IHI vs VHT

IHIBiShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF

VHTAVanguard Health Care ETF

In short

IHI Medical devices only: pacemakers, insulin pumps, surgical robots. No pharma, no insurers, no hospitals riding along. iShares has run this narrow slice since 2006, and it costs less than the typical thematic fund.

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

IHI The fund seeks to track an index of U.S. equities focused on the medical devices sector, providing targeted exposure to domestic medical-equipment manufacturers and distributors.

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

Why people hold it

• IHI At 0.37% a year, it undercuts the typical fund in its thematic peer group, which sits closer to 0.56%.
• Tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Medical Equipment Index: roughly 50 US device makers and distributors, and nothing else wearing a lab coat.ishares.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so entering and exiting rarely means wrestling with the spread.
• Live since 2006 and one of the sturdier builds in its thematic cohort, with no structural quirks flagged.

• 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

• IHI About 50 names means a handful of big device makers carry most of the weight. Single-company news lands harder here than in a broad healthcare fund.
• One narrow slice of one sector, all US-listed. It can travel a long way from the broad market in either direction.
• Distributions arrive quarterly, but the mandate is device-maker stock exposure, not a yield engine.

• 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 IHI profile⁠

Full VHT profile⁠