Are IBB and VTIP in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and VTIP 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 VTIP?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and VTIP +2.2%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or VTIP?

VTIP is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs VTIP: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to VTIP's +2.2%, and VTIP charges 0.03% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets: $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF, and $20.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund ETF Shares.

IBB on its own →VTIP on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+2.2%

VTIP total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.03%

VTIP expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VTIP costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 35.3 points; VTIP is 1.9 times larger.

IBB vs VTIP: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	VTIP
Return
Measure	IBB	VTIP
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+2.2%
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	VTIP
What it tracks	Biotech	Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) 0-5 Years Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	VTIP
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$11.2bn	$20.9bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	VTIP
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 Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBB and VTIP hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IBB VTIP

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 VTIP

United States Treasury Inflation Indexed Bonds 5.30%

United States Treasury Inflation Indexed Bonds 5.22%

United States Treasury Inflation Indexed Bonds 5.14%

United States Treasury Inflation Indexed Bonds 4.97%

United States Treasury Inflation Indexed Bonds 4.96%

United States Treasury Inflation Indexed Bonds 4.87%

United States Treasury Inflation Indexed Bonds 4.83%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF VTIP Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities Index Fund ETF Shares

Where it sits Thematic ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Biotech Tracks an index of Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +2.2%

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.03%

Holdings 245 26

Net assets, IBB as of Oct 27, 2026 and VTIP as of Sep 30, 2026 $11.0bn $20.9bn

IBB and VTIP 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.

VTIP

VTIP tracks an index of Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and VTIP in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and VTIP 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 VTIP?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and VTIP +2.2%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or VTIP?: VTIP is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BINC vs IBB IBB vs USHY IBB vs SCHP IBB vs TIP VTIP vs XBI GDX vs VTIP LYTE vs VTIP AIRR vs VTIP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

VTIP filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VTIP prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VTIP ↗

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

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