Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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FTXH vs PPH: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FTXH returned +47.9% to PPH's +27.4%; 36% 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 $1.0bn for VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF.

At a glance
+47.9%
FTXH total return, 1 year
+27.4%
PPH total return, 1 year
0.60%
FTXH expense ratio
0.36%
PPH expense ratio

Pair scorecard

PPH costs 0.24 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 20.5 points; FTXH is 1.2 times larger.

FTXH vs PPH: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFTXHPPH
Return
Total return, 1 year+47.9%+27.4%
Benchmark
What it tracksNasdaq US Smart Pharmaceuticals IndexMVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.60%0.36%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$1.2bn$1.0bn
Holdings
Holdings in common36%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund54.8%71.6%

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

Risk and return

Sep 30, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 525 weekly returns
FTXH PPH
Return
Total return edge Tie +145.2% +142.7%
Annualized edge Tie +9.3% +9.2%
Price return edge FTXH +116.4% +100.0%
Risk
Volatility edge PPH (slight) 18.3% 17.8%
Max drawdown edge PPH (slight) −28.9% −26.4%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge Tie 0.44 0.44
Sortino edge Tie 0.63 0.62
Calmar edge PPH (slight) 0.32 0.35
Reading

FTXH and PPH returned about the same: +145.2% and +142.7%. PPH swung slightly less: 17.8% to 18.3%. PPH fell slightly less at its worst: −26.4% to −28.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: FTXH vs PPH: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFTXHPPHEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+145.2%+142.7%TiePrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+9.3%+9.2%TieTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+116.4%+100.0%FTXHPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility18.3%17.8%PPH (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation12.8%12.6%TieLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−28.9%−26.4%PPH (slight)Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.440.44TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.630.62TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.320.35PPH (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

36%

By the books each fund has filed, FTXH and PPH hold 36% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

36% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTXH PPH
Eli Lilly and Company 7.62% 21.88%
Merck & Co., Inc. 6.60% 12.40%
Pfizer Inc. 7.20% 5.14%
AbbVie Inc. 7.68% 3.79%
Johnson & Johnson 6.95% 3.34%
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 3.17% 4.58%
Zoetis Inc. 3.49% 2.64%
Viatris Inc. 3.90% 1.51%
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc 2.26% 1.12%
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated 1.12% 0.48%
Corcept Therapeutics Inc. 0.37% 0.56%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FTXH
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%
Exelixis, Inc. 2.50%
Only in PPH
Novo Nordisk A/S 5.45%
Mckesson Corp 4.68%
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd 4.63%
Gsk Plc 4.52%
Cencora Inc 4.34%
Haleon Plc 3.94%
Novartis Ag 3.79%
Astrazeneca Plc 3.60%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTXH First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF PPH VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +47.9% +27.4%
Expense ratio 0.60% 0.36%
Already in the S&P 500 68.0% 58.7%
Holdings 50 25
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.2bn $1.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-2FC991170E

FTXH and PPH 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 PPH follows MVIS US Listed Pharmaceutical 25 Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 36% 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 PPH +27.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 20.5 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%.

PPH

PPH tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +27.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.36% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 59% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 25 positions, with the top ten at 71.6%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FTXH or PPH?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTXH returned +47.9% and PPH +27.4%.
Which is cheaper, FTXH or PPH?
PPH is cheaper, by 0.24 percentage points a year. That is about $24 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FTXH and PPH overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 68% of FTXH and 59% of PPH by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, FTXH against PPH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftxh-vs-pph

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