Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IBB vs SLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to SLV's +14.9%, and IBB charges 0.44% to SLV's 0.50%.
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Net assets: $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF, and $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust.
Pair scorecard
IBB costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 22.6 points; SLV is 2.4 times larger.
| Measure | IBB | SLV |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +37.5% | +14.9% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Biotech | Silver |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.44% | 0.50% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $11.0bn | $26.5bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 99% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 40% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 50% | |
Risk and return
May 5, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,068 weekly returnsIBB returned more: +734.8% to +248.1%. IBB swung less: 22.8% to 32.5%. IBB fell less at its worst: −37.5% to −75.2%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IBB | SLV | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +734.8% | +248.1% | IBB | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.9% | +6.3% | IBB | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +699.1% | +248.1% | IBB | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.8% | 32.5% | IBB | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.9% | 23.0% | IBB | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −37.5% | −75.2% | IBB | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.49 | 0.30 | IBB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.71 | 0.42 | IBB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.29 | 0.08 | IBB | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,068 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
IBB and SLV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IBB and SLV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IBB follows Biotech and SLV follows Silver.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IBB returned +37.5% and SLV +14.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 22.6 points.
- Cost (similar). IBB charges 0.44% of assets a year and SLV 0.50%, a gap of 0.06 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.
Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.
SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.0% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 53.5% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are IBB and SLV in the same category?
- IBB is a thematic ETF and SLV is a commodity 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 SLV?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and SLV +14.9%.
- Which is cheaper, IBB or SLV?
- IBB is cheaper, by 0.06 percentage points a year. That is about $6 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
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ETFIQ, IBB against SLV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-slv
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IBB against SLV. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-slv
[IBB against SLV (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-slv)
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