Are EWZ and IBB in the same category?

EWZ 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, EWZ or IBB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWZ returned +13.7% and IBB +37.5%.

Which is cheaper, EWZ or IBB?

IBB is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWZ vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWZ returned +13.7% to IBB's +37.5%, and IBB charges 0.44% to EWZ's 0.59%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about EWZ and IBB

Net assets: $10.3bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Brazil ETF, and $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF.

EWZ on its own →IBB on its own →

At a glance

+13.7%

EWZ total return, 1 year

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

0.59%

EWZ expense ratio

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IBB costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.8 points; EWZ is 1.1 times larger.

EWZ vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWZ	IBB
Return
Measure	EWZ	IBB
Total return, 1 year	+13.7%	+37.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EWZ	IBB
Below its high	25.4%, high on May 20, 2008
Benchmark
Measure	EWZ	IBB
What it tracks	MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	EWZ	IBB
Expense ratio	0.59%	0.44%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$11.3bn	$10.7bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		99%
Holdings
Measure	EWZ	IBB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	57.5%	50%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EWZ 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 EWZ IBB

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EWZ

NU HOLDINGS CLASS A 8.54%

PETROLEO BRASILEIRO PREF SA 8.45%

CIA VALE DO RIO DOCE SH 8.42%

ITAU UNIBANCO HOLDING PREF SA 8.20%

PETROLEO BRASILEIRO SA PETROBRAS 8.07%

BANCO BRADESCO PREF 3.39%

B3 BRASIL BOLSA BALCAO SA 3.27%

WEG 3.13%

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%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWZ iShares MSCI Brazil ETF IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI Brazil Biotech

Total return, 1 year +13.7% +37.5%

Expense ratio 0.59% 0.44%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 40.2%

Holdings 59 245

Net assets, EWZ as of Oct 28, 2026 and IBB as of Oct 27, 2026 $10.3bn $11.0bn

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

Alert

About each fund

EWZ

EWZ tracks the MSCI Brazil. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.59% 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 59 positions, with the top ten at 57.5%. It sat 25.4% below its high of May 20, 2008 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 EWZ and IBB in the same category?: EWZ 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, EWZ or IBB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWZ returned +13.7% and IBB +37.5%.
Which is cheaper, EWZ or IBB?: IBB is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EWZ and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWZ and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EWZ vs XBI BITO vs EWZ BOND vs EWZ EWZ vs PDBC IBB vs ILF EZU vs IBB IBB vs VPL IBB vs URTH

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EWZ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWZ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWZ ↗

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

Open data →

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