4 Popular Healthcare Mutual Funds to Add to Your Portfolio

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Investors often rely on the healthcare sector to safeguard their investments. This is because demand for healthcare services does not vary so much with market conditions and investments in the sector provide sufficient protection to the capital invested.

Many pharmaceutical companies also offer regular dividends. Companies that pay out consistent dividends are financially stable and generate consistent cash flows irrespective of market conditions. Mutual funds are perfect choices for investors looking to enter this sector since they possess the advantages of wide diversification and analytical insight.

Below we share with you four top-ranked healthcare mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

Fidelity Select Biotechnology Portfolio FBIOX fund mostly invests in common stocks. The non-diversified fund seeks capital appreciation. FBIOX invests the majority of its assets in securities of companies that are engaged in research, manufacture, distribution and marketing of biotechnological products and related services.  The fund has returned 18.6% on a year-to-date basis.

FBIOX has an expense ratio of 0.72% compared with the category average of 1.23%.

T. Rowe Price Health Sciences Fund PRHSX is a non-diversified fund that invests more than 80% of its assets in common stocks of companies engaged in various activities in the field of health care, medicine or life sciences. The fund mostly invests in mid- and large-capitalization companies. PRHSX has returned 17.5% on a year-to-date basis.

Ziad Bakri is the asset manager of PRHSX since 2016.

Eaton Vance Worldwide Health Sciences Fund Class A ETHSX seeks capital growth over a long period. The fund invests the majority of its assets in a diversified portfolio of companies engaged in the field of healthcare, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics etc. The fund has a policy of investing a minimum of a quarter of its investments in the healthcare industry.  ETHSX has returned 13.3% on a year-to-date basis.

As of May 2019, ETHSX held 62 issues with 7.30% of its assets invested in Johnson & Johnson.

Fidelity Select Medical Technology and Devices Portfolio FSMEX fund aims for capital growth. The fund invests the majority of its assets in companies that are engaged in activities such as research, manufacturing, supply and sale of medical equipment and related technologies etc. The non-diversified fund invests in common stocks and in U.S. and non-U.S. issuers. FSMEX has returned 19.5% on a year-to-date basis.

FSMEX has an expense ratio of 0.73% compared with the category average of 1.23%.

To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all healthcare mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds.

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