Are CGBL and IBB in the same category?

CGBL is an allocation 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, CGBL or IBB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, CGBL returned +7.1% and IBB +37.5%.

Which is cheaper, CGBL or IBB?

CGBL is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 48% of CGBL and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

CGBL vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, CGBL returned +7.1% to IBB's +37.5%, and CGBL charges 0.33% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $7.9bn for Capital Group Core Balanced ETF and $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF.

CGBL on its own →IBB on its own →

At a glance

+7.1%

CGBL total return, 1 year

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

0.33%

CGBL expense ratio

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

CGBL costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 30.4 points; IBB is 1.4 times larger.

CGBL vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	CGBL	IBB
Return
Measure	CGBL	IBB
Total return, 1 year	+7.1%	+37.5%
Drawdown
Measure	CGBL	IBB
Below its high	3.4%, high on Aug 13, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	CGBL	IBB
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	CGBL	IBB
Expense ratio	0.33%	0.44%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$7.9bn	$11.0bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		99%
Holdings
Measure	CGBL	IBB
Holdings in common	3%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	59.3%	50%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, CGBL and IBB hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

3% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first CGBL IBB

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc 1.20% 7.53%

Gilead Sciences Inc 0.74% 8.56%

Amgen Inc 0.54% 8.20%

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc 0.52% 2.11%

Illumina Inc 0.43% 2.93%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in CGBL

Capital Group Core Plus Income ETF 23.27%

Capital Group Core Bond ETF 15.64%

Broadcom Inc 4.58%

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd 3.49%

Alphabet Inc 2.79%

Micron Technology Inc 2.23%

Philip Morris International Inc 2.07%

Apple Inc 2.01%

Only in IBB

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.64%

MODERNA 5.29%

NATERA 3.85%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

BIOGEN 2.58%

REVOLUTION MEDICINES 2.50%

BEONE MEDICINES AG 2.15%

GENMAB SPONSORED ADR 1.72%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

CGBL Capital Group Core Balanced ETF IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF

Where it sits Allocation ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer Capital Group iShares

What it is Actively managed Biotech

Total return, 1 year +7.1% +37.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +7.5% (VOO and AGG) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.4 pts vs VOO and AGG not measured

Expense ratio 0.33% 0.44%

Already in the S&P 500 48.1% 40.2%

Holdings 77 245

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $7.9bn $11.0bn

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

Alert

About each fund

CGBL

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.1% with distributions reinvested, against +7.5% for its benchmark, the 60%/40% S&P 500 Index/Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index.

CGBL is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.33% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 48% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 77 positions, with the top ten at 59.3%. It sat 3.4% below its high of Aug 13, 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 CGBL and IBB in the same category?: CGBL is an allocation 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, CGBL or IBB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, CGBL returned +7.1% and IBB +37.5%.
Which is cheaper, CGBL or IBB?: CGBL is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do CGBL and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 48% of CGBL and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

CGBL vs XBI BITO vs CGBL AOR vs CGBL CGBL vs VTEB AOR vs IBB IBB vs PDBC IBB vs IJT IBB vs VDC

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

CGBL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

CGBL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Capital Group page for CGBL ↗

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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