Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EWZ vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWZ returned +13.7% to XBI's +41.2%, and XBI charges 0.35% to EWZ's 0.59%.
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Net assets: $10.3bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Brazil ETF, and $10.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.
Pair scorecard
XBI costs 0.24 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 27.5 points; EWZ is 1.1 times larger.
| Measure | EWZ | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.7% | +41.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 25.4%, high on May 20, 2008 | |
| Below its all-time high | 8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index | Biotech |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.59% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $11.3bn | $10.2bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 57.5% | 18% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 17, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,079 weekly returnsXBI returned more: +817.9% to +133.4%. XBI swung less: 29.2% to 33.8%. XBI fell less at its worst: −61.5% to −76.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EWZ | XBI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +133.4% | +817.9% | XBI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.2% | +11.3% | XBI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +1.2% | +767.9% | XBI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 33.8% | 29.2% | XBI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 23.5% | 20.0% | XBI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −76.1% | −61.5% | XBI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.24 | 0.45 | XBI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.34 | 0.66 | XBI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.05 | 0.18 | XBI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,079 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EWZ and XBI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
EWZ and XBI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EWZ and XBI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EWZ follows MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index and XBI follows Biotech.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EWZ returned +13.7% and XBI +41.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 27.5 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
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 EWZ and XBI in the same category?
- EWZ 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, EWZ or XBI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWZ returned +13.7% and XBI +41.2%.
- Which is cheaper, EWZ or XBI?
- XBI is cheaper, by 0.24 percentage points a year. That is about $24 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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, EWZ against XBI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewz-vs-xbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EWZ against XBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewz-vs-xbi
[EWZ against XBI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewz-vs-xbi)
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