An actively managed ETF: managers pick companies in the health sciences, mostly products and services for human health, with some tied to animal and plant health.
BMED, the iShares Health Innovation Active ETF, is a $14 million ETF whose main story is the biology trade. Over the past year it returned +23.3%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.
The narrative it carries
Its main narrative, at 0.8 of its exposure.
The biology trade →
Health care from drugmakers and insurers to genomics: the science that gets approved, and who pays for it.
The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.
| # | ETF | SHARE | ASSETS | 1 YEAR | COST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | XLV | 36.3% | $43.39bn | +18.0% | 0.08% |
| 2 | VHT | 15.3% | $18.31bn | +18.9% | 0.09% |
| 3 | IBB | 9.4% | $11.20bn | +37.5% | 0.44% |
| 4 | XBI | 8.7% | $10.36bn | +51.2% | 0.35% |
| 5 | IXJ | 3.6% | $4.32bn | +11.8% | – |
| 87 other ETFs | 26.7% |
Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 92 ETFs on the narrative page →
Also carries: The productivity handoff →
Software, cloud and online retail: the companies that sell the work AI is starting to do.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
| 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y* | 5Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BMED | −1.4% | +7.2% | +11.8% | +23.3% | +15.2% | +2.8% |
| The biology tradeits narrative | −3.5% | +2.1% | +13.7% | +24.2% | +15.2% | +6.7% |
| The marketbroad US ETFs | +0.8% | +2.6% | +14.6% | +16.8% | +22.9% | +12.9% |
1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on October 2, 2020: +5.0% a year.
$10,000 invested October 31, 2020
Year by year
Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if BMED traded for all of it.
Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
How closely it moves
BMED moves partly with the market. When the market has moved 1%, BMED has tended to move 0.69%.
BMED moves closely with the biology trade. When the biology trade has moved 1%, BMED has tended to move 1.03%.
Weekly returns over 157 weeks. The narrative is measured without BMED in it, so it is not compared with itself.
ETFs it moves most and least like
Correlation of weekly returns over the last 3 years, among unlevered ETFs StoryVector covers.
Where it sits in The biology trade
Each dot is one of 58 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is the biology trade, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
Cost against its peers
BMED is the 26th cheapest of 32 ETFs in the biology trade. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.45% a year.
How it is built
An unlevered long ETF that owns its holdings directly. It counts toward Share of Narrative.
Narrative exposure
Second narrative: not yet confirmed from a filing.
Common questions
What story is BMED selling?
BMED’s main story is the biology trade, which covers health care from drugmakers and insurers to genomics: the science that gets approved, and who pays for it. Its second is the productivity handoff.
Which ETFs compete with BMED?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like BMED’s over the past 3 years are GDOC (0.93), IBB (0.92) and HTEC (0.91).
How has BMED performed against its story?
Over the past year BMED returned +23.3%, the ETFs carrying the biology trade +24.2% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.95 with the story. Past performance only.
Run an ETF in the biology trade? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.
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