Looking for broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on 12/16/1998.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Sector ETFs are also funds of convenience, offering many ways to gain low risk and diversified exposure to a broad group of companies in particular sectors. Healthcare - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 1, placing it in top 6%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by State Street Global Advisors. It has amassed assets over $37.08 billion, making it the largest ETF attempting to match the performance of the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market. XLV seeks to match the performance of the Health Care Select Sector Index before fees and expenses.
The Health Care Select Sector Index includes companies from the following industries: pharmaceuticals; health care providers & services; health care equipment & supplies; biotechnology; life sciences tools & services; and health care technology.
Costs
Expense ratios are an important factor in the return of an ETF and in the long term, cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts, other things remaining the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.10%, making it one of the least expensive products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.64%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector--about 100% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Unitedhealth Group Inc (UNH) accounts for about 10.31% of total assets, followed by Eli Lilly + Co (LLY) and Johnson + Johnson W/d (JNJ).
The top 10 holdings account for about 55.80% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
Year-to-date, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF has lost about -3.29% so far, and is down about -2% over the last 12 months (as of 11/22/2023). XLV has traded between $123.14 and $140.10 in this past 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.68 and standard deviation of 14.46% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 67 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.