Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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IYH vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IYH returned +25.3% to VHT's +25.0%; 88% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $4.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF, and $19.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Health Care ETF.

At a glance
+25.3%
IYH total return, 1 year
+25.0%
VHT total return, 1 year
0.37%
IYH expense ratio
0.09%
VHT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VHT costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.3 points; VHT is 4.8 times larger.

IYH vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureIYHVHT
Return
Total return, 1 year+25.3%+25.0%
Benchmark
What it tracksRussell 1000 Health Care RIC 22MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.37%0.09%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026$4.0bn$19.1bn
Holdings
Holdings in common88%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund58.9%51.8%

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

Risk and return

Feb 6, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,185 weekly returns
IYH VHT
Return
Total return edge VHT (slight) +745.0% +797.6%
Annualized edge VHT (slight) +9.8% +10.1%
Price return edge VHT (slight) +526.5% +552.3%
Risk
Volatility edge Tie 16.2% 16.4%
Max drawdown edge IYH (slight) −37.3% −38.1%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge Tie 0.55 0.56
Sortino edge Tie 0.78 0.79
Calmar edge Tie 0.26 0.27
Reading

VHT returned slightly more: +797.6% to +745.0%. IYH and VHT swung about the same: 16.2% and 16.4%. IYH fell slightly less at its worst: −37.3% to −38.1%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: IYH vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureIYHVHTEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+745.0%+797.6%VHT (slight)Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+9.8%+10.1%VHT (slight)Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return+526.5%+552.3%VHT (slight)Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility16.2%16.4%TieSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation11.4%11.6%TieLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−37.3%−38.1%IYH (slight)Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.550.56TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.780.79TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.260.27TieAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,185 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

88%

By the books each fund has filed, IYH and VHT hold 88% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

88% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IYH VHT
ELI LILLY 15.29% 12.95%
JOHNSON & JOHNSON 9.67% 8.79%
ABBVIE 7.57% 6.46%
MERCK & CO INC 5.24% 5.02%
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP 5.54% 4.66%
THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC 3.85% 3.51%
AMGEN INC 3.61% 3.18%
GILEAD SCIENCES 2.95% 2.59%
ABBOTT LABORATORIES 2.67% 2.41%
PFIZER 2.53% 2.27%
INTUITIVE SURGICAL 2.35% 2.01%
DANAHER 2.19% 1.97%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in IYH
ROYALTY PHARMA PLC CLASS A 0.40%
ASCENDIS PHARMA 0.20%
QIAGEN 0.15%
CARIS LIFE SCIENCES 0.06%
E-MINI HEALTH CARE SECTOR DEC 26 0.00%
HOLOGIC INC 0.00%
Only in VHT
CVS Health Corp 1.53%
McKesson Corp 1.40%
Cencora Inc 0.78%
Cardinal Health Inc 0.73%
Mettler-Toledo International Inc 0.43%
MKTLIQ 0.24%
Twist Bioscience Corp 0.16%
SLBBH1142 0.14%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IYH iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF 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 +25.3% +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 0.37% 0.09%
Already in the S&P 500 90.3% 85.5%
Holdings 101 414
Net assets, IYH as of Oct 28, 2026 and VHT as of Sep 30, 2026 $4.5bn $19.1bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-CCF78B6C5D

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

  1. What each follows. IYH follows Russell 1000 Health Care RIC 22 and VHT follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50.
  2. Number of holdings. IYH holds 101 positions and VHT holds 414.
  3. Cost. IYH charges 0.37% of assets a year and VHT 0.09%, a gap of 0.28 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
IYH

IYH tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 101 positions, with the top ten at 58.9%.

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, IYH or VHT?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IYH returned +25.3% and VHT +25.0%.
Which is cheaper, IYH 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.
How much do IYH and VHT overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 90% of IYH and 86% of VHT by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, IYH against VHT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iyh-vs-vht

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