Are IBB and IEMG in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and IEMG 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 IEMG?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IEMG +15.3%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or IEMG?

IEMG is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs IEMG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to IEMG's +15.3%, and IEMG charges 0.09% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $150.4bn for iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF.

IBB on its own →IEMG on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+15.3%

IEMG total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.09%

IEMG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEMG costs 0.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 22.2 points; IEMG is 13.7 times larger.

IBB vs IEMG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	IEMG
Return
Measure	IBB	IEMG
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+15.3%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	IEMG
Below its high		10.1%, high on Jun 22, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	IEMG
What it tracks	Biotech	MSCI Emerging Markets Investable Market Index (IMI)
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	IEMG
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$150.4bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	IEMG
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	32.7%

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

What they share

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

BEONE MEDICINES AG 2.15% 0.17%

LEGEND BIOTECH ADR REP 0.25% 0.01%

CHINOOK THERAPEUTICS INC 0.00% 0.01%

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%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93%

Only in IEMG

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 14.03%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 6.05%

SK HYNIX 4.31%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 2.32%

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING 1.60%

MEDIATEK 1.36%

CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK CORP H 0.83%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS NON VOTING PRE 0.80%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF IEMG iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +15.3%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +16.3% (EEM)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −1.0 pts vs EEM

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.09%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 0.0%

Holdings 245 2857

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $150.4bn

IBB and IEMG 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.

IEMG

IEMG tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.3% with distributions reinvested, against +16.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% 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 2,857 positions, with the top ten at 32.7%. It sat 10.1% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and IEMG in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and IEMG 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 IEMG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IEMG +15.3%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or IEMG?: IEMG is cheaper, by 0.35 percentage points a year. That is about $35 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and IEMG overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 0% of IEMG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EMXC vs IBB EEM vs IBB AVEM vs IBB IBB vs VWO IEMG vs XBI GDX vs IEMG AIRR vs IEMG IEMG vs REMX

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

IEMG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEMG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEMG ↗

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

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