Are EFA and IBB in the same category?

EFA 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, EFA or IBB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and IBB +37.5%.

Which is cheaper, EFA or IBB?

EFA 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 EFA and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EFA vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to IBB's +37.5%, and EFA charges 0.32% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $76.8bn for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF and $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF.

EFA on its own →IBB on its own →

At a glance

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

EFA costs 0.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 25.4 points; EFA is 7.0 times larger.

EFA vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	IBB
Return
Measure	EFA	IBB
Total return, 1 year	+12.1%	+37.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EFA	IBB
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EFA	IBB
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE Index	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	EFA	IBB
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.44%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$76.8bn	$11.0bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		99%
Holdings
Measure	EFA	IBB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	14.3%	50%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EFA 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 EFA IBB

ARGENX 0.26% 3.42%

GENMAB 0.12% 1.72%

ABIVAX SA 0.03% 0.44%

ERSTE GROUP BANK AG 0.17% 0.02%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EFA

ASML HOLDING 2.98%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.58%

SHELL 1.42%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.38%

NOVARTIS AG 1.33%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.21%

NESTLE SA 1.21%

SAP 1.13%

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

EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US Biotech

Total return, 1 year +12.1% +37.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −2.2 pts vs ACWX not measured

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.44%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 40.2%

Holdings 665 245

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $76.8bn $11.0bn

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

Alert

About each fund

EFA

EFA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. 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 665 positions, with the top ten at 14.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 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 EFA and IBB in the same category?: EFA 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, EFA or IBB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and IBB +37.5%.
Which is cheaper, EFA or IBB?: EFA 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 EFA and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EFA and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EFA vs XBI EFA vs EMB BINC vs EFA AVDV vs EFA IBB vs SCHF IBB vs VEU IBB vs IDEV ACWX vs IBB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EFA and IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EFA ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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