Exchange traded funds dedicated to pharmaceuticals makers took their lumps during the March/April biotechnology swoon, but a biotech resurgence coupled with ongoing strength in blue chip pharmaceuticals names lifted several ETFs to all-time highs last Friday.
One of those funds was the PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals Portfolio (NYSEArca: PJP). There are several dedicated pharma ETFs and while that may imply some level of saturation in terms of ETFs for this particular industry, it is worth noting these funds employ different methodologies.
There are cap-weighted and equal-weight pharma ETFs, but PJP employs a more pure approach to intelligent indexing with a combination emphasis on momentum and quality. Those two themes are increasingly prominent when it comes to ETF indexing. [Index Swap Lifts These Sector ETFs]
PJP tracks the Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index which evaluates companies for inclusion based on “price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action, and value,” according to PowerShares.
When investors hear “momentum” pertaining to a health care ETF, the typical reaction is that the fund in question is either heavily tilted toward biotech names, small-caps or both. However, that is not necessarily the case with PJP.
Just over a quarter of the ETF’s 29 holdings are small-caps and just 23.6% of the fund’s weight is allocated to biotech issues. [Big Rebound for Momo Tech ETF]