HANetf, a European white-label ETF platform, has announced the upcoming launch of the HAN-GINS Indxx Healthcare Innovation UCITS ETF in Europe.
The ETF provides exposure to developed and emerging market stocks that derive at least 50% of their revenue from industries related to healthcare innovation.
The fund, which offers access to companies at the forefront of healthcare innovation, is part of a series of ETFs created in partnership with GinsGlobal Index Funds that provide exposure to innovative and emerging technological themes.
The ETF is linked to the Indxx Advanced Life Sciences & Smart Healthcare Thematic Index which includes firms from both developed and emerging markets that have market capitalizations above $500 million, average daily turnover of at least $1m ($2m for developed market companies), and a free float of at least 10%.
To be included in the index, a company must be considered a pure-play healthtech innovator, generating more than 50% of its revenues from at least one of the following sub-industries: bioinformatics, bioengineering, genome sequencing, healthcare trackers, nanotechnology, neuroscience, robotics, and medical devices.
Eligible constituents are weighted by free-float market capitalization subject to a 4.5% limit per security. Reconstitution and rebalancing occur annually in June; however, a quarterly review ensures that eligible IPO firms are more swiftly added to the index.
The ETF comes with a total expense ratio of 0.75%. It is expected to be launched across Europe in April including listings on London Stock Exchange in US dollars (WELL LN) and pound sterling (WELP LN) as well as on Borsa Italiana (WELL IM) and Xetra (W311 GY) in euros.
Anthony Ginsberg, Founder and Managing Director, Gins Global Index Funds, said “Healthcare advances over the past 100 years have dramatically increased human lifespans and reduced the risk of death from communicable diseases like malaria or influenza. Technology and healthcare are now combining to create a faster, safer, and more personalized generation of diagnostics, treatments, and medicines. We are excited to offer WELL with HANetf, providing exposure to the companies at the forefront of these developments in a diversified, liquid and transparent format.”
Hector McNeil, co-Founder and co-CEO, HANetf, added, “We are pleased to introduce WELL, expanding our range of HAN-GINS ETFs which enable investors to incorporate long-term, transformational technological trends into their portfolios. Healthcare has been a core portfolio holding for decades, and with this new ETF, we go beyond ‘Big Pharma’ to capture the companies that are addressing the key healthcare and wellness challenges of our time. When it comes to healthcare, we hope all investors get WELL soon.”
Investors interested in the healthcare innovation theme may also wish to consider the iShares Healthcare Innovation UCITS ETF (HEAL LN) which launched in Europe in September 2016. The fund tracks the iStoxx FactSet Breakthrough Healthcare Index which includes companies focused on advancing specific aspects of the healthcare industry, including drug treatments, patient care, and diagnostic tools. It is offered with a TER of 0.40% and has assets under management of around $500m.