Before Jumping Into A Single Health Care Stock Consider This ETF

“The healthcare sector has never seen anything like this and neither has the American public. After months of political wrangling, the Affordable Health Care for America Act was signed into law by the President. The Act will extend health insurance coverage to roughly 30 million Americans without it. The new law would also require most Americans to purchase health insurance coverage and it would provide subsidies for private healthcare to low and middle income families.mIn the meantime, as the legislative details on the measure are worked out, investors are asking what does it mean for the health care sector? Is it doomed,” Ron DeLegge Reports From ETF Guide.

DeLegge goes on to say, “It’s still too early to project the ultimate impact of the new health care bill on the overall health care sector. For example, with health coverage becoming a requirement, health insurers will have more customers, but they will also be forced to accept higher risk clients with pre-existing conditions. Additionally, health insurers will face new competition from government subsidized plans. According to New York-based AltaVista Research, health care stocks inside the S&P 500 are trading at a discount to the market. Based upon 2010 earnings estimates, health care stocks currently trade at a P/E ratio of 11.8, which is a discount to the S&P 500’s 14.1 multiple. Earnings per share (EPS) growth are expected to rise 7.5% based upon 2010 estimates.”

“A radical transformation of the healthcare sector is now underway. There will be losers and winners. And attempting to decipher which individual companies will lose and which ones will win is mostly a loser’s game. Instead of trying to handpick health care stocks, diversified health care ETFs are a smart way to capitalize on the evolving dynamics within this industry sector,”  DeLegge Reports.

DeLegge makes a great point on how difficult and risky it is to handpick health care stocks, which is why ETFs offer great way to play the new historic reform.  We have put together some information on one of the most popular health-care ETFs. The Select Sector SPDR Health Care ETF (XLV) has great liquidity and has some of the biggest names in the industry in it’s holdings.  See the details below:

The investment (XLV) seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of publicly traded equity securities of companies in the Health Care Select Sector Index. This fund will normally invest at least 95% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the relevant Select Sector Index. It has also adopted a policy that requires it to provide shareholders with at least 60 days notice prior to any significant material change in a its policy or its underlying index. It is nondiversified.

Components and weightings as of 3/19/10.

Related posts:

1. Health care sector ETFs offer a port in the storm
2. How To Use ETFs To Invest In Health-Care Reform
3. Investors Flock To Healthcare ETFs On Historic Reform

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