XHE

State Street SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF

SPDR · $185.7m in assets, October 8, 2026

XHE, the State Street SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment ETF, is a $186 million ETF whose main story is the biology trade. Over the past year it returned +12.1%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.

XHE · the ETFFRI OCT 2Market price total return
+9.2% a yearTotal return since launch, January 2011
+12.1%Last 12 months
+0.7%Year to date
21.3%Volatility since launch

The narrative it carries

This is its only narrative.

The biology trade →

Health care from drugmakers and insurers to genomics: the science that gets approved, and who pays for it.

The biology trade · the narrative this week
41.2QUIET level, 20 of 22
last four weeks
92ETFs carry it
73.3%held by the top five
XLVlargest holder, 36.3%
$119 bncapital, 10th of 22

The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.

Who owns the capital
XLV 36.3%VHT 15.3%IBB 9.4%XBI 8.7%IXJ 3.6%87 other ETFs 26.7%73.3%top five
#ETFSHAREASSETS1 YEARCOST
1XLV36.3%$43.39bn+18.0%0.08%
2VHT15.3%$18.31bn+18.9%0.09%
3IBB9.4%$11.20bn+37.5%0.44%
4XBI8.7%$10.36bn+51.2%0.35%
5IXJ3.6%$4.32bn+11.8%–
87 other ETFs26.7%
XHE: 0.2%

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 →

FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN

1M3MYTD1Y3Y*5Y*
XHE−6.1%+1.1%+0.7%+12.1%+4.9%−6.7%
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 January 27, 2011: +9.2% a year.

$10,000 invested October 31, 2016

XHE $18,774The biology trade $30,404The market $42,209
$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000Oct 2016Oct 2018Oct 2020Oct 2022Oct 2024$10,000$20,000$30,000$40,000$50,000Oct 2016Oct 2020Oct 2024

Year by year

XHEThe biology tradeThe market
-40%-20%0%20%40%XHE 2019: +22.3%Narrative 2019: +23.9%The market 2019: +31.3%2019XHE 2020: +32.9%Narrative 2020: +24.2%The market 2020: +21.4%2020XHE 2021: +3.0%Narrative 2021: +13.1%The market 2021: +27.1%2021XHE 2022: -23.3%Narrative 2022: -10.0%The market 2022: -19.8%2022XHE 2023: -6.2%Narrative 2023: +6.0%The market 2023: +27.9%2023XHE 2024: +5.1%Narrative 2024: +1.9%The market 2024: +23.1%2024XHE 2025: -0.2%Narrative 2025: +19.5%The market 2025: +16.8%2025XHE YTD: +0.7%Narrative YTD: +13.7%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD-40%-20%0%20%40%XHE 2019: +22.3%Narrative 2019: +23.9%The market 2019: +31.3%2019XHE 2020: +32.9%Narrative 2020: +24.2%The market 2020: +21.4%2020XHE 2021: +3.0%Narrative 2021: +13.1%The market 2021: +27.1%2021XHE 2022: -23.3%Narrative 2022: -10.0%The market 2022: -19.8%2022XHE 2023: -6.2%Narrative 2023: +6.0%The market 2023: +27.9%2023XHE 2024: +5.1%Narrative 2024: +1.9%The market 2024: +23.1%2024XHE 2025: -0.2%Narrative 2025: +19.5%The market 2025: +16.8%2025XHE YTD: +0.7%Narrative YTD: +13.7%The market YTD: +14.6%YTD

Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if XHE 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.

Common questions

What story is XHE selling?

XHE’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.

Which ETFs compete with XHE?

The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like XHE’s over the past 3 years are MDEV (0.87), IHI (0.87) and HTEC (0.86).

How has XHE performed against its story?

Over the past year XHE returned +12.1%, 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 0.74 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.

Request a pilot
Narrative figures are from the weekly board. Performance is market price total return as of October 2, 2026. Assets are StoryVector’s weekly figure. Classification and measurement. Not investment advice. How the measurement works →