One of the best ways to safeguard investments is by parking money in the healthcare sector. This is because demand for healthcare services does not change with market conditions. Among the sector players, many pharmaceutical companies also pay out regular dividends.

Companies that consistently offer dividends are financially stable and generate a steady cash flow, irrespective of market conditions. Mutual funds are the perfect choice for investors looking to enter this sector since they possess the advantages of broad diversification and analytical insight.

Below, we share with you three healthcare mutual funds, viz Vanguard Health Care Fund VGHCX, Fidelity Select Pharmaceuticals Port FPHAX and Janus Henderson Global Life Sciences JNGLX. Each has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of Dimensional mutual funds.

Vanguard Health Care Fund seeks long-term growth of capital and dividend income. VGHCX invests in common stocks of companies in a variety of segments of the healthcare industry. These include pharmaceutical firms, designers and manufacturers of medical equipment and supplies, operators of hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and biotechnological researchers. 

Vanguard Health Care Fund has a three-year annualized return of 5.3%. As of the end of October 2024, VGHCX held 85 issues, with 8.6% of its net assets invested in Eli Lilly and Co.

Fidelity Select Pharmaceuticals Port fund seeks capital appreciation. FPHAX invests its assets in companies engaged in the research, development, manufacture, sale, or distribution of pharmaceuticals and drugs of all kinds.

Fidelity Select Pharmaceuticals Port has three-year annualized returns of 9.8%. FPHAX has an expense ratio of 0.68%.

Janus Henderson Global Life Sciences fundprimarily invests in equity securities issued by companies engaged in life sciences orientation.

Janus Henderson Global Life Sciences has three-year annualized returns of 8.1%. Andy Acker has been one of the fund managers of JNGLX since May 2007.

To view the Zacks Rank and the past performance of all Healthcare mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of healthcare mutual funds.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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