Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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FTXH vs IHE: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FTXH returned +47.9% to IHE's +41.9%; 40% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.2bn for First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF and $1.6bn for iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF.

At a glance
+47.9%
FTXH total return, 1 year
+41.9%
IHE total return, 1 year
0.60%
FTXH expense ratio
0.37%
IHE expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IHE costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.0 points; IHE is 1.3 times larger.

FTXH vs IHE: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFTXHIHE
Return
Total return, 1 year+47.9%+41.9%
Drawdown
Below its high3.9%, high on Aug 19, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksNasdaq US Smart Pharmaceuticals IndexDow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.60%0.37%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$1.2bn$1.6bn
Holdings
Holdings in common40%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund54.8%80.4%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Sep 30, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 525 weekly returns
FTXH IHE
Return
Total return edge FTXH (slight) +145.2% +139.9%
Annualized edge FTXH (slight) +9.3% +9.1%
Price return edge FTXH (slight) +116.4% +105.8%
Risk
Volatility edge Tie 18.3% 18.1%
Max drawdown edge IHE (slight) −28.9% −26.7%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge FTXH (slight) 0.44 0.43
Sortino edge Tie 0.63 0.63
Calmar edge IHE (slight) 0.32 0.34
Reading

FTXH returned slightly more: +145.2% to +139.9%. FTXH and IHE swung about the same: 18.3% and 18.1%. IHE fell slightly less at its worst: −26.7% to −28.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: FTXH vs IHE: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFTXHIHEEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+145.2%+139.9%FTXH (slight)Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+9.3%+9.1%FTXH (slight)Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return+116.4%+105.8%FTXH (slight)Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility18.3%18.1%TieSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation12.8%12.5%IHE (slight)Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−28.9%−26.7%IHE (slight)Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.440.43FTXH (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.630.63TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.320.34IHE (slight)Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 525 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

40%

By the books each fund has filed, FTXH and IHE hold 40% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

40% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTXH IHE
Eli Lilly and Company 7.62% 25.28%
Johnson & Johnson 6.95% 22.31%
Pfizer Inc. 7.20% 4.76%
Merck & Co., Inc. 6.60% 4.26%
Viatris Inc. 3.90% 4.67%
Zoetis Inc. 3.49% 4.73%
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 3.17% 4.24%
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc 2.26% 2.91%
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated 1.12% 2.46%
Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 0.59% 0.86%
Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Class B) 0.52% 1.35%
Corcept Therapeutics Inc. 0.37% 1.81%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FTXH
AbbVie Inc. 7.68%
Biogen Inc. 4.01%
Gilead Sciences, Inc. 3.74%
Amgen Inc. 3.58%
United Therapeutics Corporation 3.54%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 3.51%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 3.29%
Incyte Corporation 3.22%
Only in IHE
ROYALTY PHARMA PLC CLASS A 4.78%
AXSOME THERAPEUTICS 1.37%
DEFINIUM THERAPEUTICS INC 1.08%
VERADERMICS 0.96%
INDIVIOR PHARMACEUTICALS INC 0.89%
ORGANON 0.78%
EDGEWISE THERAPEUTICS 0.70%
AMYLYX PHARMACEUTICALS 0.63%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTXH First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF IHE iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +47.9% +41.9%
Expense ratio 0.60% 0.37%
Already in the S&P 500 68.0% 65.5%
Holdings 50 54
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.2bn $1.6bn

FTXH and IHE on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-6274024CEA

FTXH and IHE are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. What each follows. FTXH follows Nasdaq US Smart Pharmaceuticals Index and IHE follows Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 40% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FTXH returned +47.9% and IHE +41.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 6.0 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
FTXH

FTXH tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +47.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 68% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 50 positions, with the top ten at 54.8%.

IHE

IHE tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +41.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 66% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 54 positions, with the top ten at 80.4%. It sat 3.9% below its high of Aug 19, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FTXH or IHE?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTXH returned +47.9% and IHE +41.9%.
Which is cheaper, FTXH or IHE?
IHE is cheaper, by 0.23 percentage points a year. That is about $23 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FTXH and IHE overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 68% of FTXH and 66% of IHE by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, FTXH against IHE, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftxh-vs-ihe

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