Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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FXH vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FXH returned +21.5% to VHT's +25.0%; 33% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $1.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust Health Care AlphaDEX Fund, and $19.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Health Care ETF.

At a glance
+21.5%
FXH total return, 1 year
+25.0%
VHT total return, 1 year
0.61%
FXH expense ratio
0.09%
VHT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VHT costs 0.52 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.5 points.

FXH vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFXHVHT
Return
Total return, 1 year+21.5%+25.0%
Benchmark
What it tracksStrataQuant Health Care IndexMSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.61%0.09%
Net assets, FXH as of Oct 27, 2026 and VHT as of Sep 30, 2026$1.1bn$19.1bn
Holdings
Holdings in common33%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund24.7%51.8%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,014 weekly returns
FXH VHT
Return
Total return edge VHT (slight) +601.0% +621.4%
Annualized edge Tie +10.5% +10.7%
Price return edge FXH +581.6% +435.0%
Risk
Volatility edge VHT (slight) 18.5% 17.2%
Max drawdown edge VHT (slight) −41.9% −38.1%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge VHT (slight) 0.55 0.59
Sortino edge VHT (slight) 0.77 0.83
Calmar edge VHT 0.25 0.28
Reading

VHT returned slightly more: +621.4% to +601.0%. VHT swung slightly less: 17.2% to 18.5%. VHT fell slightly less at its worst: −38.1% to −41.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: FXH vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFXHVHTEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+601.0%+621.4%VHT (slight)Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+10.5%+10.7%TieTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+581.6%+435.0%FXHPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility18.5%17.2%VHT (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation13.2%12.2%VHT (slight)Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−41.9%−38.1%VHT (slight)Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.550.59VHT (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.770.83VHT (slight)Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.250.28VHTAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,014 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

33%

By the books each fund has filed, FXH and VHT hold 33% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

33% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FXH VHT
Eli Lilly and Company 2.04% 12.95%
Amgen Inc. 1.96% 3.18%
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company 1.82% 1.78%
Medtronic Plc 1.92% 1.54%
AbbVie Inc. 1.41% 6.46%
Elevance Health Inc. 1.40% 1.15%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 1.98% 1.09%
The Cigna Group 2.53% 1.00%
Abbott Laboratories 0.96% 2.41%
Pfizer Inc. 0.96% 2.27%
HCA Healthcare, Inc. 1.36% 0.93%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 0.92% 1.85%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FXH
Caris Life Sciences, Inc. 2.53%
QIAGEN N.V. 1.48%
Ascendis Pharma A/S 1.39%
Only in VHT
Merck & Co Inc 5.02%
Gilead Sciences Inc 2.59%
CVS Health Corp 1.53%
McKesson Corp 1.40%
Moderna Inc 0.91%
Cencora Inc 0.78%
Cardinal Health Inc 0.73%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp 0.69%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FXH First Trust Health Care AlphaDEX Fund VHT Vanguard Health Care ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index of Health Care
Total return, 1 year +21.5% +25.0%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured +25.4% (FHLC)
Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.4 pts vs FHLC
Expense ratio 0.61% 0.09%
Already in the S&P 500 59.2% 85.5%
Holdings 72 414
Net assets, FXH as of Oct 27, 2026 and VHT as of Sep 30, 2026 $1.1bn $19.1bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-F6EA3FF230

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

  1. What each follows. FXH follows StrataQuant Health Care Index and VHT follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50.
  2. Holdings in common. 33% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FXH returned +21.5% and VHT +25.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.5 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
FXH

FXH tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +21.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.61% 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 72 positions, with the top ten at 24.7%.

VHT

VHT tracks an index of Health Care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.0% with distributions reinvested, against +25.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 86% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 414 positions, with the top ten at 51.8%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FXH or VHT?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FXH returned +21.5% and VHT +25.0%.
Which is cheaper, FXH or VHT?
VHT is cheaper, by 0.52 percentage points a year. That is about $52 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FXH and VHT overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 59% of FXH and 86% of VHT by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, FXH against VHT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fxh-vs-vht

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