IHE vs PJP

IHEBiShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF

PJPBInvesco Pharmaceuticals ETF

In short

IHE The 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.

PJP Most pharma ETFs simply own the sector's biggest names. PJP runs a rules-based screen for momentum, quality and value across US drugmakers and holds only the roughly 30 that clear it, for 0.58% a year.

Stated mandate

IHE 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.

PJP The fund seeks capital appreciation by investing primarily in pharmaceutical companies selected through the Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index.

Why people hold it

• IHE 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.

• PJP The Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex screen ranks US drugmakers on momentum, quality and value, so holdings are selected by the numbers rather than by size alone.invesco.com
• Trading since 2005, PJP has run this screen through two decades of patent cliffs, drug-pricing fights and FDA cycles.invesco.com
• A tight book of roughly 30 stocks means the screen's picks carry real weight instead of being diluted across a sprawling sector list. Income arrives quarterly.

Worth knowing

• IHE 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.

• PJP At 0.58% a year the fee sits near the pharma category median, but plain cap-weighted rivals undercut it: XPH at 0.35%, PPH at 0.36%, IHE at 0.37%.
• It trades lighter than the category's heavyweights, so spreads can widen and limit orders matter more here.
• Roughly 30 names in one industry: a single trial readout or patent loss lands harder than it would in a broad healthcare fund.

Full IHE profile⁠

Full PJP profile⁠