Are IBB and XLG in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and XLG 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 XLG?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and XLG +6.4%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or XLG?

XLG is cheaper, by 0.24 percentage points a year. That is about $24 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 98% of XLG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to XLG's +6.4%, and XLG charges 0.20% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $11.9bn for Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF.

IBB on its own →XLG on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+6.4%

XLG total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.20%

XLG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLG costs 0.24 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 31.1 points; XLG is 1.1 times larger.

IBB vs XLG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	XLG
Return
Measure	IBB	XLG
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+6.4%
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	XLG
What it tracks	Biotech	S&P 500 Top 50 Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	XLG
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.20%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$11.9bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	XLG
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	60.3%

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

What they share

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

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 XLG

NVIDIA Corp 12.54%

Apple Inc 12.04%

Microsoft Corp 9.38%

Amazon.com Inc 5.91%

Alphabet Inc 4.47%

Broadcom Inc 3.87%

Alphabet Inc 3.58%

Meta Platforms Inc 3.25%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF XLG Invesco S&P 500 Top 50 ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Invesco

What it is Biotech Tracks the S&P 500 top 50

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +6.4%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.7% (IVV)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −7.3 pts vs IVV

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.20%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 98.4%

Holdings 245 53

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $11.9bn

IBB and XLG 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.

XLG

XLG tracks the S&P 500 top 50. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 53 positions, with the top ten at 60.3%.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and XLG in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and XLG 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 XLG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and XLG +6.4%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or XLG?: XLG is cheaper, by 0.24 percentage points a year. That is about $24 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and XLG overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 98% of XLG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

AVUS vs IBB DGRW vs IBB IBB vs MTUM IBB vs SPHQ XBI vs XLG BITO vs XLG PDBC vs XLG CGBL vs XLG

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

XLG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Invesco page for XLG ↗

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

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