Are ACWX and IBB in the same category?

ACWX is a stock ETF and IBB is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, ACWX or IBB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWX returned +14.3% and IBB +37.5%.

Which is cheaper, ACWX or IBB?

ACWX is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do ACWX and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of ACWX and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ACWX vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ACWX returned +14.3% to IBB's +37.5%, and ACWX charges 0.32% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $17.9bn for iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF and $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF.

ACWX on its own →IBB on its own →

At a glance

+14.3%

ACWX total return, 1 year

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

0.32%

ACWX expense ratio

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

ACWX costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.2 points; ACWX is 1.6 times larger.

ACWX vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ACWX	IBB
Return
Measure	ACWX	IBB
Total return, 1 year	+14.3%	+37.5%
Drawdown
Measure	ACWX	IBB
Below its high	4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ACWX	IBB
What it tracks	MSCI ACWI ex USA Index	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	ACWX	IBB
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.44%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$17.9bn	$11.0bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		99%
Holdings
Measure	ACWX	IBB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	15.6%	50%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, ACWX and IBB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ACWX IBB

ARGENX 0.15% 3.42%

GENMAB 0.08% 1.72%

BEONE MEDICINES AG 0.06% 2.15%

ABIVAX SA 0.02% 0.44%

ERSTE GROUP BANK AG 0.10% 0.02%

LEGEND BIOTECH ADR REP 0.00% 0.25%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in ACWX

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 5.07%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 2.19%

ASML HOLDING 1.77%

SK HYNIX 1.56%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 0.95%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 0.85%

SHELL 0.84%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.81%

Only in IBB

GILEAD SCIENCES 8.56%

AMGEN INC 8.20%

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.53%

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.64%

MODERNA 5.29%

NATERA 3.85%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93%

BIOGEN 2.58%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ACWX iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI ACWI ex U.S. Biotech

Total return, 1 year +14.3% +37.5%

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.44%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 40.2%

Holdings 1939 245

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $17.9bn $11.0bn

ACWX and IBB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

ACWX

ACWX tracks the MSCI ACWI ex U.S.. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,939 positions, with the top ten at 15.6%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IBB

By weight, 40% of IBB's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 50% of the fund across 245 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +37.5% with distributions reinvested.

Questions people ask

Are ACWX and IBB in the same category?: ACWX is a stock ETF and IBB is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, ACWX or IBB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWX returned +14.3% and IBB +37.5%.
Which is cheaper, ACWX or IBB?: ACWX is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ACWX and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of ACWX and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ACWX vs XBI ACWX vs BITO ACWX vs OVF ACWX vs IDVO EFA vs IBB FENI vs IBB IBB vs IDEV IBB vs VEU

Where to next

ACWX on its own →IBB on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →ACWX dividend history →ACWX holdings →IBB dividend history →IBB holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

ACWX and IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ACWX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ACWX ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

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ETFIQ, ACWX against IBB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwx-vs-ibb

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.