Are IBB and USMV in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and USMV 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 USMV?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and USMV +10.8%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or USMV?

USMV 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.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 93% of USMV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs USMV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to USMV's +10.8%, and USMV 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 $24.1bn for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF.

IBB on its own →USMV on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+10.8%

USMV total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.15%

USMV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

USMV costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 26.7 points; USMV is 2.2 times larger.

IBB vs USMV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	USMV
Return
Measure	IBB	USMV
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+10.8%
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	USMV
What it tracks	Biotech	MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	USMV
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$24.1bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	USMV
Holdings in common	4%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	14.8%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBB and USMV hold 4% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

4% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IBB USMV

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.53% 1.34%

GILEAD SCIENCES 8.56% 0.91%

ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS 2.11% 0.50%

UNITED THERAPEUTICS 1.71% 0.44%

INCYTE CORP 1.63% 0.43%

NEUROCRINE BIOSCIENCES 1.02% 0.41%

AMGEN INC 8.20% 0.37%

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.64% 0.07%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IBB

MODERNA 5.29%

NATERA 3.85%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93%

BIOGEN 2.58%

REVOLUTION MEDICINES 2.50%

BEONE MEDICINES AG 2.15%

GENMAB SPONSORED ADR 1.72%

Only in USMV

MICROSOFT 1.61%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 1.54%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B 1.50%

CHUBB 1.50%

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC 1.48%

AMPHENOL CORP CLASS A 1.47%

NVIDIA 1.47%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 1.44%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +10.8%

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.15%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 93.0%

Holdings 245 176

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $24.1bn

IBB and USMV 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.

USMV

USMV tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +10.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 176 positions, with the top ten at 14.8%.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and USMV in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and USMV 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 USMV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and USMV +10.8%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or USMV?: USMV 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.
How much do IBB and USMV overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 93% of USMV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

AVUS vs IBB DYNF vs IBB IBB vs SCHB DIA vs IBB USMV vs XBI BITO vs USMV IWO vs USMV PDBC vs USMV

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB and USMV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

USMV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for USMV ↗

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

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