Should You Invest in the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV)?

Core Insights - The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) is designed to provide broad exposure to the Healthcare - Broad segment of the equity market, launched on December 16, 1998 [1] - XLV is the largest ETF in the Healthcare - Broad segment, with assets exceeding $32.7 billion [3] - The ETF has a low annual operating expense of 0.08% and a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.8% [5] Index and Holdings - The Health Care Select Sector Index includes companies from various industries such as pharmaceuticals, health care providers & services, health care equipment & supplies, biotechnology, life sciences tools & services, and health care technology [4] - Eli Lilly + Co (LLY) is the largest holding, accounting for approximately 12.82% of total assets, with the top 10 holdings representing about 55.33% of total assets [7][6] Performance Metrics - As of August 14, 2025, XLV has experienced a loss of about 2.24% year-to-date and a decline of approximately 10.27% over the past year [8] - The ETF has traded between $128.77 and $157.24 in the last 52 weeks, with a beta of 0.62 and a standard deviation of 14.03% over the trailing three-year period, indicating medium risk [8] Alternatives and Rankings - XLV holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), indicating strong expected returns based on various factors [9] - Other ETFs in the healthcare space include iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) with $3.72 billion in assets and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) with $15.11 billion in assets, with expense ratios of 0.41% and 0.09% respectively [10]