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iShares MSCI World Health Care Sector Advanced UCITS ETFIndex, costs, backtest, listings and taxation

ISIN: IE00BJ5JNZ06Ticker: WHCS (Borsa Italiana) · CBUF (Xetra) · WHCS (Euronext AMS) · WHCS (SIX)Issuer: iShares
Issuer-declared data
Declared index
MSCI World Health Care Advanced Select 20 35 Capped Index
TER
0.18%
Transaction costs
0.02% (issuer estimate, from the KID)
Management
Passive (index-tracking)
Replication
Income policy
SFDR
Article 8 — promotes environmental or social characteristics what does it mean?
Sector (from holdings)
Health care99.6% of the declared portfolio (13 August 2026)
Fund assets
584.9 mln EUR
NAV
8.22 USD (31 August 2026)
Domicile
Ireland
Inception date
17 October 2019
Data as declared by iShares in the issuer’s official files and endpoints · collected on 2 September 2026 (monthly refresh). Facts only, no recommendation.
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Description

iShares MSCI World Health Care Sector Advanced UCITS ETF tracks the issuer-declared index: MSCI World Health Care Advanced Select 20 35 Capped Index. The declared annual cost (TER) is 0.18%, plus 0.02% in transaction costs estimated by the issuer in the KID. Replication is physical replication (the KID declares buying all or a substantial number of the index constituents); income is distributed to investors. The fund has assets of about 585 million euro, was launched on 17 October 2019 and is domiciled in Ireland.

The fund’s objective — in the issuer’s words

The Share Class is a share class of a Fund which aims to achieve a return on your investment, through a combination of capital growth and income on the Fund’s assets, which reflects the return of the MSCI World Health Care Advanced Select 20 35 Capped Index, the Fund’s benchmark index (Index). The Share Class, via the Fund, is passively managed and aims to invest so far as possible and practicable in the equity securities (e.g. shares) that make up the Index. The Index measures the performance of companies included in the MSCI World Health Care Index (Parent Index) and excludes issuers based on the index provider’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) exclusionary criteria. Issuers may be excluded if they are involved in controversial, nuclear and conventional weapons, civilian firearms, tobacco, thermal coal, oil sands and companies that are classified as violating the United Nations Global Compact principles. The Index also excludes companies based on their involvement in very severe ESG related controversies. The remaining companies are weighted using an optimisation process which aims to reduce the carbon emissions intensity, increase the ESG score and minimise the tracking error, relative to the Parent Index. The Parent Index measures the performance of large and mid capitalisation stocks across developed market countries which comply with MSCI's size, liquidity and free-float criteria that are within the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) health care sector as described in the prospectus. The Fund may also engage in short-term secured lending of its investments to certain eligible third parties to generate additional income to off-set the costs of the Fund. The investment manager may use financial derivative instruments (FDIs) (i.e. investments the prices of which are based on one or more underlying assets) to help achieve the Fund’s investment objective. FDIs may be used for direct investment purposes. The Fund adopts a binding and significant ESG optimisation approach to sustainable investing. The Fund may obtain limited exposure to securities (including FDIs and units in collective investment schemes) considered not to satisfy these ESG criteria. The Fund intends to replicate the Index by holding the equity securities, which make up the Index, in similar proportions to it. The price of equity securities fluctuates daily and may be influenced by factors affecting the performance of the individual companies issuing the equities, as well as by daily stock market movements, and broader economic and political developments which in turn may affect the value of your investment. The relationship between the return on your investment, how it is impacted and the period for which you hold your investment is considered below (see “How long should I hold it and can I take my money out early?”).

Keep reading the KID section ▾

The depositary of the Fund is State Street Custodial Services (Ireland) Limited. Further information about the Fund can be obtained from the latest annual report and half-yearly reports of the iShares V plc. These documents are available free of charge in English and certain other languages. These can be found, along with other (practical) information, including prices of units, on the iShares website at: www.ishares.com or by calling +49 89427295800 or from your broker or financial adviser.

Your shares will be distributing shares (i.e. income will be paid on the shares semi-annually). Your shares will be denominated in US Dollar, the Fund's base currency. The shares are listed and traded on various stock exchanges. In normal circumstances, only authorised participants may buy and sell shares directly with the Fund. Investors who are not authorised participants (e.g. select financial institutions) can generally only buy or sell the shares on the secondary market (e.g. via a broker on a stock exchange) at the then prevailing market price. The value of the shares are related to the value of the underlying assets of the Fund, less costs (see “What are the costs?” below). The prevailing market price at which the shares trade on the secondary market may deviate from the value of the Shares. Indicative net asset value is published on relevant stock exchanges websites.

Intended retail investor:The Fund is intended for retail investors with the ability to bear losses up to the amount invested in the Fund (see “How long should I hold it and can I take my money out early?”).

Insurance benefits:The Fund does not offer any insurance benefits.

From the KID’s “Objectives” section · 4 August 2026 · original document ↓
Text generated from the data the issuer declares in official product lists. No recommendation.

Quick reads

  • TER 0.18%: below the median of equity ETFs we track (0.22%).
  • Average tracking difference over the last 3 years: -0.05% p.a., against a declared TER of 0.18%.
Comparisons computed by Rebalix on the declared data in our census; they describe the past and are not indicative of future results.

Official documents

Key Information Document (KID)PDF in English, from the issuer’s site — always the latest filed versionProspectusPDF in English, from the issuer’s site — the fund’s full legal documentFactsheetPDF in English, from the issuer’s site — the fund’s monthly snapshot
The KID is the document the law requires you to read before investing: 3 pages covering risks, costs and scenarios. The link opens the issuer’s published PDF.

Fund performance

issuer-declared net asset value (NAV) · USD · from Oct 2019 to Aug 2026
Compare with another ETF
Only funds we hold a history for. Three at a time, at most.
Return
+76.5%
Annualised
+8.6%
Volatility (ann.)
15.5%
Max drawdown
-26.97%
-19%+8%+34%+60%+87%Oct 2019Jul 2021Mar 2023Dec 2024Aug 2026The break-even line: the value at the start of the period. Above it you are in gain, below in loss.break-even (0%)+77%Oct 2019Aug 2026
Note — currency risk: the fund is denominated (or hedged) in USD and the chart is in USD. For a euro investor, returns also depend on the EUR/USD exchange rate, up or down.
Tip: drag across the chart to zoom into a period.

Drawdown — distance from previous peak

This isn’t the return: it shows how far the fund is below its previous peak. 0% = you’re at the peak; below zero = how much you’re down and haven’t recovered yet.
0%-5%-10%-15%-20%-25%-30%2019202120232025−26.97% · 23 Mar 2020
Max drawdown
-26.97%
peak → trough
Trough
23 Mar 2020
from the 12 Feb 2020 peak
Recovery time
74 days
recovery only: trough to break-even · ≈ 2 months
Underwater
114 days
decline + recovery: peak to break-even · ≈ 4 months · → recovered on 05 Jun 2020

The five worst falls in the period

From the peak ofTroughDepthBack to break-evenDays underwater
12 Feb 202023 Mar 2020-26.97%05 Jun 2020114
30 Dec 202126 Sept 2022-18.37%28 Dec 2023728
30 Aug 202408 Apr 2025-18.08%07 Jan 2026495
27 Feb 202629 Apr 2026-10.68%02 Jul 2026125
06 Sept 202112 Oct 2021-7.77%29 Dec 2021114

Calendar-year returns

2019
11.6%
2020
13.5%
2021
19.7%
2022
-3.5%
2023
3.9%
2024
-5.1%
2025
15.1%
2026
6.3%

Month-by-month returns

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSeptOctNovDecYear
20261.22.5-8.7-0.12.54.61.43.46.3
20256.00.1-1.5-0.1-2.61.7-4.64.61.23.27.9-0.915.1
20240.82.51.8-4.72.10.65.23.4-4.1-5.60.4-6.9-5.1
2023-1.0-3.83.42.9-3.82.41.5-1.3-3.1-3.35.94.83.9
2022-7.4-0.54.3-4.4-0.2-3.04.0-5.6-4.19.27.0-1.3-3.5
20211.0-2.72.43.82.13.03.72.8-5.24.2-3.67.419.7
2020-1.4-6.8-3.611.64.1-1.34.12.0-1.4-4.98.93.113.5
20194.73.411.6
From month-end NAVs, over the fund’s full history, on the series shown in the chart (dividends reinvested where declared). Deeper colour = larger move.
Issuer-declared series with dividends reinvested: the total performance, comparable with accumulating funds. Switch it off to see the price (NAV) alone, which drops at every dividend payment.
Source: iShares. Issuer-declared historical series; inflation: Eurostat and national statistical institutes, latest available July 2026 — for later days the index stays at the last published value (institutes publish with a few weeks’ lag). The «adjusted for inflation» view expresses value in today’s purchasing power for the selected country; volatility always stays nominal, as elsewhere on the site (deflating it would add artificial swings caused by the monthly cadence of the price index). Past performance is not indicative of future results: these are facts, not a recommendation.

Tracking difference — fund vs index

How much the fund returned above (+) or below (−) its index, year by year. It measures the actual deviation: the combined effect of costs (TER and transaction), securities-lending revenue and replication optimisations — which is why it can beat the TER. Tracking difference was positive in 0 of the last 6 calendar years: a past observation, not an indication of future outperformance.
Average TD (last 3 years)
-0.05% /anno
Declared TER
0.18%
YearFundIndexDifference
2025+15.12%+15.14%-0.02%
2024-5.14%-5.10%-0.04%
2023+3.92%+4.02%-0.10%
2022-3.53%-3.40%-0.12%
2021+19.70%+19.80%-0.11%
2020+13.48%+13.52%-0.03%
Total-return figures from issuer-declared series (primary source); complete calendar years. TD is not comparable across sites using different methodologies or index variants. Past performance is not indicative of future results. What is tracking difference? →

Risk indicators· EUR

Last yearLast 3 yearsLast 5 yearsFull history
Volatility (ann.)14.36%13.57%14.27%16.14%
Max drawdown-10.56%-22.46%-22.46%-26.75%
Sharpe1.140.070.100.38
Sortino1.810.100.140.54
Computed from the daily NAV series, always in nominal terms. Sharpe and Sortino use the ECB main refinancing rate averaged over the period (last year: 2.20%), weighted by days in force, as the risk-free rate. Same formulas as our public methodology: sample standard deviation annualised over 252 days; Sortino with downside deviation. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Figures in EUR — series converted day by day at ECB reference rates; the table follows the currency selected in the chart.

Portfolio holdings

Securities in portfolio
112
134 total lines: 22 cash & derivatives
Top-10 weight
46.0%

Top 10 holdings

ELI LILLY · LLY
10.51%
JOHNSON & JOHNSON · JNJ
6.07%
ABBVIE · ABBV
5.47%
NOVARTIS AG · NOVN
5.24%
MERCK & CO INC · MRK
3.73%
UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC · UNH
3.69%
ROCHE PS PAR AG · ROP
3.64%
ASTRAZENECA PLC · AZN
2.74%
GILEAD SCIENCES · GILD
2.53%
AMGEN INC · AMGN
2.36%

Sectors

Health Care
99.6%
Cash and/or Derivatives
0.4%

Countries

AfghanistanAngolaAlbaniaUnited Arab EmiratesArgentinaArmeniaFrench Southern and Antarctic LandsAustralia: 1.4%AustriaAzerbaijanBurundiBelgium: 1.3%BeninBurkina FasoBangladeshBulgariaThe BahamasBosnia and HerzegovinaBelarusBelizeBoliviaBrazilBruneiBhutanBotswanaCentral African RepublicCanadaSwitzerland: 12.5%ChileChinaIvory CoastCameroonDemocratic Republic of the CongoRepublic of the CongoColombiaCosta RicaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicGermany: 1.6%DjiboutiDenmark: 2.2%Dominican RepublicAlgeriaEcuadorEgyptEritreaSpainEstoniaEthiopiaFinlandFijiFalkland IslandsFrance: 2.3%GabonUnited KingdomGeorgiaGhanaGuineaGambiaGuinea BissauEquatorial GuineaGreeceGreenlandGuatemalaFrench GuianaGuyanaHondurasCroatiaHaitiHungaryIndonesiaIndiaIrelandIranIraqIcelandIsrael: 0.1%ItalyJamaicaJordanJapan: 3.7%KazakhstanKenyaKyrgyzstanCambodiaSouth KoreaKosovoKuwaitLaosLebanonLiberiaLibyaSri LankaLesothoLithuaniaLuxembourgLatviaMoroccoMoldovaMadagascarMexicoMacedoniaMaliMyanmarMontenegroMongoliaMozambiqueMauritaniaMalawiMalaysiaNamibiaNew CaledoniaNigerNigeriaNicaraguaNetherlands: 0.1%NorwayNepalNew ZealandOmanPakistanPanamaPeruPhilippinesPapua New GuineaPolandPuerto RicoNorth KoreaPortugalParaguayQatarRomaniaRussiaRwandaWestern SaharaSaudi ArabiaSudanSouth SudanSenegalSolomon IslandsSierra LeoneEl SalvadorSomaliaRepublic of SerbiaSurinameSlovakiaSloveniaSweden: 0.2%SwazilandSyriaChadTogoThailandTajikistanTurkmenistanEast TimorTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTaiwanUnited Republic of TanzaniaUgandaUkraineUruguayUnited States of America: 70.4%UzbekistanVenezuelaVietnamVanuatuWest BankYemenSouth AfricaZambiaZimbabwe
up to 1%1–5%5–15%15–30%over 30%
Hover a country for its percentage.
Top 7 countries
United States70.4%
Switzerland12.5%
United Kingdom4.7%
Japan3.7%
France2.3%
Denmark2.2%
Germany1.6%
Download the full portfolio — Excel, 134 rows
Full portfolio declared by iShares, as of 31 August 2026: this is the summary. Percentages may not sum to 100 due to cash, derivatives and rounding.
Fund historyFund-assets (AUM) chart year by year and monthly basket snapshots.Open the history →

Dividends

Latest dividend
0.06 USD
ex 18 Jun 2026 · paid 30 Jun 2026
Dividends, last 12 months
0.10 USD
Dividend yield
1.19%
12-month sum over the NAV as of 3 Sept 2026

Yield by year

PeriodDividendsDividend yield
1 year0.10 USD1.42 %
20250.09 USD1.31 %
20240.07 USD0.96 %
20230.08 USD1.13 %
20220.08 USD1.07 %
20210.08 USD1.27 %

Dividend contribution to total return

-10%0%10%20%30%+20.36 %1 year+15.18 %2025−5.08 %2024+3.80 %2023−3.62 %2022+19.71 %2021
dividendsprice changeprice decline

Calendar per share (USD)

YearJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
20260.06
20250.050.04
20240.040.03
20230.050.03
20220.050.03
20210.050.03
20200.050.03
20190.01

Latest dividends

Per shareEx-dividend dateRecord datePayment
0.06 USD18 Jun 202619 Jun 202630 Jun 2026
0.04 USD11 Dec 202512 Dec 202524 Dec 2025
0.05 USD12 Jun 202513 Jun 202525 Jun 2025
0.03 USD12 Dec 202413 Dec 202427 Dec 2024
0.04 USD13 Jun 202414 Jun 202426 Jun 2024
0.03 USD14 Dec 202315 Dec 202329 Dec 2023
0.05 USD15 Jun 202316 Jun 202328 Jun 2023
0.03 USD15 Dec 202216 Dec 202230 Dec 2022
Per-share dividends as declared by the issuer, in USD, since the first payment (12 Dec 2019). Past dividends are not indicative of future ones.

Share classes of the same fund

This page covers ISIN IE00BJ5JNZ06. The other classes belong to the same fund but may differ in currency, income policy or currency hedging.
Share classISINTickerIncomeCurrency
USD (Acc)IE0009QS7W62WHCAAccumulatingUSD
USD (Dist) · this pageIE00BJ5JNZ06WHCSDistributingUSD
Share classes declared by the issuer in official product lists (same fund = same issuer and same declared name). A dash “—” = not declared — not a zero.

Italian taxation

Effective rate on capital gains
26.00%
White-list share
0.00%
From the government-bond («white list») share certified by the issuer every semester: 12.5% on that portion, 26% on the rest.
Deep-dive into this fund’s taxation →

Where it shows up commission-free in Italy

According to the official lists published by the brokers (downloaded and cross-checked by us), these share classes of the fund appear tradable with zero fees:

IE00BJ5JNZ06WHCS(class: USD (Dist))
  • Directazero within the savings plan (buys)
  • Moneyfarmzero on single buys from 1,000 €, agreement until 31 March 2027
  • XTBzero (up to €100,000 monthly volume, unreachable for a retail plan); fractions available in plans
IE0009QS7W62CBUR(class: USD (Acc))
  • Finecozero on buys (single orders and savings plan) — promo list renewed monthly: check it is still listed
Full terms, traps and method in the observatory: Free savings plans and zero-commission ETFs: the broker survey

Official lists verified on 3 September 2026. We record published terms — this is neither an invitation to open accounts nor a recommendation: lists change, the broker’s documents prevail. Trade Republic, Scalable Capital and Trading 212 publish no per-ISIN lists and don’t appear here.

Stock exchange listings

ExchangeTickerTrading since
Borsa Italiana (ETFplus)WHCS30 Mar 2023
Börse DüsseldorfCBUF13 Jan 2020
Börse FrankfurtCBUF22 Oct 2019
Börse HamburgCBUF15 Nov 2019
Börse HannoverCBUF9 Dec 2024
Börse München / gettexCBUF19 Feb 2020
Börse StuttgartCBUF17 Jan 2020
Tradegate ExchangeCBUF7 Nov 2019
Xetra (Deutsche Börse)CBUF22 Oct 2019
+ 19 more trading venues (MTFs and professional platforms).
Trading venues from the official ESMA register (FIRDS); per-exchange tickers from the issuer’s tax documents and official listings. A dash “—” = that venue does not publish the item (ticker, currency or start date) in the sources we read. The same fund may trade in different currencies depending on the exchange: check the trading currency with your broker. Non-EU listings (e.g. UK, Mexico) not included.

Frequently asked questions

Which index does iShares MSCI World Health Care Sector Advanced UCITS ETF track?
The issuer iShares declares the benchmark: MSCI World Health Care Advanced Select 20 35 Capped Index.
How much does WHCS cost?
The issuer-declared TER is 0.18% per year; the transaction costs estimated in the KID are 0.02%.
How is WHCS taxed in Italy?
On sale, the capital gain is taxed at an effective 26.00% rate (white-list share 0.00%): 12.5% on the government-bond “white list” portion, 26% on the rest.
What is the fund size of WHCS?
The fund size declared by iShares is about 585 million euro.
When was WHCS launched?
The fund was launched on 17 October 2019: it has 6 years of history.
How does WHCS replicate its index?
It is a passively managed ETF: it follows the declared index. Physical (issuer wording: “Fisica (dal KID)”).
Does WHCS pay dividends?
Yes: it is a distributing share class — income is paid out periodically (issuer wording: “Distributing”).
Where does WHCS trade?
Per the official ESMA register it trades on 9 main exchanges, including Borsa Italiana (ETFplus) (WHCS), Börse Düsseldorf (CBUF), Börse Frankfurt (CBUF), Börse Hamburg (CBUF), Börse Hannover (CBUF), Börse München / gettex (CBUF).
What was WHCS's worst fall?
Over the available history (since 2019), the maximum drawdown was -26.99%, reached in March 2020. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
What is WHCS's tracking difference?
Over the last 3 complete calendar years the fund returned on average -0.05% per year versus its index (from issuer-declared series).
How many securities does WHCS hold?
The declared portfolio holds 112 securities (plus 22 cash & derivative lines); the top 10 positions weigh 46%.
Transparency note
The data in this sheet is declared by iShares in the issuer’s official files and endpoints, collected by Rebalix with a monthly refresh; taxation derives from the issuer’s tax documents (Italian Law Decree 138/2011). This is factual information for informational purposes only: it is not financial or tax advice, nor an investment recommendation. Read the fund’s KID and prospectus before investing.