Are IBB and SHY in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and SHY is a bond 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 SHY?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and SHY +1.6%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or SHY?

SHY 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.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to SHY's +1.6%, and SHY charges 0.15% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $27.4bn for iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF.

IBB on its own →SHY on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+1.6%

SHY total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.15%

SHY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SHY costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 35.9 points; SHY is 2.5 times larger.

IBB vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	SHY
Return
Measure	IBB	SHY
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+1.6%
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	SHY
What it tracks	Biotech	ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	SHY
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$27.4bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	SHY
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight	40%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%

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

Risk and return

Aug 2, 2002 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,264 weekly returns

IBB SHY

Return

Total return edge IBB +1,227.3% +58.9%

Annualized edge IBB +11.2% +1.9%

Price return edge IBB +1,170.6% −0.1%

Risk

Volatility edge SHY 22.8% 1.4%

Max drawdown edge SHY −37.5% −5.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IBB 0.50 0.11

Sortino edge IBB 0.73 0.16

Calmar edge SHY 0.30 0.35

Reading

IBB returned more: +1,227.3% to +58.9%. SHY swung less: 1.4% to 22.8%. SHY fell less at its worst: −5.6% to −37.5%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IBB vs SHY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	SHY	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+1,227.3%	+58.9%	IBB	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+11.2%	+1.9%	IBB	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+1,170.6%	−0.1%	IBB	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.8%	1.4%	SHY	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.8%	0.9%	SHY	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−37.5%	−5.6%	SHY	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.50	0.11	IBB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.73	0.16	IBB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.30	0.35	SHY	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,264 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

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

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 SHY

TREASURY NOTE 2.11%

TREASURY NOTE 1.99%

TREASURY NOTE 1.83%

TREASURY NOTE 1.73%

TREASURY NOTE 1.62%

TREASURY NOTE 1.54%

TREASURY NOTE 1.51%

TREASURY NOTE 1.49%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF SHY iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +1.6%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +1.7% (BBSB)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.1 pts vs BBSB

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.15%

Holdings 245 90

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $27.4bn

IBB and SHY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-4E9AF055E7

IBB and SHY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. IBB follows Biotech and SHY follows ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index.
Holdings in common. 0% 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 SHY +1.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 35.9 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

SHY

SHY tracks an index of 1-3 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +1.6% with distributions reinvested, against +1.7% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 1-3 Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and SHY in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and SHY is a bond 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 SHY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and SHY +1.6%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or SHY?: SHY 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.

Other comparisons

IBB vs VGSH IBB vs IEI IBB vs LQD IBB vs IGSB SHY vs XBI JUCY vs SHY CGBL vs SHY BITO vs SHY

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB and SHY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

SHY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for SHY ↗

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

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