Vanguard Health Care ETF

VHT

Market cap $15.9B

As AI-fueled gains spark bubble warnings, investors are eyeing defensive ETFs in consumer staples, utilities and healthcare for safety.

Designed to provide broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market, the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) is a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on January 26, 2004.

If a millennial were to ask me what healthcare stock they might buy in order to get rich, I could think of several to name. But as with most stocks, I couldn't be confident that they'd still be performing at a high level a decade or two hence.

AI's growing role in cancer research, and a new federal push for pediatric oncology, are powering gains in key healthcare ETFs.

Looking for broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market? You should consider the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on January 26, 2004.

VHT offers broad, low-cost healthcare exposure with a market-cap weighted approach, favoring large caps but including some small innovators. The ETF is best suited as a core, defensive allocation, benefiting from healthcare's inelastic demand and resilience in downturns. Recent underperformance is due to post-COVID contraction and tech-led rallies, but VHT remains well-positioned for defensive rotation.

VHT is attractively valued at 16x forward earnings, but sector momentum is weak and technicals remain bearish. Healthcare sector underperforms YTD, with key holdings like UNH and LLY facing significant declines, increasing near-term downside risk. VHT's portfolio is large-cap heavy and offers a solid dividend yield, but concentration risk and volatility are elevated.

Just a few months ago, healthcare was the third-highest-weighted sector in the S&P 500 behind only technology and financials. But healthcare has been drastically underperforming the S&P 500 to the point where it has now slipped behind consumer discretionary and communications.

Launched on 01/26/2004, the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to provide a broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market.

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