PowerShares S&P SmallCap Health Care Portfolio (NasdaqGS: PSCH)
YTD: Up 10.6%
Comment: PSCH, the small-cap counterpart to XLV, was one of the six healthcare ETFs that hit all-time highs Thursday. Although the combination of small-caps and health care often prompts investors to think of high risk-high reward biotechnology stocks, PSCH is not a biotech ETF in disguise.
Actually, the opposite is true. PSCH’s biotech weight is less than 6.3%, making that the ETF’s smallest industry weight. Medical device makers and services providers, two of the strongest performing healthcare sub-sectors this year, combine for nearly 65% of PSCH’s weight. Nearly three-quarters of the ETF’s 70 holdings are considered small-cap growth names.