PJP vs XPH

PJPBInvesco Pharmaceuticals ETF

XPHBState Street SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF

In short

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.

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

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

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

Why people hold it

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 PJP profile⁠

Full XPH profile⁠