RSPH vs VHT

RSPHBInvesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF

VHTAVanguard Health Care ETF

In short

RSPH Health care without the mega-cap gravity: RSPH gives every health care name in the S&P 500 the same slice, so no single drug giant steers the fund. It has been running that way since 2006.

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

RSPH The Fund seeks to track the investment results of the S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care Index.

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

Why people hold it

• RSPH Equal weighting by design: about 60 S&P 500 health care names, each with the same slice, so one blockbuster drugmaker doesn't set the tone for the basket.
• Charges 0.40% a year, below the 0.50% typical of broad health care ETFs.
• Live since 2006, through drug-pricing fights, patent cliffs and a pandemic, and rated one of the stronger builds in its health care peer group.
• Spread is the point: the portfolio is one of the best-diversified in the cohort, with weight split across the sector rather than parked in a few giants.

• 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

• RSPH The big cap-weighted rivals cost far less: XLV and FHLC charge 0.08%, VHT 0.09%. You're paying up for the equal-weight tilt.
• Equal weight leans toward the sector's smaller members, so results can drift from cap-weighted health care funds in either direction.
• One sector, one set of risks: policy shifts, pricing rules and patent cycles move the whole basket at once.

• 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 RSPH profile⁠

Full VHT profile⁠