Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IBB vs QUAL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to QUAL's +13.1%, and QUAL charges 0.15% to IBB's 0.44%.
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Net assets: $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF, and $48.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF.
Pair scorecard
QUAL costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 24.4 points; QUAL is 4.5 times larger.
| Measure | IBB | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +37.5% | +13.1% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Biotech | MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.44% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $10.7bn | $48.3bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 99% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 1% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 50% | 44.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jul 26, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 691 weekly returnsQUAL returned more: +444.7% to +226.7%. QUAL swung less: 16.2% to 23.4%. QUAL fell less at its worst: −31.4% to −37.5%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IBB | QUAL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +226.7% | +444.7% | QUAL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.3% | +13.6% | QUAL | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +217.3% | +346.8% | QUAL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 23.4% | 16.2% | QUAL | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 16.0% | 11.2% | QUAL | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −37.5% | −31.4% | QUAL | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.42 | 0.75 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.61 | 1.09 | QUAL | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.25 | 0.43 | QUAL | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 691 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IBB and QUAL hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
1% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IBB and QUAL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IBB and QUAL do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IBB follows Biotech and QUAL follows MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality Index.
- Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IBB returned +37.5% and QUAL +13.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 24.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
QUAL
QUAL tracks the MSCI USA Quality Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 119 positions, with the top ten at 44.5%.
Questions people ask
- Are IBB and QUAL in the same category?
- IBB is a thematic ETF and QUAL 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 QUAL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and QUAL +13.1%.
- Which is cheaper, IBB or QUAL?
- QUAL is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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 QUAL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-qual
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IBB against QUAL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-qual
[IBB against QUAL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-qual)
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