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Is SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (XHE) a Strong ETF Right Now?
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Launched on 01/26/2011, the SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (XHE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering 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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and has been able to amass over $214.65 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Health Care Equipment Select Industry Index.
The S&P Health Care Equipment Select Industry Index represents the health care equipment segment of the S&P Total Market Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
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 0.03%.
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.
For XHE, it has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Tandem Diabetes Care Inc (TNDM - Free Report) accounts for about 2% of the fund's total assets, followed by Quidelortho Corp (QDEL - Free Report) and Glaukos Corp (GKOS - Free Report) .
XHE's top 10 holdings account for about 19.03% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 6.63% and it's up approximately 12.62% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/22/2025), respectively. XHE has traded between $81.26 and $94.38 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 25.41% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 67 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment 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.
First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV - Free Report) tracks INDXX MEDICAL DEVICES INDEX and the iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (IHI - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Medical Equipment Index. First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF has $3.29 million in assets, iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF has $4.99 billion. MDEV has an expense ratio of 0.70% and IHI charges 0.40%.
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 SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (XHE) a Strong ETF Right Now?
Launched on 01/26/2011, the SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF (XHE - Free Report) is a smart beta exchange traded fund offering 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.
Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.
There are some investors, though, who think it's possible to beat the market with great stock selection; this group likely invests in another class of funds known as smart beta, which track non-cap weighted strategies.
These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.
Even though this space provides many choices to investors--think one of the simplest methodologies like equal-weighting and more complicated ones like fundamental and volatility/momentum based weighting--not all have been able to deliver first-rate results.
Fund Sponsor & Index
The fund is managed by State Street Global Advisors, and has been able to amass over $214.65 million, which makes it one of the average sized ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. Before fees and expenses, this particular fund seeks to match the performance of the S&P Health Care Equipment Select Industry Index.
The S&P Health Care Equipment Select Industry Index represents the health care equipment segment of the S&P Total Market Index.
Cost & Other Expenses
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor. And, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive cousins in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
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 0.03%.
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.
For XHE, it has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector --about 100% of the portfolio.
When you look at individual holdings, Tandem Diabetes Care Inc (TNDM - Free Report) accounts for about 2% of the fund's total assets, followed by Quidelortho Corp (QDEL - Free Report) and Glaukos Corp (GKOS - Free Report) .
XHE's top 10 holdings account for about 19.03% of its total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF return is roughly 6.63% and it's up approximately 12.62% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 01/22/2025), respectively. XHE has traded between $81.26 and $94.38 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.98 and standard deviation of 25.41% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 67 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment 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.
First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF (MDEV - Free Report) tracks INDXX MEDICAL DEVICES INDEX and the iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF (IHI - Free Report) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Medical Equipment Index. First Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF has $3.29 million in assets, iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF has $4.99 billion. MDEV has an expense ratio of 0.70% and IHI charges 0.40%.
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.