Looking for broad exposure to the Healthcare - Pharma segment of the equity market? You should consider the VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/20/2011.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Investor-friendly, sector ETFs provide many options to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Pharma is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 4, placing it in top 25%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Van Eck. It has amassed assets over $706.53 million, making it one of the larger ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Pharma segment of the equity market. PPH seeks to match the performance of the MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index before fees and expenses.
The MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index tracks the overall performance of companies involved in pharmaceuticals, including pharmaceutical research and development as well a production, marketing and sales of pharmaceuticals.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.36%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.58%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
Looking at individual holdings, Eli Lilly & Co (LLY) accounts for about 11.34% of total assets, followed by Novo Nordisk A/s (NVO) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ).
The top 10 holdings account for about 62.91% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 20.34% so far this year and was up about 21.15% in the last one year (as of 09/11/2024). In that past 52-week period, it has traded between $74.32 and $99.43.
The ETF has a beta of 0.65 and standard deviation of 13.66% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 27 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
VanEck Pharmaceutical 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, PPH 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.
Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP) tracks Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index and the iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index. Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF has $286.62 million in assets, iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF has $674.12 million. PJP has an expense ratio of 0.57% and IHE charges 0.39%.
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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Get it free >>VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF (PPH): ETF Research Reports
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP): ETF Research Reports
iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE): ETF Research Reports
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
