The New York Stock Exchange has listed an active healthcare technology ETF that invests in companies focused on enhancing efficiencies in healthcare. The Langar Global HealthTech ETF (NYSE Arca: LGHT) seeks long-term capital growth by targeting U.S.- and foreign exchange-listed healthcare tech companies.
These tech firms aim to enhance efficiency in healthcare by addressing key “pain points” for patients, providers, payors, and/or hospitals. The prospectus describes “pain points” as “consistent problems… when dealing with a product and/or service.” They “are unmet needs that are not adequately addressed for a company to solve in the market.”
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These companies include robotic surgery, virtual/telemedicine, and next-generation insurance payment model firms. Drug developers that leverage AI, digital clinical trial firms, and companies that address hospital operational issues are also considered. LGHT may also invest in companies that use large language models to improve patient intake, monitoring, and treatment.
Langar groups these companies generally into nine subsectors. They are: access to care, biopharma, clinical trials, decision support, hospital operations, insurance, treatment device, lifestyle wellness, and prescription management.
The fund’s managers employ a top-down review and bottom-up research to identify companies it believes are “fundamentally strong.” LGHT may invest in companies from the U.S. and other developed countries and stocks of any market cap.
Rise of the (Cost-Saving) Machines
The healthcare sector is facing operational losses, staffing shortages, and declines in the quality and availability of care. Technology can help alleviate some of these stresses.
“Moving forward, the healthcare industry needs to double down on its efforts to invest in technology that eases workloads, creates operational efficiencies, and ultimately cuts costs,” wrote BJ Schaknowski for Fast Company.
The use of AI is gaining momentum within the healthcare sector. The National Bureau of Economic Research estimates “that wider adoption of AI” could save the U.S. healthcare sector up to $360 billion annually. AI may also deliver “improved healthcare quality, increased access, better patient experience, and greater clinician satisfaction,” per NBER.
LGHT carries an expense ratio of 0.85%.
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