Healthcare companies worldwide
Drug makers, biotech, medical-device companies and hospital chains across wealthy countries: Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth, Roche. Healthcare is generally considered a defensive sector: people need medicine in good times and bad.
Returns shown in USD (your base currency). Past performance is not a reliable guide to future results.
- Defensive: people need healthcare in any economy
- Aging populations drive long-term demand
- Less volatile than tech or financials
- Political risk: drug-pricing reform can hit valuations
- Patent expiries can hurt individual companies
- Has lagged the broader market in recent years
About this fund
Pharma, biotech, medical devices, and health services across developed markets. Lower volatility than tech-heavy sectors.
Available on Interactive Brokers
Low-cost access to Healthcare companies worldwide and 10,000+ funds worldwide.
Frequently asked questions
Is WHEA.L accumulating or distributing?
SPDR MSCI World Health Care UCITS ETF (WHEA.L) is an accumulating ETF, so its dividends are reinvested automatically inside the fund instead of paid out as cash. The value compounds in the share price, which keeps things simple since the dividends are reinvested for you instead of arriving as cash you would otherwise have to reinvest yourself.
What is the annual fee (TER) for WHEA.L?
WHEA.L has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.30% per year. On a $10,000 holding that is roughly $30 a year, charged inside the fund rather than billed to you separately. A lower fee leaves more of the return compounding for you over time.
Can I buy WHEA.L on Interactive Brokers?
Yes. WHEA.L trades on LSE, USD and is available to investors worldwide through Interactive Brokers (IBKR). IBKR is the most popular way to buy UCITS ETFs because of its low FX conversion cost (around 0.03%) and low trading commissions.
What does WHEA.L invest in?
SPDR MSCI World Health Care UCITS ETF (WHEA.L) tracks the MSCI World Health Care. Drug makers, biotech, medical-device companies and hospital chains across wealthy countries: Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth, Roche. You buy one fund and get the whole basket in a single trade.
Is WHEA.L a UCITS ETF, and where is it domiciled?
Yes, WHEA.L is a UCITS ETF domiciled in Ireland. For non-US investors, Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs are usually preferred over US-domiciled ones: US dividend withholding tax is 15% under the tax treaty (versus 30% on US-domiciled funds for many non-US investors), and the holdings sit outside US estate tax.
How risky is WHEA.L?
On the TickerCompare 1 to 5 scale, WHEA.L is rated medium risk (3/5), based on how much its price has moved historically. Higher-risk funds can fall further in a downturn, so match the choice to your time horizon and how much volatility you can stomach.