# BlackRock Health Sciences Opportunities Portfolio Institutional Shares (SHSSX): Mutual Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/shssx for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: BlackRock · Asset class: Equity - Strategy: Actively Managed · Inception: 2000-10-16 This portfolio primarily directs its capital, dedicating a minimum of 80% of its total assets, towards equity holdings—chiefly common shares—of companies operating within the health sciences and closely related sectors. This comprehensive category includes businesses involved in medical equipment and supplies, healthcare service provision, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. The fund maintains a focused investment approach, ensuring that more than a quarter (over 25%) of its assets are committed to these health sciences industries. Additionally, it has the flexibil... ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $73.72 | | Expense Ratio | 0.86% | | AUM (All Share Classes) | $6.47B | | NAV | $73.72 | | Holdings Count | 132 | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 13.02% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $9.60 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Semi-Annual | | 52-Week Range | $65.37 – $76.03 | | Beta | 0.51 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $6.4645 /share - Ex-date: 2026-07-22 - Pay date: 2026-07-23 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does SHSSX invest in? This portfolio primarily directs its capital, dedicating a minimum of 80% of its total assets, towards equity holdings—chiefly common shares—of companies operating within the health sciences and closely related sectors. This comprehensive category includes businesses involved in medical equipment and supplies, healthcare service provision, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical research and manufacturing. The fund maintains a focused investment approach, ensuring that more than a quarter (over 25%) of its assets are committed to these health sciences industries. Additionally, it has the flexibility to include investments in companies based outside of the United States. ### What is the expense ratio of SHSSX? BlackRock Health Sciences Opportunities Portfolio Institutional Shares (SHSSX) charges an expense ratio of 0.86%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### How big is SHSSX? BlackRock Health Sciences Opportunities Portfolio Institutional Shares (SHSSX) is one share class of a fund that manages $6.47B across all of its share classes (BHSRX, SHISX, SHSAX, SHSCX, SHSKX report the same total). Our data does not carry the assets of this share class alone. AUM determines bid-ask liquidity and the fund's vulnerability to closure. Funds below ~$50M are at higher risk of liquidation. ### Is SHSSX actively managed or an index fund? SHSSX is actively managed: the manager selects holdings rather than tracking an index. Active funds typically charge higher expense ratios than index funds (SHSSX's is 0.86%) in exchange for the discretion to over- or under-weight positions. ### When was SHSSX launched? BlackRock Health Sciences Opportunities Portfolio Institutional Shares (SHSSX) launched in October 2000 and is managed by BlackRock. ### How has SHSSX performed? SHSSX'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 SHSSX pay a dividend? BlackRock Health Sciences Opportunities Portfolio Institutional Shares (SHSSX) currently distributes little or no income. Trailing-twelve-month yield is 13.02%. Investors looking for income should consider income-focused alternatives. See the Peers tab. ### How often does SHSSX pay dividends? BlackRock Health Sciences Opportunities Portfolio Institutional Shares pays dividends Semi-Annual. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### What is SHSSX's dividend yield? SHSSX's trailing-twelve-month yield is 13.02%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### When is SHSSX's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for SHSSX was 2026-07-22. The next ex-date typically follows Semi-Annual; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will SHSSX's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 0.86% 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 SHSSX charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from SHSSX'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 SHSSX cost more than a fund like VOO? SHSSX is actively managed (current expense ratio 0.86%). Active funds charge more than passive index trackers in exchange for the manager's discretion to over- or under-weight positions. The Cost Verdict card above tells you whether SHSSX's fee is competitive for the active-management cohort. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to SHSSX? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists mutual funds following the same investment strategy as SHSSX (0.86%) 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/shssx - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/shssx/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/shssx/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/shssx/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/shssx/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.