Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IHE vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IHE returned +41.9% to VHT's +25.0%; 32% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about IHE and VHT
Net assets: $1.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF, and $19.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Health Care ETF.
Pair scorecard
VHT costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 16.9 points; VHT is 11.9 times larger.
| Measure | IHE | VHT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +41.9% | +25.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.9%, high on Aug 19, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.37% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $1.6bn | $19.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 32% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 80.4% | 51.8% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
May 12, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,067 weekly returnsIHE and VHT returned about the same: +752.9% and +768.1%. VHT swung slightly less: 16.9% to 18.4%. IHE fell slightly less at its worst: −36.6% to −38.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IHE | VHT | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +752.9% | +768.1% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.0% | +11.1% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +531.9% | +537.0% | Tie | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.4% | 16.9% | VHT (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.8% | 12.0% | VHT (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −36.6% | −38.1% | IHE (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.57 | 0.61 | VHT (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.81 | 0.86 | VHT (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.30 | 0.29 | IHE (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,067 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IHE and VHT hold 32% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
32% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IHE and VHT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IHE and VHT are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. IHE follows Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index and VHT follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 32% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IHE returned +41.9% and VHT +25.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 16.9 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.
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.
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, IHE or VHT?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IHE returned +41.9% and VHT +25.0%.
- Which is cheaper, IHE or VHT?
- VHT is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, IHE against VHT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ihe-vs-vht
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IHE against VHT. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ihe-vs-vht
[IHE against VHT (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ihe-vs-vht)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.