IHE vs XPH

IHEBiShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF

XPHBState Street SPDR S&P 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.

XPH Most pharma funds are a mega-cap sandwich. XPH equal-weights instead, so a small-cap drugmaker gets roughly the same say as an industry giant, across about 60 names, for 0.35% 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.

XPH The fund seeks to provide exposure to the pharmaceuticals segment of the S&P TMI.

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.

• XPH Modified equal weighting with quarterly rebalances: the index trims what has run and keeps real room for small and mid-cap drugmakers, not just the household names.ssga.com
• At 0.35%, the cheapest sticker in its pharma peer group and well under the group median of 0.57% (PPH 0.36%, IHE 0.37%, PJP 0.57%, FTXH 0.60%).
• Pure pharma, not a health care grab bag: it draws only from the pharmaceuticals segment of the S&P Total Market Index. No insurers, hospitals or device makers.ssga.com
• Running since 2006 under a single index rulebook, with assets in the mid-size range and about 60 holdings behind it.

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.

• XPH Equal weighting pulls the portfolio down the cap ladder, where trial results and FDA decisions can swing a single stock hard. Expect a bumpier ride than mega-cap pharma.ssga.com
• One industry, one country. Drug pricing rules and patent cliffs hit the whole basket at once.
• Moderately traded rather than a volume monster, so spreads can widen. Limit orders are the usual answer.

Full IHE profile⁠

Full XPH profile⁠