Are IBB and IEFA in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and IEFA is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, IBB or IEFA?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IEFA +12.3%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or IEFA?

IEFA is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to IEFA's +12.3%, and IEFA charges 0.07% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets: $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF, and $190.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF.

IBB on its own →IEFA on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+12.3%

IEFA total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.07%

IEFA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEFA costs 0.37 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 25.2 points; IEFA is 17.3 times larger.

IBB vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	IEFA
Return
Measure	IBB	IEFA
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+12.3%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	IEFA
Below its high		4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	IEFA
What it tracks	Biotech	MSCI EAFE IMI Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	IEFA
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$190.1bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	IEFA
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	12.3%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBB and IEFA 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 IBB IEFA

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42% 0.22%

GENMAB SPONSORED ADR 1.72% 0.11%

ABIVAX AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES 0.44% 0.02%

EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS 0.02% 0.15%

LAKEFRONT BIOTHERAPEUTICS ADR NV 0.10% 0.01%

ACADIA PHARMACEUTICALS 0.24% 0.00%

AKERO THERAPEUTICS CVR 0.00% 0.01%

AURA BIOSCIENCES 0.03% 0.00%

CARIS LIFE SCIENCES 0.30% 0.00%

CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNA 1.18% 0.00%

PHARVARIS N V 0.07% 0.00%

Only in one fund ↓

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%

Only in IEFA

ASML HOLDING 2.55%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.36%

SHELL 1.21%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.18%

NOVARTIS AG 1.14%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.04%

NESTLE SA 1.04%

SAP 0.97%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the MSCI EAFE

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +12.3%

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

Gap to its benchmark not measured −2.0 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.07%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 0.0%

Holdings 245 2629

Net assets, IBB as of Oct 27, 2026 and IEFA as of Oct 28, 2026 $11.0bn $190.4bn

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

Alert

About each fund

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.

IEFA

IEFA tracks the MSCI EAFE. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.3% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 2,629 positions, with the top ten at 12.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and IEFA in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and IEFA is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, IBB or IEFA?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IEFA +12.3%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or IEFA?: IEFA is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and IEFA overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 0% of IEFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EFA vs IBB IBB vs SCHF IBB vs IDEV FENI vs IBB IEFA vs XBI AIRR vs IEFA GDX vs IEFA IEFA vs REMX

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB and IEFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

IEFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEFA ↗

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

Open data →

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