In uncertain times it is useful to have some have exposure to defensive and relatively stable areas of the market. This £1.3 billion global tracker fund has done a good job of mirroring the FTSE World Healthcare index for an attractive 0.3% a year ongoing charge.

The healthcare sector also provides some protection against rising prices due to the essential nature of the services it provides. Historically spending on healthcare has kept pace with inflation.

Despite their steady growth and defensive characteristics, the fund’s investments trade at a relatively attractive rating with an average price to earnings ratio of around 16.5 times.

The fund has delivered a compound annual growth rate of 12% a year over the last three years and 14.8% a year over the last decade.

It seeks to replicate as closely as possible the underlying constituents of the benchmark in similar proportions to the index.

The fund provides investors with diversified exposure to the largest healthcare names in the world by market capitalisation which comprise over 80% of the portfolio and virtually zero exposure to the small cap end of the market. The fund invests across more than 200 companies worldwide.

Around 70% of the fund is invested in the US which comprise the largest healthcare names, while Europe and the UK makes up 22% and the rest is invested across Greater Asia including Japan.

The fund’s largest position representing around 7% of assets is the US healthcare group UnitedHealth (UNH:NYSE). The company operates the Optum and UnitedHealth platforms.

Consumer products giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ:NYSE) represents around 6.7% of the portfolio and gives investors access to iconic US brands such as pain relief medicine Tylenol and mouthwash Listerine.

‹ Previous2022-07-21Next ›