abrdn World Healthcare Fund: This Income Play Offers a 12% Dividend Yield
August 22, 2025
THW Stock Could Offer Investors Robust Income & Capital Gains
When it comes to investing in health care, things can get complicated very quickly.
You see, unlike other sectors, health care is heavily regulated and comes with significant risks. A new drug or medical device can spend years in development only to get rejected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Even when approvals are given to the drug, pricing pressure from insurers, government agencies, and competitors can cut into the company’s profits.
This is why many income investors avoid the health-care sector altogether. It’s daunting, often seen as offering too much risk in exchange for too little reward.
But here’s the thing: income investors don’t need to pick individual biotech or pharmaceutical companies to gain exposure to health-care sector. Thanks to innovation in the financial world, they can get exposure through a fund like abrdn World Healthcare Fund (NYSE:THW).
abrdn World Healthcare is a rare breed—it pays a solid monthly dividend and has a very long track record of doing so.
What Does abrdn World Healthcare Fund Do?
abrdn World Healthcare Fund is a closed-end fund (CEF) that’s primarily focused on providing its investors with current income and capital appreciation by investing in health-care companies globally.
A CEF is an investment fund that raises a fixed amount of capital through an initial public offering (IPO) and then trades on a stock exchange like a regular stock. These funds have a limited number of shares and can trade at a discount or premium to their net asset value (NAV).
abrdn World Healthcare Fund doesn’t limit itself to just the U.S. market. Instead, the fund’s portfolio is spread across pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical device makers, and health-care service providers from around the world. In addition, through THW stock, investors don’t just get exposure to health-care stocks; the fund also invests in health-care-related fixed income, real estate, and venture capital.
According to its latest holdings, abrdn’s top holdings include names like Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY), UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH), and Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT). (Source: “abrdn World Healthcare Fund,” Aberdeen Investments, last accessed August 18, 2025.)
THW Stock Offers Consistent Monthly Income
For income investors, consistency matters. You want a check that shows up every month without fail. And that’s exactly what abrdn World Healthcare Fund delivers.
Since February 2016, the fund has been paying $0.117 per share every single month—like clockwork. That’s more than nine years of uninterrupted monthly payments.
To put this into perspective, an investor holding 1,000 shares of THW would collect about $117.00 every month, or $1,404.00 per year. This translates to a dividend yield of well over 12% at the current price.
This is far higher than one would get from typical dividend aristocrats or bonds today.
Technical Analysis: THW Stock on Cusp of a Breakout?
Income is one side of the story when it comes to abrdn World Healthcare Fund. The other side is price action. Seeing the principal grow with THW stock while getting monthly payments could be a sweet deal.
The good news is that the technical setup for THW looks very promising right now.
The stock trades above its 50-week and 200-week moving average (MAs). Essentially, these MAs indicate that the intermediate-term and long-term trends are pointing upwards, and investors are bullish.
Even more interesting…THW appears to be sitting on the cusp of a breakout.
If you look at the THW stock chart, you’ll see that the price lever around $11.50 has acted as a very strong resistance level. Since 2021, this level has been tested several times, but there hasn’t been a move higher.
Now, with MAs below the price, bullish sentiment brewing, and momentum in favor, THW could very well make a run beyond the resistance level. If this does happen, those who own the stock could be on the receiving end of solid gains.
Chart Courtesy of StockCharts.com
The Lowdown on abrdn World Healthcare Fund
At the end of the day, investing in health care can be tricky. But, for income investors, abrdn World Healthcare Fund stock offers a way to benefit from the growth of the sector without betting on a single company’s success or failure.
With an over nine-year history of paying monthly dividends, a dividend yield that’s over 12%, and technical analysis painting a bullish outlook for the stock, THW is more than just another income play.
In the end, investors should always remember that no investment is risk-free.
With abrdn World Healthcare Fund, there are three specific risks to keep in mind:
- Its hefty distribution can include return of capital, which may reduce the fund’s net asset value over time
- As a CEF, THW often trades at a premium or discount to NAV, meaning that shareholders could overpay during bullish periods
- The health care sector isn’t risk-free—drug pricing reforms, regulatory changes, and patent expirations can impact portfolio holdings
