Are ACWX and XBI in the same category?

ACWX is a stock ETF and XBI 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 XBI?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWX returned +14.3% and XBI +41.2%.

Which is cheaper, ACWX or XBI?

ACWX is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of ACWX and 13% of XBI by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ACWX vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ACWX returned +14.3% to XBI's +41.2%, and ACWX charges 0.32% to XBI's 0.35%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $17.9bn for iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF and $10.3bn for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.

ACWX on its own →XBI on its own →

At a glance

+14.3%

ACWX total return, 1 year

+41.2%

XBI total return, 1 year

0.32%

ACWX expense ratio

0.35%

XBI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

ACWX costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 26.9 points; ACWX is 1.7 times larger.

ACWX vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ACWX	XBI
Return
Measure	ACWX	XBI
Total return, 1 year	+14.3%	+41.2%
Drawdown
Measure	ACWX	XBI
Below its high	4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Below its all-time high		8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	ACWX	XBI
What it tracks	MSCI ACWI ex USA Index	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	ACWX	XBI
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$17.9bn	$10.3bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		98%
Holdings
Measure	ACWX	XBI
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	15.6%	18%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, ACWX and XBI 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 XBI

ERSTE GROUP BANK AG 0.10% 0.11%

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 XBI

MODERNA INC 2.24%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE CORP 1.86%

NATERA INC 1.82%

BIOGEN INC 1.75%

HALOZYME THERAPEUTICS INC 1.75%

UNITED THERAPEUTICS CORP 1.71%

AMGEN INC 1.68%

ABBVIE INC 1.67%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ACWX iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF XBI State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

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

Total return, 1 year +14.3% +41.2%

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 13.2%

Holdings 1939 165

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $17.9bn $10.3bn

ACWX and XBI 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.

XBI

By weight, 13% of XBI's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 18% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +41.2% with distributions reinvested. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.

Questions people ask

Are ACWX and XBI in the same category?: ACWX is a stock ETF and XBI 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 XBI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWX returned +14.3% and XBI +41.2%.
Which is cheaper, ACWX or XBI?: ACWX is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ACWX and XBI overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of ACWX and 13% of XBI by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ACWX vs IBB ACWX vs BITO ACWX vs OVF ACWX vs AOR FENI vs XBI IDEV vs XBI IXUS vs XBI VEU vs XBI

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

ACWX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ACWX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ACWX ↗

XBI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XBI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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 XBI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwx-vs-xbi

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