BBH vs XBI: which is really different?

BBH and XBI hold 21% of their weight in the same names, and XBI returned +45.0% over the year. VanEck Biotech ETF and State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Biotech ETF.

Both cost 0.35% a year; their one-year returns differ by 6.7 points; XBI is far larger, $9.9bn against $472m.

BBHXBI
Expense ratio0.35%0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026$472m$9.9bn
Total return, 1 year+38.3%+45.0%
What it tracksBiotechBiotech
Holdings in common21%
S&P 500, total return, 1 year+17.3%
Against the S&P 500, 1 yearahead by 21.1 ptsahead by 27.7 pts
Below its all-time high11.1%, high on Feb 8, 2021

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

61.3%
BBH in the S&P 500
12.7%
XBI in the S&P 500
+38.3%
BBH total return, 1 year
+45.0%
XBI total return, 1 year
BBH · 1 year to Oct 9, 202639% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
39% of its weight is outside the S&P 50061% of BBH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 39% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.61%39%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 99% · top ten 73% of the fund · 25 holdings as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 49% in39% of its weight is outside the S&P 50061% of BBH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 39% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.61%39%in the S&P 500outsideactive share 99% · Nasdaq-100: 49% in

61% of BBH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 39% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.

XBI · 1 year to Oct 9, 202687% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
87% of its weight is outside the S&P 50013% of XBI's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 87% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.13%87%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 17% of the fund · 165 holdings as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 9% in87% of its weight is outside the S&P 50013% of XBI's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 87% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.13%87%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · Nasdaq-100: 9% in

13% of XBI's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 87% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.

ETFIQ Off-Index Score · BBH scores higherHow much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?
0.1, the lowest in this set92.3, the highest

A percentile among the 391 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. All thematic ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, BBH and XBI hold 21% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

half

21% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding BBH XBI
Moderna Inc 6.47% 2.20%
Natera Inc 5.27% 1.79%
United Therapeutics Corp 2.30% 1.59%
Amgen Inc 15.92% 1.58%
Biogen Inc 2.76% 1.57%
Gilead Sciences Inc 13.58% 1.53%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc 8.26% 1.47%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc 6.62% 1.39%
Neurocrine Biosciences Inc 1.44% 1.38%
Revolution Medicines Inc 4.04% 1.37%
Incyte Corp 2.16% 1.36%
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc 2.56% 1.32%
Only in BBH
Iqvia Holdings Inc 4.49%
Argenx Se 4.09%
Illumina Inc 4.08%
Guardant Health Inc 2.91%
Beone Medicines Ltd 2.75%
Charles River Laboratories Internationa 1.58%
Biontech Se 1.55%
Icon Plc 1.26%
Only in XBI
TWIST BIOSCIENCE CORP 1.84%
ABBVIE INC 1.65%
HALOZYME THERAPEUTICS INC 1.55%
IOVANCE BIOTHERAPEUTICS INC 1.54%
EXELIXIS INC 1.53%
TG THERAPEUTICS INC 1.48%
PROTAGONIST THERAPEUTICS INC 1.46%
KRYSTAL BIOTECH INC 1.43%

21% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Performance, window by window

Total returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
WindowBBHXBIBBHXBIBBHXBI
3 months+17.0%−3.3%+13.6 pts−6.7 pts+13.3 pts−7.0 pts
6 months+28.9%+18.9%+13.8 pts+3.8 pts+5.7 pts−4.3 pts
1 year+38.3%+45.0%+21.1 pts+27.7 pts+14.7 pts+21.4 pts
3 years+55.9%+114.6%−29.9 pts+28.8 pts−51.4 pts+7.3 pts
Since launch
BBH Dec 2011 · XBI Feb 2006
+617.4%+890.7%−94.0 pts+92.2 pts−807.3 pts−1,164.7 pts

Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

BBH
VanEck Biotech ETF · Holds 25 stocks in biotech, 61% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
XBI
State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Biotech ETF · Holds 165 stocks in biotech, 13% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
Theme Biotech Biotech
In the S&P 500 61.3% 12.7%
Active share vs the S&P 500 99.0% 98.4%
In the Nasdaq-100 48.7% 8.5%
Holdings 25 165
Top ten, share of the fund 72.8% 16.9%
Expense ratio 0.35% 0.35%
Fee for the differing part 0.35% 0.36%
Total return, 1 year +38.3% +45.0%
vs the S&P 500 +21.1 pts +27.7 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100 +14.7 pts +21.4 pts
Below its high −2.1% −11.1%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 $472m $9.9bn

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BBH in plain words

By weight, 61% of BBH'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 73% of the fund across 25 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +38.3% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 21.1 pts.

XBI in plain words

By weight, 13% of XBI's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 17% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +45.0% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 27.7 pts. It sits 11.1% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.

Questions people ask

Do BBH and XBI hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 21% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is a meaningful overlap. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, BBH or XBI?
BBH has 61% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XBI has 13%, so BBH differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, BBH or XBI?
BBH and XBI both charge 0.35% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation.

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed.

Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, BBH against XBI, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/bbh-vs-xbi

Open data

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