Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

vsCompare their flowsaskIQ about these two fundsAsk the committee about these two funds
Across categories

FTXH vs IXJ: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share
Share on XDownload as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FTXH returned +47.9% to IXJ's +20.8%; 38% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about FTXH and IXJ

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.2bn for First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF and $4.5bn for iShares Global Healthcare ETF.

At a glance
+47.9%
FTXH total return, 1 year
+20.8%
IXJ total return, 1 year
0.60%
FTXH expense ratio
0.38%
IXJ expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IXJ costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 27.1 points; IXJ is 3.8 times larger.

FTXH vs IXJ: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFTXHIXJ
Return
Total return, 1 year+47.9%+20.8%
Benchmark
What it tracksNasdaq US Smart Pharmaceuticals IndexS&P Global 1200 Health Care Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.60%0.38%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$1.2bn$4.5bn
Holdings
Holdings in common38%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund54.8%47.5%

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

Risk and return

Sep 30, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 525 weekly returns
FTXH IXJ
Return
Total return edge IXJ (slight) +145.2% +152.0%
Annualized edge IXJ (slight) +9.3% +9.6%
Price return edge Tie +116.4% +117.2%
Risk
Volatility edge IXJ 18.3% 16.4%
Max drawdown edge IXJ −28.9% −24.3%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge IXJ (slight) 0.44 0.49
Sortino edge IXJ (slight) 0.63 0.70
Calmar edge IXJ 0.32 0.39
Reading

IXJ returned slightly more: +152.0% to +145.2%. IXJ swung less: 16.4% to 18.3%. IXJ fell less at its worst: −24.3% to −28.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: FTXH vs IXJ: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFTXHIXJEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+145.2%+152.0%IXJ (slight)Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+9.3%+9.6%IXJ (slight)Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return+116.4%+117.2%TiePrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility18.3%16.4%IXJSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation12.8%11.5%IXJLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−28.9%−24.3%IXJDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.440.49IXJ (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.630.70IXJ (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.320.39IXJAnnualized 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

38%

By the books each fund has filed, FTXH and IXJ hold 38% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

38% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTXH IXJ
Eli Lilly and Company 7.62% 10.85%
Johnson & Johnson 6.95% 6.85%
AbbVie Inc. 7.68% 5.35%
Merck & Co., Inc. 6.60% 4.06%
Amgen Inc. 3.58% 2.82%
Gilead Sciences, Inc. 3.74% 2.29%
Pfizer Inc. 7.20% 1.98%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 3.29% 1.53%
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 3.17% 1.46%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 3.51% 0.93%
Moderna, Inc. 0.71% 0.90%
Illumina, Inc. 2.22% 0.49%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FTXH
United Therapeutics Corporation 3.54%
Exelixis, Inc. 2.50%
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc 2.26%
Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. 1.77%
Medpace Holdings, Inc. 1.60%
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. 1.19%
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 1.12%
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated 1.12%
Only in IXJ
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP 4.28%
ROCHE PS PAR AG 3.93%
NOVARTIS AG 3.31%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 3.08%
THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC 2.98%
ABBOTT LABORATORIES 2.07%
INTUITIVE SURGICAL 1.83%
DANAHER 1.69%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTXH First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF IXJ iShares Global Healthcare ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +47.9% +20.8%
Expense ratio 0.60% 0.38%
Already in the S&P 500 68.0% 70.9%
Holdings 50 110
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.2bn $4.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-2BDF25A60E

FTXH and IXJ 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 IXJ follows S&P Global 1200 Health Care Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 38% 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 IXJ +20.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 27.1 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

FTXH and IXJ flows, by email on Sundays.

One-click unsubscribe. See Privacy.

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%.

IXJ

IXJ tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +20.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.38% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 71% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 110 positions, with the top ten at 47.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FTXH or IXJ?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTXH returned +47.9% and IXJ +20.8%.
Which is cheaper, FTXH or IXJ?
IXJ is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FTXH and IXJ overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 68% of FTXH and 71% of IXJ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Other comparisons
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, FTXH against IXJ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftxh-vs-ixj

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.