# Tekla Life Sciences Investors (HQL): Mutual Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/hql for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: — · Asset class: Equity - Strategy: Passive Index · Inception: 1992-05-01 Tekla Life Sciences Investors, a closed-ended equity mutual fund, is expertly managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC. This U.S.-domiciled fund, which commenced operations on February 20, 1992, and was formerly known as H&Q Life Sciences Investors, seeks investment opportunities in publicly traded companies worldwide. Its primary focus lies within the broad life sciences sector, encompassing a diverse range of industries such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, managed healthcare, medical equipment, hospitals, healthcare information technology and services, and medical devices a... ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $17.96 | | Expense Ratio | 1.24% | | Assets Under Management | $546.1M | | NAV | — | | Holdings Count | — | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 12.47% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $2.24 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Quarterly | | 52-Week Range | $15.66 – $22.67 | | Beta | 0.73 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.6200 /share - Ex-date: 2026-08-24 - Pay date: 2026-09-30 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does HQL invest in? Tekla Life Sciences Investors, a closed-ended equity mutual fund, is expertly managed by Tekla Capital Management LLC. This U.S.-domiciled fund, which commenced operations on February 20, 1992, and was formerly known as H&Q Life Sciences Investors, seeks investment opportunities in publicly traded companies worldwide. Its primary focus lies within the broad life sciences sector, encompassing a diverse range of industries such as biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, managed healthcare, medical equipment, hospitals, healthcare information technology and services, and medical devices and supplies. The fund also extends its investment purview to include the agriculture and environmental management sectors. It predominantly allocates capital to growth-oriented businesses, particularly those with small market capitalizations. Investment decisions are rooted in rigorous fundamental analysis, which assesses critical factors like a company's market position for its offerings, the acumen of its management team, its technological prowess, and its capability to either self-finance expansion or attract external funding to build its portfolio. The fund's performance is gauged against two key benchmarks: the NASDAQ Biotech Index and the S&P 500 Index. ### What is the expense ratio of HQL? Tekla Life Sciences Investors (HQL) charges an expense ratio of 1.24%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### How big is HQL? Tekla Life Sciences Investors (HQL) manages $546.1M in total assets. AUM determines bid-ask liquidity and the fund's vulnerability to closure. Funds below ~$50M are at higher risk of liquidation. ### Is HQL actively managed or an index fund? HQL is a passive index fund. It tracks a published benchmark by holding the constituents in their published weights. Index funds typically charge low expense ratios (HQL's is 1.24%) because there's no security selection cost. ### When was HQL launched? Tekla Life Sciences Investors (HQL) launched in May 1992 and is managed by the fund issuer. ### How has HQL performed? HQL's total return (price change plus reinvested distributions) is charted at the top of this page. Switch the price chart to Total Return and pick a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, or 10-year window to read the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over each horizon. ### Does HQL pay a dividend? Tekla Life Sciences Investors (HQL) currently distributes little or no income. Trailing-twelve-month yield is 12.47%. Investors looking for income should consider income-focused alternatives. See the Peers tab. ### How often does HQL pay dividends? Tekla Life Sciences Investors pays dividends Quarterly. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### What is HQL's dividend yield? HQL's trailing-twelve-month yield is 12.47%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### When is HQL's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for HQL was 2026-08-24. The next ex-date typically follows Quarterly; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will HQL's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 1.24% expense ratio quietly compounds against your balance every year. The Fee Compounding Forecast card above projects the dollar drag for any holding period and assumption you pick. The typical result for a 1.0% expense ratio on a 30-year hold is roughly 25% of the final balance lost to fees. ### How does HQL charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from HQL's net asset value (NAV). You never see a bill. The price quoted on every exchange is already net of fees. There's no "fee day" to avoid; the cost is continuous and built into the trading price. ### Why does HQL cost more than a fund like VOO? HQL is a passive index fund (current expense ratio 1.24%). Differences from broad-market ETFs like VOO usually come from index licensing fees, asset class (bond funds typically run cheaper than equity), or fund scale (smaller funds spread fixed operating costs across less AUM). ### Are there cheaper alternatives to HQL? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists mutual funds following the same investment strategy as HQL (1.24%) but at a lower expense ratio. Each row shows the fee gap, the peer's AUM as a liquidity sanity-check, and a direct link to that fund's analysis page. Cheaper price doesn't automatically mean better. Verify the peer holds what you actually want. ## More on Dividend Data - Overview (HTML): https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/hql - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/hql/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/hql/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/hql/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/hql/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.