Are EWJ and IBB in the same category?

EWJ 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, EWJ or IBB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IBB +37.5%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or IBB?

IBB is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to IBB's +37.5%, and IBB charges 0.44% to EWJ's 0.49%.

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Net assets: $23.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Japan ETF, and $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF.

EWJ on its own →IBB on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IBB costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.4 points; EWJ is 2.2 times larger.

EWJ vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	IBB
Return
Measure	EWJ	IBB
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	+37.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	IBB
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	IBB
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	IBB
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.44%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$11.0bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		99%
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	IBB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%	50%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EWJ 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 EWJ IBB

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EWJ

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 4.40%

TOYOTA MOTOR 3.59%

ADVANTEST 3.03%

HITACHI 3.03%

RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 3.03%

SONY GROUP 2.89%

SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 2.83%

TOKYO ELECTRON 2.55%

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%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Biotech

Total return, 1 year +18.1% +37.5%

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

Gap to its benchmark +3.8 pts vs ACWX not measured

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.44%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 40.2%

Holdings 169 245

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and IBB as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $11.0bn

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

Alert

About each fund

EWJ

EWJ tracks the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% 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 169 positions, with the top ten at 29.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 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 EWJ and IBB in the same category?: EWJ 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, EWJ or IBB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IBB +37.5%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or IBB?: IBB is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EWJ and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs XBI EWJ vs EWT EMB vs EWJ BOND vs EWJ EWT vs IBB EWZ vs IBB EZU vs IBB IBB vs VPL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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