Are IBB and IJR in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and IJR 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 IJR?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IJR +17.5%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or IJR?

IJR is cheaper, by 0.38 percentage points a year. That is about $38 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to IJR's +17.5%, and IJR charges 0.06% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $104.6bn for iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF.

IBB on its own →IJR on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+17.5%

IJR total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.06%

IJR expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IJR costs 0.38 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 20.0 points; IJR is 9.5 times larger.

IBB vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	IJR
Return
Measure	IBB	IJR
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+17.5%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	IJR
Below its high		6.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	IJR
What it tracks	Biotech	S&P SmallCap 600
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	IJR
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$104.6bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	IJR
Holdings in common	3%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	5.3%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBB and IJR hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

3% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IBB IJR

PROTAGONIST THERAPEUTICS 0.60% 0.52%

ALKERMES 0.50% 0.42%

PTC THERAPEUTICS 0.34% 0.29%

VERACYTE 0.28% 0.23%

ARCUTIS BIOTHERAPEUTICS 0.24% 0.21%

ACADIA PHARMACEUTICALS 0.24% 0.15%

ADMA BIOLOGICS 0.17% 0.14%

FORTREA HOLDINGS INC 0.16% 0.13%

VERICEL 0.15% 0.13%

XENCOR 0.15% 0.12%

SAREPTA THERAPEUTICS 0.13% 0.11%

ARCUS BIOSCIENCES 0.11% 0.11%

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 IJR

GLAUKOS 0.61%

PAYCOM SOFTWARE 0.57%

MATCH GROUP INC 0.57%

VIASAT INC 0.55%

SM ENERGY 0.53%

RYMAN HOSPITALITY PROPERTIES REIT 0.51%

JACKSON FINANCIAL CLASS A 0.48%

LIFE TIME GROUP HOLDINGS 0.48%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF IJR iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the S&P SmallCap 600

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +17.5%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +17.6% (SPSM)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs SPSM

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.06%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 0.0%

Holdings 245 642

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $104.6bn

IBB and IJR 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.

IJR

IJR tracks the S&P SmallCap 600. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.6% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% 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 642 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.8% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and IJR in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and IJR 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 IJR?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IJR +17.5%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or IJR?: IJR is cheaper, by 0.38 percentage points a year. That is about $38 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and IJR overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 0% of IJR by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs VTWO IBB vs IJT IBB vs IWC IBB vs IWM IJR vs XBI GDX vs IJR AIRR vs IJR IJR vs LYTE

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB and IJR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB and IJR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

iShares page for IJR ↗

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 IJR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-ijr

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