FHLC vs MDEV

FHLCAFidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF

MDEVDFirst Trust Indxx Medical Devices ETF

In short

FHLC Health care, whole market. FHLC tracks an MSCI index that runs from mega-cap pharma down to small-cap biotech and device makers, roughly 400 names, for 0.08% a year.

MDEV Medical devices, worldwide and evenly sliced. MDEV tracks a global index of roughly 50 device and equipment makers in similar-sized weights, so a mid-cap scanner or surgical-robot maker counts about as much as the household-name giants.

Stated mandate

FHLC The fund seeks to track the performance of the MSCI USA IMI Health Care Index before fees and expenses.

MDEV The Fund seeks to track the performance of the Indxx Medical Devices Index before fees and expenses, using an indexing approach.

Why people hold it

• FHLC Charges 0.08% a year against a 0.50% median for broad health care ETFs. Only XLV matches that sticker; VHT sits a hair above.
• The IMI index it follows reaches for about 99% of US free-float market value, so smaller biotech and device names ride along with the pharma giants.msci.com
• Mirrors its benchmark closely, one of the tighter tracking jobs among broad health care funds. Distributions come quarterly.
• Fidelity has run it since 2013, and it has grown into a multi-billion-dollar fund with a plain vanilla index mandate.fidelity.com

• MDEV Pure play by design: the index covers the medical equipment industry only, and at least 80% of net assets go into its constituents. No pharma or insurers riding along.usnews.com
• Equal weighting keeps one mega-cap from running the show. About 50 device names get similar-sized slices, pushing real weight toward the mid-sized makers.public.comrobinhood.com
• Global by mandate, not US-only: the fund holds common stocks and depositary receipts from device makers listed outside the States, using plain physical index replication.businesswire.comusnews.com

Worth knowing

• FHLC One sector, one country. Drug-pricing politics, patent cliffs and FDA rulings move the whole portfolio at once.
• Free-float cap weighting means a handful of mega-cap insurers and drugmakers carry most of the weight; that long tail of small names counts for less than it looks.msci.com
• Moderately traded rather than the category's volume leader, so spreads matter more on large or hurried orders.

• MDEV At 0.70% a year, it costs more than the typical global thematic fund, and well above cheaper cohort names like PBPH (0.13%) or UFOX (0.30%).
• Small and thinly traded: spreads can run wide, and sub-scale funds face a higher chance of closure or merger than their bigger shelf-mates.
• One industry, about 50 stocks. Reimbursement rules, hospital budgets and regulators move the whole basket at once, and payouts come once or twice a year.

Full FHLC profile⁠

Full MDEV profile⁠