Are IBB and IVV in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and IVV 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 IVV?

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

Which is cheaper, IBB or IVV?

IVV is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 100% of IVV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs IVV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to IVV's +13.7%, and IVV charges 0.03% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $885.1bn for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF.

IBB on its own →IVV on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+13.7%

IVV total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.03%

IVV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IVV costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.8 points; IVV is far larger, $885.1bn against $11.0bn.

IBB vs IVV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	IVV
Return
Measure	IBB	IVV
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+13.7%
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	IVV
What it tracks	Biotech	S&P 500
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	IVV
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$885.1bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	IVV
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	38.1%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBB and IVV hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IBB IVV

AMGEN INC 8.20% 0.36%

GILEAD SCIENCES 8.56% 0.30%

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.53% 0.20%

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.64% 0.12%

MODERNA 5.29% 0.12%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93% 0.06%

BIOGEN 2.58% 0.06%

INCYTE CORP 1.63% 0.03%

CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNA 1.18% 0.03%

BIO TECHNE 0.79% 0.02%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IBB

NATERA 3.85%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

REVOLUTION MEDICINES 2.50%

BEONE MEDICINES AG 2.15%

ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS 2.11%

GENMAB SPONSORED ADR 1.72%

UNITED THERAPEUTICS 1.71%

INSMED 1.42%

Only in IVV

NVIDIA 7.92%

APPLE 7.61%

MICROSOFT 5.93%

AMAZON.COM INC 3.73%

ALPHABET CLASS A 2.83%

BROADCOM INC 2.45%

ALPHABET CLASS C 2.26%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 2.05%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +13.7%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.6% (SPY)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +0.1 pts vs SPY

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.03%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 99.8%

Holdings 245 505

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $885.1bn

IBB and IVV 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.

IVV

IVV tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and IVV in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and IVV 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 IVV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IVV +13.7%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or IVV?: IVV is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and IVV overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 100% of IVV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs SPYM IBB vs IWB IBB vs QUAL IBB vs SCHB IVV vs XBI IVV vs QTUM IVV vs XAR IVV vs SIL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB and IVV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

iShares page for IBB ↗

iShares page for IVV ↗

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

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