Been looking at life sciences ETF options lately and figured I'd share what stood out to me from 2024. There's actually way more choice than I thought, but narrowing it down to the ones that actually performed well made things easier.

The SPDR Biotech ETF (XBI) was the clear winner last year with 16.8% gains year-to-date. It's been around since 2006 and holds 144 companies, mostly large and mid-cap biotech plays. Pretty solid expense ratio at 0.35%. The other life sciences ETF performers were closer together - First Trust NYSE Arca Biotech hit 13.1%, while Vanguard Health Care, iShares US Medical Devices, and iShares US Healthcare all came in around 11.7-11.9%.

What I found interesting is how different these life sciences ETF options actually are. Vanguard's healthcare fund is way broader with 414 holdings and super low fees (0.1%), so it's more of a general healthcare play. The iShares medical devices ETF is more focused if you specifically want exposure to device makers like Abbott and Intuitive Surgical. First Trust is smaller with only 31 holdings but leans more concentrated on biotech.

If you're thinking about getting into healthcare investing through ETFs, the diversification is definitely there - you're not betting on one company. Just depends whether you want broad healthcare exposure or something more specific like pure biotech. The expense ratios matter too if you're holding long-term.