iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF
$97.36−2.83 (−2.82%)
- 0.37%
- $1.6B
- +37.5%
- 1.43%
- 0.2M sh
- $100.15
- low $72.94high $108.66
The ETF.net IHE Grade
B
Score 67 out of 100
- 2 of 9
Score 67 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.B64 out of 100Rank 4 of 9Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A81 out of 100Rank 1 of 9Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A79 out of 100Rank 2 of 9Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.D32 out of 100Rank 9 of 9Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A87 out of 100Rank 1 of 9
Our read on IHE
BThe domestic purist of pharma funds: about 60 US drug and vaccine makers, weighted by size, no foreign names riding along. Running since 2006, it is the plain cap-weighted take on Big Pharma.
The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. companies in the pharmaceuticals sector, giving investors targeted exposure to domestic drug manufacturers and vaccine producers.
Why people hold it
- Costs 0.37% a year against a 0.57% median for pharma funds, landing within a basis point or two of the cheapest options in the group.
- Tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index: domestic drug and vaccine makers only, not the US-listed foreign pharma that PPH's index also picks up.vaneck.com
- Trading since 2006 under the iShares banner, now a billion-dollar-plus fund with moderate daily volume and quarterly distributions.
- Sits in the upper half of its pharma peer group on our review, one of the sturdier implementations of a simple, cheap, index-following mandate.
Worth knowing
- Cap weighting across about 60 names puts the largest US drug makers in the driver's seat; XPH uses modified equal weight to spread dollars across large, mid and small caps.ssga.com
- Pharma only. No biotech, devices or insurers, and the fund is non-diversified, making it a narrow slice of health care.ishares.com
- The 0.37% fee undercuts the category median but not the floor: XPH at 0.35% and PPH at 0.36% shade it slightly.
IHE Holdings
- Stocks
- 57
- 79%
- LLY
Sectors
- Pharmaceuticals100.0%
Geography
- United States96.35%
- Ireland3.65%
IHE Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
IHE$13,750
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | IHE |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +19.2% |
| 1 month | −0.6% |
| 3 months | 0.0% |
| 1 year | +37.5% |
| 3 years | +20.6% |
| 5 years | +12.4% |
| 10 years | +9.2% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | IHE |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +19.2% | |
| 2025 | +31.7% | |
| 2024 | +8.1% | |
| 2023 | +1.1% | |
| 2022 | −4.9% | |
| 2021 | +13.1% | |
| 2020 | +13.7% |
IHE in the news
IHE Dividends
- 1.43%
- $1.43
- $0.28 per share
- Quarterly
Distribution history
IHE Risk
- 15.3%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 1.05
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −16.0%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.48
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
IHE Cost
0.37%
IHE0.37%
- The middle half of Pharma & Therapeutics funds
- Median 0.58%
3 of the 9 Pharma & Therapeutics funds charge less.
Other funds in Pharma & Therapeutics
- APPHVanEck Pharmaceutical ETFExpense ratio 0.36%1 year return +22.6%
- BXPHState Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETFExpense ratio 0.35%1 year return +35.9%
- BPJPInvesco Pharmaceuticals ETFExpense ratio 0.58%1 year return +34.5%
- BPBPHPortfolio Building Block World Pharma and Biotech Index ETFExpense ratio 0.13%1 year return —
- BFTXHFirst Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETFExpense ratio 0.60%1 year return +43.8%