In Healthcare ETFs, Is iShares Pharma a Better Buy Than VanEck Biotech?
VanEck's concentrated 25-stock biotech play offers higher volatility, while iShares' broader pharma exposure delivered a 1.4% dividend yield and lower drawdown risk.
Overview
The iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEMKT:IHE) and VanEck Biotech ETF (NASDAQ:BBH) offer targeted exposure to healthcare, with one focusing on established pharmaceutical giants and the other on high-growth genetic research firms.
Both funds provide concentrated access to specific healthcare sub-sectors, providing tools for investors looking to outpace broader market benchmarks through specialized thematic exposure. While the VanEck fund targets the biotechnology industry via a concentrated 24-stock index, the iShares fund casts a wider net across the established U.S. pharmaceutical landscape. Investors may choose between these two vehicles to dial into different risk-reward profiles within the drug-development and medical innovation fields, depending on their outlook for high-growth genetics versus the relative stability of pharmaceutical giants that often have more diversified cash flows.
Details
Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from monthly returns over the available fund history (up to five years). The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield as of the close of trading on Aug. 13, 2026.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.