VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF
Performance
Total return to 23 Oct 2026, distributions reinvested, before franking. ASX figures are to 30 Sept 2026 and gross of franking, so they run higher for franked Australian funds.
What it costs to hold
Management fee plus trading costs, compared with similar funds.
A typical fund among Global ex-Australia equity funds would cost $296 (0.59% a year), so HLTH is $48 cheaper.
Spread is the average gap between buying and selling prices on the ASX. Fees are shown on a flat balance, not compounded on growth. Excludes tax and any adviser or platform fees.
Calendar-year returns
Where the money is
Look-through exposure as at 3 Sept 2026 · 50 securities · top 10 = 27.2%
Country
Monthly returns
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | −5.5 | 0.9 | −3.2 | −5.0 | 3.2 | 5.9 | −0.2 | 2.1 | −0.4 | 4.4 | 1.3YTD | ||
| 2025 | 6.7 | −2.7 | −4.0 | −0.6 | 2.7 | −1.8 | −0.2 | 1.2 | −0.4 | 4.2 | 9.6 | −4.8 | 9.3 |
| 2024 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 3.2 | −5.5 | −1.1 | 0.4 | 7.8 | 1.2 | −4.7 | 2.9 | 0.3 | −1.5 | 10.3 |
| 2023 | −3.3 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.7 | −3.5 | −1.4 | 3.0 | 1.1 | −4.7 | −5.3 | 3.9 | 4.5 | −1.9 |
| 2022 | −11.0 | −2.8 | 2.3 | −6.4 | 0.2 | −1.5 | 4.9 | −6.7 | −2.4 | 8.7 | 2.8 | −1.8 | −14.1 |
| 2021 | 1.3 | −5.8 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 7.8 | −5.5 | −5.2 | 6.3 | 0.5 | 21.0 |
| 2020 | −1.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
Total return each month in %, distributions reinvested, before franking. The latest month runs to the last price date. The first year starts from listing.
Top holdings
Most similar funds
Overlap is the share of the portfolio held in common, look-through. Correlation is of daily returns. High overlap means close substitutes.
HLTH questions answered
Written from the latest data on this page. General information only, not financial advice.
How diversified is VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF?
VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF holds 50 securities, and its ten largest positions make up 27.2% of the fund, more spread out than the 36.4% typical of Global ex-Australia equity funds. That makes it moderately diversified.
Its largest country exposure is United States at 62.0%, based on holdings as at 3 Sept 2026.
Which ETFs does HLTH double up with most?
HLTH shares the most holdings with Betashares Global Healthcare ETF - Currency Hedged (DRUG) (27% overlap), Betashares Global Quality Leaders ETF (QLTY) (10% overlap) and Betashares Global Quality Leaders ETF - Currency Hedged (HQLT) (10% overlap). Overlap is the share of the portfolio the two funds hold in common, looking through to the underlying securities.
None of these overlaps is above half, so pairing HLTH with one of them adds some genuinely different holdings.
How is VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF managed – active or passive?
VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF is passively managed: it follows an index and holds what that index holds, rather than relying on a manager's stock picks.
Among Global ex-Australia equity funds, active funds charge a median 0.75% a year and index funds 0.45%.
What will I pay in fees for HLTH?
HLTH charges a management fee of 0.45% a year, about $45 for every $10,000 invested. Only 46% of the 471 ASX ETFs we track charge more, and the median fee is 0.44%. Among Global ex-Australia equity funds, the median is 0.55%.
Lower-cost funds with a similar focus include iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) at 0.41%.
The fee is taken from the fund's assets and is already reflected in its returns. You'll also pay brokerage when you buy or sell, and the bid-ask spread, which has averaged 0.24% for HLTH.
Does VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF follow a theme?
Yes. VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF focuses on healthcare. Thematic funds are narrower than the broad market, so they can rise or fall much more than it does.
Other ASX funds with a healthcare focus include iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ), Betashares Global Healthcare ETF - Currency Hedged (DRUG) and Global X S&P Biotech ETF (CURE).
What is under the hood of HLTH?
As at 3 Sept 2026, HLTH's ten largest holdings are Illumina Inc (3.3%), Halozyme Therapeutics Inc (3.1%), Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc (2.8%), Argenx Se (2.7%), West Pharmaceutical Services Inc (2.6%), Ypsomed Holding Ag (2.6%), Exelixis Inc (2.6%), Dexcom Inc (2.5%), Incyte Corp (2.5%) and Merck & Co Inc (2.4%). Together they make up 27.2% of the fund.
It follows an index; the issuer's PDS sets out how that index chooses and weights its holdings. Its top 10 weighting of 27.2% compares with 36.4% for Global ex-Australia equity funds.
How well has VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF performed?
Based on its category, VanEck Global Healthcare Leaders ETF aims to grow your capital in line with the index it tracks.
To 23 Oct 2026, with distributions reinvested, it returned 3.9% over 1 year (median 6.3%; ranked 72 of 121), 8.2% a year over 3 years (median 16.8% a year; ranked 76 of 82) and 1.8% a year over 5 years (median 9.4% a year; ranked 62 of 66). The medians and rankings compare it with Global ex-Australia equity funds. Since listing in 2020 it has returned 4.2% a year.
Tracking difference is the gap between a fund's return and its index's return. We don't hold index returns, so we can't measure it for HLTH; the issuer reports it in the monthly fact sheet. As a guide, a well-run index fund trails its index by about its fee, here 0.45% a year, and a much bigger gap is a warning sign.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.