Invesco's RSPH vs. PJP: Which Health Care ETF Is the Better Fund For The GLP-1 Revolution?
Key Points
Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF provides concentrated exposure to 29 drug manufacturers, while Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF offers equal-weighted access to 59 healthcare stocks
Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF is more cost-efficient with a 0.40% expense ratio compared to 0.57% for Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF
Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF has achieved higher total returns over both 1-year and 5-year periods with lower overall price volatility as measured by beta
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Weight loss drug advances, including GLP-1s, have revolutionized health care. For investors looking to capitalize on the GLP-1 trend, two funds are worth considering. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (NYSEMKT:RSPH) offers a broader, lower-cost approach to healthcare, while the Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEMKT:PJP) provides a concentrated, factor-based strategy focused specifically on pharmaceutical firms.
Both funds target the healthcare sector but use fundamentally different methodologies to select and weight securities. While RSPH focuses on broad sector exposure through an equal-weighting lens, PJP homes in on the pharmaceutical sub-sector using a proprietary index that prioritizes factor-based performance metrics like momentum and earnings growth.
Snapshot (cost & size)
| Metric | PJP | RSPH |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Invesco | Invesco |
| Expense ratio | 0.57% | 0.40% |
| 1-yr return (as of June 12, 2026) | 40.20% | 11.12% |
| Dividend yield | 0.90% | 0.70% |
| Beta | 0.45 | 0.79 |
| AUM | $352.8 million | $664.9 million |
Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield as of the closing price of each fund on June 12, 2026. AUM refers to total assets under management.
RSPH is the more affordable option, charging an annual expense ratio of 0.40% versus 0.57% for PJP. On the income side, PJP offers a slightly higher payout, with a 0.90% trailing-12-month dividend yield, compared to RSPH’s 0.70%.
Performance & risk comparison
| Metric | PJP | RSPH |
|---|---|---|
| Max drawdown (5 yr) | (17.50%) | (22.00%) |
| Growth of $1,000 over 5 years (total return) | $1,469 | $1,152 |
What's inside
The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF provides exposure across the broader healthcare sector, with 100% if its holdings in healthcare. It holds 59 stocks, and its largest positions include Humana (NYSE:HUM) at 3%, Centene (NYSE:CNC) at 2.8%, and Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) at 2.3%. Launched in 2006, this fund has paid $0.22 per share over the trailing 12 months. Because it is equal-weighted, it avoids the heavy concentration in a few mega-cap names typically found in market-cap-weighted indexes.
In comparison, the Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF focuses exclusively on the pharmaceutical sub-sector with 100% of its assets in healthcare, too. It is more concentrated with 29 holdings, and its top holdings include Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) at 5.4%, Corcept Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CORT) at 5.3%, and Liquidia Corp (NASDAQ:LQDA) at 5.2%. Launched in 2005, the fund follows the Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index and has a trailing-12-month dividend of $1.06 per share. This strategy seeks capital appreciation by weighting securities based on fundamental factors like price momentum and management initiatives.
Which fund is the better buy?
The Invesco Pharmaceutical ETF beats its more broadly focused sibling over the year-to-date, 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year time frames. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, PJP returned 21.29% over the previous 12 months, 12.12% over the 36 months prior, and 6.75% over the five-year trailing period. The Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF, meanwhile, wins on the 10-year trailing return, with 8.82% returns compared to 6.63% for PJP.
The concentrated focus just on drugmakers has allowed the Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF to capitalize on the GLP-1 boom, led by its largest holding, Eli Lilly. RSPH, meanwhile, has exposure to health insurers like UnitedHealthcare, which can act as a drag on the overall portfolio if an investor seeks to capture the greater growth of the new generation of weight-loss drugs.
Interestingly, while the equal-weighted nature of RSPH should logically mean it’s less volatile, it still has a larger maximum drawdown than PJP, suggesting the pharmaceutical ETF’s structure provides some benefits.
Headlined by a scorching 1-year return of more than 40%, the Invesco Pharmaceutical ETF is the choice for investors in 2026.
For more guidance on ETF investing, check out the full guide at this link.
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Brendan Coffey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Corcept Therapeutics and Eli Lilly. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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