IHI vs XLV

IHIBiShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF

XLVAState Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR 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.

XLV Live since 1998, XLV is the original way to own health care: about 60 S&P 500 names, a 0.08% fee, and one of the busiest tickers in the sector. Big pharma and device makers, not small-cap biotech.

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.

XLV The fund seeks to track, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the Health Care Select Sector Index, which represents the health care sector of the S&P 500 Index.

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.

• XLV 0.08% a year against a cohort median of 0.50%. That ties it with FHLC as the cheapest in the group and edges VHT at 0.09%.
• One of the most actively traded funds in its category, which generally keeps bid-ask spreads thin whether you trade 10 shares or 10,000.
• Launched December 1998 as one of the first US sector funds, and it has tracked its S&P 500 health care index closely ever since.
• Covers the whole sector in one line: pharma, devices, providers, biotech, life-science tools and health tech. Pays quarterly.ssga.com

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.

• XLV Cap-weighted and about 60 names deep, so the largest drug and device makers carry most of the weight.ssga.com
• S&P 500 members only. Mid- and small-cap health care names sit outside the mandate.
• One sector, one set of headlines: drug pricing rules, patent expirations and policy shifts move the whole basket together.

Full IHI profile⁠

Full XLV profile⁠