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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH)?
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Designed to provide broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market, the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/12/2000.
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 also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Healthcare - Broad 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 Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $2.94 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market. IYH seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 1000 Health Care RIC 22.5/45 Capped Gross Index measures the performance of the healthcare sector of the U.S. equity market.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.39%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.29%.
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, Eli Lilly (LLY - Free Report) accounts for about 13.10% of total assets, followed by Unitedhealth Group Inc (UNH - Free Report) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 56.02% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -3.65% so far this year and is down about -5.65% in the last one year (as of 04/08/2025). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $55.98 and $66.38.
The ETF has a beta of 0.71 and standard deviation of 14.27% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 109 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Healthcare ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, IYH is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV - Free Report) tracks Health Care Select Sector Index. Vanguard Health Care ETF has $15.15 billion in assets, Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF has $35.31 billion. VHT has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLV charges 0.08%.
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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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH)?
Designed to provide broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market, the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH - Free Report) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 06/12/2000.
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 also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Healthcare - Broad 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 Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $2.94 billion, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market. IYH seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index before fees and expenses.
The Russell 1000 Health Care RIC 22.5/45 Capped Gross Index measures the performance of the healthcare sector of the U.S. equity market.
Costs
When considering an ETF's total return, expense ratios are an important factor, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts in the long term if all other factors remain equal.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.39%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.29%.
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, Eli Lilly (LLY - Free Report) accounts for about 13.10% of total assets, followed by Unitedhealth Group Inc (UNH - Free Report) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) .
The top 10 holdings account for about 56.02% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has lost about -3.65% so far this year and is down about -5.65% in the last one year (as of 04/08/2025). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $55.98 and $66.38.
The ETF has a beta of 0.71 and standard deviation of 14.27% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 109 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.
Alternatives
IShares U.S. Healthcare ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, IYH is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Health Care ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT - Free Report) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Health Care 25/50 Index and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV - Free Report) tracks Health Care Select Sector Index. Vanguard Health Care ETF has $15.15 billion in assets, Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF has $35.31 billion. VHT has an expense ratio of 0.09% and XLV charges 0.08%.
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.