iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEMKT:IHE) offers concentrated vulnerability to home drugmakers, portion iShares Global Healthcare ETF (NYSEMKT:IXJ) provides a broader, planetary footprint crossed the wider healthcare sector.
While IHE narrows its absorption to companies specifically engaged successful the research, development, and accumulation of pharmaceuticals successful the U.S., IXJ casts a wider nett crossed assorted healthcare subsectors connected a planetary scale. This examination evaluates however these antithetic scopes interaction costs, risk, and full performance.
Snapshot (cost & size)
| Issuer | iShares | iShares |
| Expense ratio | 0.38% | 0.40% |
| 1-yr instrumentality (as of May 20, 2026) | 39.70% | 10.00% |
| Dividend yield | 1.70% | 1.50% |
| Beta | 0.49 | 0.58 |
| AUM | $883.6 million | $3.6 billion |
Beta measures terms volatility comparative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr instrumentality represents full instrumentality implicit the trailing 12 months. Dividend output is the trailing-12-month organisation yield.
Investors wage astir identical absorption fees for these funds, with the 0.40% disbursal ratio of the iShares planetary money sitting conscionable 0.02 percent points supra its pharmaceutical counterpart. The iShares pharmaceutical money offers a somewhat higher organisation output of 1.70%.
Performance & hazard examination
| Max drawdown (5 yr) | (16.00%) | (18.10%) |
| Growth of $1,000 implicit 5 years (total return) | $1,570 | $1,220 |
What's wrong
The iShares planetary money offers a diversified attack to the healthcare space, containing 114 holdings. Its portfolio includes planetary companies successful the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and healthcare instrumentality industries. Its largest positions see Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) astatine 10.50%, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) astatine 7.19%, and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) astatine 4.88%. This money was launched successful 2001, has a trailing-12-month dividend of $1.36 per share, and maintains assets nether absorption (AUM) of $3.6 billion.
In contrast, the iShares pharmaceutical money targets a overmuch narrower conception of the marketplace with its 55 holdings. Its apical holdings see Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) astatine 22.91%, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) astatine 21.22%, and Viatris (NASDAQ:VTRS) astatine 5.24%. Because it focuses exclusively connected home drugmakers, it has precocious attraction successful its apical 2 holdings. Launched successful 2006, the money has paid $1.49 per stock implicit the trailing 12 months and manages astir $883.6 cardinal successful AUM.
For much guidance connected ETF investing, cheque retired the afloat usher astatine this link.
What this means for investors
There’s been a important show spread betwixt these 2 ETFs implicit the past year, and it comes down mostly to 1 reason: GLP-1s.

7 hours ago
6



.png)

English (CA) ·
English (US) ·
Spanish (MX) ·