The SPDRSP PHARMA (XPH) made its debut on 06/19/2006, and is a smart beta exchange traded fund that provides broad exposure to the Health Care ETFs category of the market.What Are Smart Beta ETFs?The ETF industry has traditionally been dominated by products based on market capitalization weighted indexes that are designed to represent the market or a particular segment of the market.Because market cap weighted indexes provide a low-cost, convenient, and transparent way of replicating market returns, they work well for investors who believe in market efficiency.But, there are some investors who would rather invest in smart beta funds; these funds track non-cap weighted strategies, and are a strong option for those who prefer choosing great stocks in order to beat the market.These indexes attempt to select stocks that have better chances of risk-return performance, based on certain fundamental characteristics or a combination of such characteristics.Methodologies like equal-weighting, one of the simplest options out there, fundamental weighting, and volatility/momentum based weighting are all choices offered to investors in this space, but not all of them can deliver superior returns.Fund Sponsor & IndexManaged by State Street Global Advisors, XPH has amassed assets over $253.60 million, making it one of the average sized ETFs in the Health Care ETFs. This particular fund, before fees and expenses, seeks to match the performance of the S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index.The S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index represents the pharmaceuticals sub-industry portion of the S&P Total Markets Index. The S&P TMI tracks all the U.S. common stocks listed on the NYSE, AMEX, NASDAQ National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges. The Pharmaceuticals Index is a modified equal weight index.Cost & Other ExpensesInvestors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.Operating expenses on an annual basis are 0.35% for this ETF, which makes it one of the least expensive products in the space.It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.59%.Sector Exposure and Top HoldingsEven though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.For XPH, it has heaviest allocation in the Healthcare sector --about 100% of the portfolio.Looking at individual holdings, Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) accounts for about 5.24% of total assets, followed by Organon & Co. (OGN) and Perrigo Co. Plc (PRGO).The top 10 holdings account for about 45.84% of total assets under management.Performance and RiskSo far this year, XPH has lost about -1.40%, and is up about 6.53% in the last one year (as of 11/15/2021). During this past 52-week period, the fund has traded between $46.51 and $56.01.The ETF has a beta of 1 and standard deviation of 25.15% for the trailing three-year period, making it a high risk choice in the space. With about 49 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.AlternativesSPDRSP PHARMA is a reasonable option for investors seeking to outperform the Health Care ETFs segment of the market. However, there are other ETFs in the space which investors could consider.ISHARSUS PHARM (IHE) tracks Dow Jones U.S. Select Pharmaceuticals Index and the INVSDYN PHARM (PJP) tracks Dynamic Pharmaceutical Intellidex Index. ISHARSUS PHARM has $391 million in assets, INVSDYN PHARM has $444.44 million. IHE has an expense ratio of 0.42% and PJP charges 0.58%.Investors looking for cheaper and lower-risk options should consider traditional market cap weighted ETFs that aim to match the returns of the Health Care ETFs.Bottom LineTo learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center. Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week.Get it free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (XPH): ETF Research Reports Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report Perrigo Company plc (PRGO): Free Stock Analysis Report Invesco Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP): ETF Research Reports iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE): ETF Research Reports Organon & Co. (OGN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research