Are IBB and IWC in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and IWC 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 IWC?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IWC +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or IWC?

IBB is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to IWC's +16.5%, and IBB charges 0.44% to IWC's 0.60%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $1.2bn for iShares Micro-Cap ETF.

IBB on its own →IWC on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+16.5%

IWC total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.60%

IWC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IBB costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 21.0 points; IBB is 9.2 times larger.

IBB vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	IWC
Return
Measure	IBB	IWC
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+16.5%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	IWC
Below its high		9.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	IWC
What it tracks	Biotech	Russell Microcap Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	IWC
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$1.2bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	IWC
Holdings in common	3%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	5.9%

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

What they share

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

CAREDX 0.23% 0.88%

NURIX THERAPEUTICS 0.18% 0.63%

ABSCI CORP 0.11% 0.39%

MBX BIOSCIENCES 0.11% 0.40%

UROGEN PHARMA 0.10% 0.35%

MAZE THERAPEUTICS 0.08% 0.27%

NUVATION BIO CLASS A 0.08% 0.28%

PERSONALIS 0.08% 0.28%

REPLIMUNE GROUP 0.08% 0.26%

CASTLE BIOSCIENCES 0.07% 0.25%

PRECIGEN 0.07% 0.29%

ALTO NEUROSCIENCE INC 0.06% 0.18%

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 IWC

PENGUIN SOLUTIONS INC 0.73%

SELLAS LIFE SCIENCES GROUP INC 0.60%

VIRIDIAN THERAPEUTICS ORS 0.59%

OUSTER 0.53%

INTERFACE 0.52%

STRIVE INC CLASS A 0.50%

HYPERLIQUID STRATEGIES INC 0.46%

PORCH GROUP 0.44%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF IWC iShares Micro-Cap ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the Russell Microcap

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +16.5%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.3% (IWV)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +3.2 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.60%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 91.7%

Holdings 245 1365

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $1.2bn

IBB and IWC 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.

IWC

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

IWC tracks the Russell Microcap. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,365 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 9.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and IWC in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and IWC 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 IWC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IWC +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or IWC?: IBB is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and IWC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs IJT IBB vs VTWO IBB vs VB IBB vs IJR IWC vs XBI BITO vs IWC CGBL vs IWC BNDX vs IWC

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB and IWC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

iShares page for IBB ↗

iShares page for IWC ↗

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

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