# Vanguard Health Care Index Fund Admiral Shares (VHCIX): Mutual Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vhcix for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: Vanguard · Asset class: Sector Equity - Strategy: Thematic · Inception: 2004-02-05 This economical index fund grants investors access to the American healthcare industry, including corporations involved in providing medical goods, services, cutting-edge technology, or specialized apparatus. Its principal drawback lies in its concentrated investment strategy, as it allocates capital solely to health care stocks. Therefore, significant price swings are to be expected, and it should constitute only a minor allocation within an already well-rounded investment portfolio. ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $166.60 | | Expense Ratio | 0.09% | | AUM (All Share Classes) | $21.80B | | NAV | $166.60 | | Holdings Count | 402 | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 1.39% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $2.31 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Quarterly | | 52-Week Range | $132.74 – $168.15 | | Beta | 0.59 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.4845 /share - Ex-date: 2026-09-23 - Pay date: 2026-09-24 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What does VHCIX invest in? This economical index fund grants investors access to the American healthcare industry, including corporations involved in providing medical goods, services, cutting-edge technology, or specialized apparatus. Its principal drawback lies in its concentrated investment strategy, as it allocates capital solely to health care stocks. Therefore, significant price swings are to be expected, and it should constitute only a minor allocation within an already well-rounded investment portfolio. ### What is the expense ratio of VHCIX? Vanguard Health Care Index Fund Admiral Shares (VHCIX) charges an expense ratio of 0.09%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations. ### How big is VHCIX? Vanguard Health Care Index Fund Admiral Shares (VHCIX) is one share class of a fund that manages $21.80B across all of its share classes (VHT reports 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 VHCIX actively managed or an index fund? VHCIX's management style is described in the fund's prospectus. See the description on the Summary tab for the published strategy. ### When was VHCIX launched? Vanguard Health Care Index Fund Admiral Shares (VHCIX) launched in February 2004 and is managed by Vanguard. ### How has VHCIX performed? VHCIX'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 VHCIX pay a dividend? Vanguard Health Care Index Fund Admiral Shares (VHCIX) currently distributes little or no income. Trailing-twelve-month yield is 1.39%. Investors looking for income should consider income-focused alternatives. See the Peers tab. ### How often does VHCIX pay dividends? Vanguard Health Care Index Fund Admiral Shares pays dividends Quarterly. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### What is VHCIX's dividend yield? VHCIX's trailing-twelve-month yield is 1.39%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price. ### When is VHCIX's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for VHCIX was 2026-09-23. 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 VHCIX's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 0.09% 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 VHCIX charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from VHCIX'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 VHCIX cost more than a fund like VOO? VHCIX's strategy (current expense ratio 0.09%) is different from a broad-market index tracker like VOO, so its fee belongs to a different cohort. The Cost Verdict card above shows you where VHCIX sits within its own category, which is the comparison that actually matters. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to VHCIX? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists mutual funds following the same investment strategy as VHCIX (0.09%) 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/vhcix - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vhcix/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vhcix/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vhcix/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/vhcix/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.