Healthcare exchange traded funds have been among the best performing market segment this year, and money managers anticipate the sector may still have legs.
Year-to-date, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLV) gained 10.3%, iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (NYSEArca: IYH) rose 11.0% of Vanguard Health Care ETF (NYSEArca: VHT) increased 11.6% and Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF (NYSEArca: FHLC) returned 11.6%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 index added 3.5.
Ever since Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen sounded off a warning on the biotech sector, undeterred money managers have been adding on to their healthcare positions, reports David Randall for Reuters.
According to Lipper data, the average active large-cap equity fund now includes about 15.8% healthcare stocks, their highest tilt in three years.
ETF investors have also been adding on healthcare exposure. For instance, XLV attracted $1.3 billion in net asset inflows year-to-date while IYH added $397.9 million, VHT brought in $915.8 million and FHLC saw $211.7 million in inflows, according to ETF.com.
“With aging demographics in the US and the developed world, healthcare needs are going to grow dramatically faster than GDP,” portfolio manager Graham Tanaka said in the article.