EKG vs VHT: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF

EKGDNasdaq

Vanguard Health Care ETF

VHTANYSE Arca

Overlap

7.5%by weight

Expense ratio

VHT −0.56pt a year

EKG0.65%VHT0.09%

Avg volume · 30D

VHT 54.5×the volume

EKG4.35KVHT237K

3Y return · a year

EKG +6.9pt

EKG+22.7%VHT+15.8%

EKG vs VHT Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Nov 2, 2026

+27.4%EKG+28.3%VHT

Expense ratio: EKG 0.65%; VHT 0.09%, better
Fund size: EKG $10M; VHT $21.8B
1Y total return: EKG +27.4%; VHT +28.3%, better
Yield (12M): EKG No data; VHT 1.35%
Holdings: EKG 52; VHT 416
Avg volume (30D): EKG 4.35K sh; VHT 237K sh, better
NAV per share: EKG $23.95; VHT $342.46
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for EKG, VHT, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	EKG	VHT
Cost30% weight	D27	A92Higher
Mission25% weight	A71	A82Higher
Risk15% weight	D34	A79Higher
Tradability15% weight	D38	B57Higher
Holdings10% weight	C46	B58Higher
Durability5% weight	F22	A92Higher

Rank among Health Care (Broad) funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. EKG and VHT are both graded against the same 25 Health Care (Broad) funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Health Care (Broad)⁠

Category · 25 funds

See all 25 ›

VHT ranks 3rd and EKG 19th of 25 funds in the Health Care (Broad) Category.

Rank 1AXLVState Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETFScore 85
Rank 2AFHLCFidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETFScore 83
Rank 3AVHTVanguard Health Care ETFScore 77
Rank 4AXHSState Street SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETFScore 74
Rank 18CHEALGlobal X HealthTech ETFScore 39
Rank 19DEKGFirst Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETFScore 32
Rank 20DHRTSTema Heart & Health ETFScore 31

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

EKGDFirst Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF

VHTAVanguard Health Care ETF

In short

EKG A ticker that spells out the mandate. EKG skips the pharma giants and tracks a Nasdaq index of health technology names: roughly 40 stocks building the digital plumbing of medicine, from diagnostics and devices to health data.

VHT The whole US health care sector in one ticket: roughly 400 stocks, an index that reaches well past the megacaps, and a nine-basis-point fee. Trading since 2004, it is one of the category's originals.

Stated mandate

EKG The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Nasdaq Lux Health TechTM Index.

VHT The fund seeks to track a benchmark index measuring the investment return of health care stocks.

Why people hold it

EKG Genuinely narrow. Roughly 40 health tech names, not a broad sector fund where a few pharma megacaps set the outcome.
Rules-based, not a stock picker's fund. It tracks the Nasdaq Lux Health Tech Index, so holdings follow published index rules rather than manager discretion.ftportfolios.com
Launched in 2022, so there is a real multi-year record to inspect instead of a back-test on a brand-new theme fund.

VHT Costs 0.09% a year while the typical fund in its health care peer group charges 0.50%. Same sector, a fraction of the toll.
Roughly 400 holdings drawn from an investable-market index, so mid and small health care companies count too, not just the sector's giants.vanguard.com
Two decades old, now a multi-billion-dollar fund, moderately traded, and it has hugged its benchmark closely. Pays out quarterly.
On cost, tracking and tradability together, it stands among the strongest builds in a 24-fund health care cohort.

Worth knowing

EKG 0.65% a year sits above the health care sector median, and the cohort's broad index heavyweights (VHT, XLV, FHLC) charge under a tenth of a percent.
A small fund that trades thinly. Wider bid-ask spreads are the usual trade-off versus the cohort's most heavily traded names.
One theme, about 40 stocks, no regular distribution schedule. Single names and the health tech cycle carry the weight here.

VHT FHLC and XLV each shave a basis point off the fee. If the fee line is your only tiebreaker, VHT is not the final word.
One sector, one news cycle. Drug pricing rules, patent expirations and regulatory decisions can move the entire basket at once.vanguard.com
Cap-weighted with a 25/50 diversification rule, so no single name can dominate outright, but the largest pharma and insurer positions still steer most of the ride.vanguard.com

Full EKG profile⁠

Full VHT profile⁠

EKG vs VHT Holdings

How EKG and VHT differ

Overlap by weight

7.5%

Shared holdings make up 91.2% of EKG and 7.5% of VHT.

Level by level

Holdings45 in both7.5%
Sector4 Sectors91.3%
Asset classEquity100%
Countryby domicile100%

Sector

Sector weights in EKG and VHT, widest gap first
Sector	More in EKGMore in VHT	EKG	VHT
Technology	EKG +8.7 points	8.7%	0.0%
Health Care	VHT +8.7 points	91.3%	100.0%
Financials	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%
Industrials	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in EKG and VHT, widest gap first
Country	More in EKGMore in VHT	EKG	VHT
United States	Same weight	100.0%	100.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

EKG58.6%
VHT51.8%

Securities held

EKG51
VHT414

Asset class

EKG: Equity
VHT: Equity

Holdings

Only in EKG6
In both45
Only in VHT369

Only in EKG

6 securities, 8.8% of EKG by weight

Qiagen N.v.3.46%
Oscar Health, Inc. (Class A)2.62%
Caris Life Sciences, Inc.1.30%
BillionToOne, Inc. (Class A)1.06%
Beta Bionics, Inc.0.18%
Minimed Group, Inc.0.16%

Only in VHT

369 securities, 92.2% of VHT by weight

Eli Lilly & Co12.93%
Johnson & Johnson8.78%
AbbVie Inc6.45%
Merck & Co Inc5.01%
UnitedHealth Group Inc4.65%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc3.50%
Amgen Inc3.18%
Gilead Sciences Inc2.58%
Abbott Laboratories2.40%
Pfizer Inc2.27%
Danaher Corp1.97%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc1.85%
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co1.78%
Medtronic PLC1.54%
CVS Health Corp1.53%
McKesson Corp1.40%
Stryker Corp1.33%
Elevance Health Inc1.14%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc1.09%
Cigna Group/The1.00%
HCA Healthcare Inc0.93%
Moderna Inc0.91%
Boston Scientific Corp0.91%
Cencora Inc0.77%
Cardinal Health Inc0.73%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp0.69%
Becton Dickinson & Co0.69%
Agilent Technologies Inc0.68%
Humana Inc0.64%
Waters Corp0.60%
IDEXX Laboratories Inc0.57%
Revolution Medicines Inc0.49%
Biogen Inc0.47%
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc0.46%
Centene Corp0.43%
Mettler-Toledo International Inc0.43%
GE HealthCare Technologies Inc0.42%
Zoetis Inc0.41%
West Pharmaceutical Services Inc0.37%
Quest Diagnostics Inc0.36%
Labcorp Holdings Inc0.35%
Insmed Inc0.34%
Tenet Healthcare Corp0.31%
United Therapeutics Corp0.29%
Viatris Inc0.29%
Incyte Corp0.29%
Steris PLC0.29%
Roivant Sciences Ltd0.27%
Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc0.24%
Revvity Inc0.24%

Weight gaps

All 45 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in EKG and VHT, widest gap first
Holding	More in EKGMore in VHT	EKG	VHT
Natera, Inc.NTRA	EKG +8.68 points	9.47%	0.79%
Veeva Systems Inc. (Class A)VEEV	EKG +7.47 points	8.05%	0.58%
IQVIA Holdings Inc.IQV	EKG +6.90 points	7.53%	0.63%
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.ISRG	EKG +6.43 points	8.44%	2.01%
DexCom, Inc.DXCM	EKG +6.19 points	6.65%	0.46%
Guardant Health, Inc.GH	EKG +3.83 points	4.14%	0.31%
Illumina, Inc.ILMN	EKG +3.50 points	4.06%	0.56%
Globus Medical, Inc. (Class A)GMED	EKG +3.15 points	3.27%	0.12%
ResMed Inc.RMD	EKG +3.07 points	3.52%	0.45%
Insulet CorporationPODD	EKG +2.91 points	3.04%	0.13%
Tempus AI, Inc. (Class A)TEM	EKG +2.68 points	2.80%	0.12%
Align Technology, Inc.ALGN	EKG +2.61 points	2.75%	0.14%
Hinge Health, Inc. (Class A)HNGE	EKG +2.34 points	2.40%	0.06%
Twist Bioscience CorporationTWST	EKG +2.09 points	2.25%	0.16%
GRAIL, Inc.GRAL	EKG +1.93 points	2.00%	0.07%
Hims & Hers Health, Inc.HIMS	EKG +1.78 points	1.86%	0.08%
10X Genomics, Inc. (Class A)TXG	EKG +1.74 points	1.87%	0.13%
CareDx, Inc.CDNA	EKG +1.36 points	1.40%	0.04%
Heartflow, Inc.HTFL	EKG +1.33 points	1.38%	0.05%
Adaptive Biotechnologies CorporationADPT	EKG +1.27 points	1.32%	0.05%
Doximity, Inc. (Class A)DOCS	EKG +1.16 points	1.21%	0.05%
iRhythm Holdings, Inc.IRTC	EKG +1.07 points	1.12%	0.05%
Waystar Holding Corp.WAY	EKG +0.85 points	0.89%	0.04%
LifeStance Health Group, Inc.LFST	EKG +0.84 points	0.88%	0.04%
Veracyte, Inc.VCYT	EKG +0.81 points	0.86%	0.05%
Privia Health Group, Inc.PRVA	EKG +0.63 points	0.66%	0.03%
GeneDx Holdings Corp.WGS	EKG +0.60 points	0.62%	0.02%
Establishment Labs Holdings Inc.ESTA	EKG +0.52 points	0.54%	0.02%
NeoGenomics, Inc.NEO	EKG +0.50 points	0.53%	0.03%
Inspire Medical Systems, Inc.INSP	EKG +0.50 points	0.52%	0.02%
Progyny, Inc.PGNY	EKG +0.47 points	0.50%	0.03%
TransMedics Group, Inc.TMDX	EKG +0.47 points	0.51%	0.04%
Butterfly Network, Inc.BFLY	EKG +0.44 points	0.46%	0.02%
Teladoc Health, Inc.TDOC	EKG +0.43 points	0.44%	0.01%
Schrodinger, Inc.SDGR	EKG +0.39 points	0.42%	0.03%
Certara, Inc.CERT	EKG +0.36 points	0.37%	0.01%
Tandem Diabetes Care, Inc.TNDM	EKG +0.33 points	0.35%	0.02%
PROCEPT BioRobotics CorporationPRCT	EKG +0.31 points	0.32%	0.01%
Alphatec Holdings, Inc.ATEC	EKG +0.30 points	0.32%	0.02%
Omada Health, Inc.OMDA	EKG +0.30 points	0.31%	0.01%
Cytek Biosciences, Inc.CTKB	EKG +0.24 points	0.25%	<0.01%
Kestra Medical Technologies, Ltd.KMTS	EKG +0.23 points	0.24%	<0.01%
QuidelOrtho CorporationQDEL	EKG +0.20 points	0.21%	0.01%
Phreesia Inc.PHR	EKG +0.19 points	0.20%	<0.01%
Ceribell, Inc.CBLL	EKG +0.19 points	0.20%	<0.01%

All 51 EKG holdings⁠All 411 VHT holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

EKG vs VHT Cost

Overpaying EKG vs VHT

$10,819

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

EKG 0.65%
$12,717
VHT 0.09%
$1,898

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

EKG 0.65%
VHT 0.09%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	EKG	VHT	Overpaying
10	$1,163	$165	$998
20	$4,440	$646	$3,794
30	$12,717	$1,898	$10,819

Expense ratio

0.65%EKG
0.09%VHT, cheaper

VHT0.09%EKG0.65%

0.08%0.85%

Middle half of Health Care (Broad) funds
Median 0.50%

VHT 3rd cheapest of 25 funds

EKG 18th cheapest of 25 funds

EKG vs VHT Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 2, 2026

Yield (12M): EKG No data; VHT 1.35%
Payout (12M): EKG None; VHT $4.61
Last payment: EKG No data; VHT $0.97
Ex-dividend: EKG No data; VHT Sep 23, 2026
Paid on: EKG No data; VHT Sep 25, 2026
Frequency: EKG No data; VHT Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

EKGAll EKG payments⁠

No distribution history available.

VHTQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll VHT payments⁠

EKG vs VHT Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: EKG 22.1%VHT 14.5%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: EKG 0.92, betterVHT 0.83
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: EKG −43.8%since Mar 2022VHT −17.7%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: EKG 1.43VHT 0.58; Market = 1

EKG and VHT in the news

All news⁠

Category Review
Health care funds trail the S&P 500 this year
Updated Oct 7, 2026VHT
Deep Dive
Eli Lilly is 15% of the biggest health care ETF
Sep 25, 2026VHT
Deep Dive
Health care ETFs spent 2026 between a 28% biotech rally and a 16% device slide
Sep 14, 2026VHT

Popular comparisons

EKGDvsXLVA
First Trust Nasdaq Lux Digital Health Solutions ETF · State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF
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0.65% · 0.08%
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EKGDvsFHLCA
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VHTAvsFHLCA
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EKGDvsXHSA
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Vanguard Health Care ETF · State Street SPDR S&P Health Care Services ETF
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EKG vs VHT

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How EKG and VHT differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in EKG

Only in VHT

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Health care funds trail the S&P 500 this year

Eli Lilly is 15% of the biggest health care ETF

Health care ETFs spent 2026 between a 28% biotech rally and a 16% device slide

How EKG and VHT differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in EKG

Only in VHT

Weight gaps