IUHC
iShares S&P 500 Health Care Sector UCITS ETF USD (Acc)
Published by Radif Partners · Updated
Overview
iShares S&P 500 Health Care Sector UCITS ETF USD (Acc) (IUHC) tracks the S&P 500 Health Care Sector index and holds its constituents directly, a physical replication managed by iShares. Dividends are reinvested inside the fund rather than paid out, so IUHC suits investors building a position over time. The fund is domiciled in IE, which determines the withholding tax treatment applied to its dividends. Annual charges come to 0.15% of assets, and the fund holds 4.2B under management. Over five years the fund returned 7.5% a year on average, against 14.0% over three years. It is not eligible for the French PEA, but can be held in a securities account, a UK ISA or a German Depot. Its risk level is rated medium. Launched on 2015-11-20, the fund is denominated in USD and has 11 years of track record. It is a UCITS fund, so it follows the European framework on diversification, liquidity and asset segregation. Because IUHC accumulates, nothing is taxed while the shares are held: the charge falls on disposal, against your capital gains allowance in a general account, and not at all inside an ISA or a SIPP. Domicile in IE sets the withholding the fund itself suffers on the dividends it receives, a cost absent from the stated fee but present in the return.
Ongoing charges of 0.15% place this fund 3th of 11 comparable funds, whose median is 0.40%. On £10,000 that costs about 15 a year and 150 over ten years at a constant amount, deducted daily and never visible on a statement: it shows up in the gap between the fund's return and its index's. At this level, neither low enough to be an argument nor high enough to be an obstacle, the decision rests elsewhere: on the index tracked, on the distribution policy, and on what your broker charges to buy.
Replication is physical: the fund actually holds the constituents of S&P 500 Health Care Sector, which makes its contents verifiable line by line in the issuer's report. Two points deserve attention. Securities lending first, practised by most physical funds to reduce costs: it earns a few hundredths of a point and creates an exposure to the borrower, covered by collateral, with the annual report stating the proportion lent. Rebalancing second: every change in the index's composition forces the fund to buy and sell, and those internal costs are not in the 0.15% headline. That is why two funds at the same price do not track their index with the same fidelity.
The domicile, Ireland, is not an administrative detail: it determines the withholding tax the fund suffers on the dividends it receives, and that loss appears in no fee table. On US equities, the Ireland-US treaty cuts withholding from thirty to fifteen per cent, which on a world index is mechanically worth several tenths of a point a year and explains Irish dominance of this segment. For the holder, the UCITS framework also brings the key information document in their own language, diversification rules, and separation of the fund's assets from the issuer's.
Income is accumulated: dividends from the holdings are reinvested inside the fund rather than paid out. In a taxable account that defers taxation to the moment of sale instead of triggering it annually, leaving the whole return at work, and that is the main advantage of this share class. Two qualifications go with it. A holder who needs income has to sell units to obtain it, which is one more decision to take and sometimes at a bad moment. And the deferral is not universal: some countries tax a notional annual return whatever the distribution policy, in which case the accumulating class changes nothing.
With 4.2 billion in assets and 11 years of history, this fund has the size and the record that make closure unlikely and the spread narrow. Three checks remain, once a year, none of which depends on the market. The ongoing charge, which an issuer revises without notice and whose gap to a competitor can invert. The tracking difference, the only figure that says whether replication stays faithful. And the methodology of S&P 500 Health Care Sector, which can change its selection or weighting rules without the fund's name moving, in which case what you hold has changed with nothing to announce it.
S&P 500 Health Care Sector is a sector index, and that is an explicit bet: the portfolio gives up diversification across sectors to take a position in one. Three consequences follow. Concentration first, often around twenty companies whose top three make up a notable share, so the outcome depends on identifiable firms. Internal correlation next, which defeats the idea of dampening risk within the sector. And timing last: a sector runs in long cycles, and entry rarely lands well when the purchase follows a strong rise already published.
Over one year the fund shows 22.1% against 7.5% annualised over five years: the recent year sits well above the long average. A gap in that direction mainly counsels care about the entry point, since what has risen sharply lately costs more today than a year ago, and the long average is the figure that best describes what to expect.
0.15%
4.2B
4,200M USDMedium
88
Physical
Accumulating
USD
IE
S&P 500 Health Care Sector
iShares
2015-11-20 (10 years)
Contextual Analysis
Fund Size
With 4.2B in assets, this is a large fund, good liquidity and tight spreads.
Fee Positioning
A TER of 0.15% is among the lowest on the market, excellent value.
Track Record
Launched in 2015-11-20, this fund has 10 years of history, long and reliable track record.
Risk Profile
Medium risk, good risk/return balance for a 5+ year horizon.
Performance
Returns Summary
| Period | Ann. Return | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Month (est.) | – | +1.7% |
| 3 Months (est.) | – | +5.1% |
| 6 Months (est.) | – | +10.5% |
| YTD (est.) | – | +8.7% |
| 1 Year | +22.1% | +22.1% |
| 3 Years | +14.0% | +48.1% |
| 5 Years | +7.5% | +43.2% |
| Since inception (10y) | +14.5% | +288.0% |
Key Facts
Fund Profile
Themes & Zones
Holdings
Risk
How to Buy This ETF
Select your country in the menu to see available brokers and wrappers.
About this ETF
The iShares S&P 500 Health Care Sector UCITS ETF USD (Acc) tracks the S&P 500 Health Care Sector index. It is managed by iShares using physical replication and follows a accumulating distribution policy. The fund is denominated in USD and domiciled in IE. It has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.15%.
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Frequently asked questions
What do IUHC's 0.15% charges actually cost?
They are taken from the fund's value continuously and never billed separately: on £1,000 invested that is about £1.50 a year and roughly £15 over ten years at a constant amount. That is the only cost of the fund itself. Your broker's commission and the spread between buying and selling price come on top, and they weigh most on small frequent purchases.
What currency risk comes with IUHC?
The fund is denominated in USD, but the trading currency is not the risk: what counts is the currency in which the companies held earn their revenue. A euro-based investor therefore carries the gap between the euro and those currencies, and that gap appears in no return published in local currency. A hedged share class answers a different question, at a cost that varies with the interest rate gap.
How do you buy IUHC, and on which venue?
Through any broker that lists ISIN IE00B43HR379. The same strategy often exists in several share classes with different fees and distribution policies, and what counts is the class you buy rather than the one you read about: check the ISIN, not the name. A limit order avoids paying the spread of a thin order book, particularly outside the trading hours of the underlying markets.
Is IUHC genuinely diversified?
Less so than the number of holdings suggests. S&P 500 Health Care Sector weights its constituents by market capitalisation, so the largest companies make up a share of the fund far above their number, and that concentration deepens without any rule changing. The useful check is the weight of the top ten holdings, published monthly by iShares: that figure says how many companies the outcome actually depends on.
What should you re-check on IUHC once a year?
Three things, none of which depends on the market. The ongoing charge, which an issuer revises without notice and whose gap to a competitor can invert. The tracking difference, the only figure that says whether replication stays faithful. And the methodology of S&P 500 Health Care Sector, which can change its selection or weighting rules without the fund's name moving: in that case what you hold has changed with nothing to announce it.
This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Displayed performance is simulated.