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Should You Invest in the VanEck Biotech ETF (BBH)?

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Looking for broad exposure to the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market? You should consider the VanEck Biotech ETF (BBH - Free Report) , a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/20/2011.

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.

Additionally, sector ETFs offer convenient 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 5, placing it in top 31%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $457.57 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Biotech segment of the equity market. BBH seeks to match the performance of the MVIS US Listed Biotech 25 Index before fees and expenses.

The MVIS US Listed Biotech 25 Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in the development and production, marketing and sales of drugs based on genetic analysis and diagnostic equipment.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

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

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.40%.

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, Amgen Inc (AMGN - Free Report) accounts for about 15.36% 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 67.21% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the VanEck Biotech ETF has added about 8.46% so far, and is up roughly 12.54% over the last 12 months (as of 08/19/2024). BBH has traded between $143.93 and $181.24 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 0.74 and standard deviation of 21.82% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 28 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.

Alternatives

VanEck Biotech 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, BBH 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.

SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI - Free Report) tracks S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index and the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB - Free Report) tracks Nasdaq Biotechnology Index. SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has $7.74 billion in assets, iShares Biotechnology ETF has $7.80 billion. XBI has an expense ratio of 0.35% and IBB charges 0.45%.

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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