ETFIQ
RankingsCompareHoldingsFlowsResearch
Ask ETFIQETF ModelsMy portfolioWeekly note
A
vs
B
Share on XDownload as PDFOpen liveCompare their flowsAsk about these two funds

FBT vs IBB: which is really different?

FBT and IBB hold 44% of their weight in the same names, and FBT returned +42.1% over the year. First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund and iShares Biotechnology ETF.

IBB costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.0 points; IBB is 3.6 times larger.

FBTIBB
Expense ratio0.55%0.44%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026$2.8bn$10.3bn
Total return, 1 year+42.1%+36.1%
What it tracksBiotechBiotech
Holdings in common44%
S&P 500, total return, 1 year+17.3%
Against the S&P 500, 1 yearahead by 24.9 ptsahead by 18.8 pts

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

23.9%
FBT in the S&P 500
39.5%
IBB in the S&P 500
+42.1%
FBT total return, 1 year
+36.1%
IBB total return, 1 year
FBT · 1 year to Oct 9, 202676% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
76% of its weight is outside the S&P 50024% of FBT's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 76% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.24%76%in the S&P 500of its weight outside the S&P 500active share 99% · top ten 40% of the fund · 30 holdings as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 16% in76% of its weight is outside the S&P 50024% of FBT's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 76% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.24%76%inoutside the S&P 500active share 99% · Nasdaq-100: 16% in

24% of FBT's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 76% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.

IBB · 1 year to Oct 9, 202661% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
61% of its weight is outside the S&P 50040% of IBB's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 61% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.40%61%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 99% · top ten 50% of the fund · 245 holdings as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 33% in61% of its weight is outside the S&P 50040% of IBB's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 61% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.40%61%in the S&P 500outside the S&P 500active share 99% · Nasdaq-100: 33% in

40% of IBB's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 61% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.

ETFIQ Off-Index Score · FBT 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, FBT and IBB hold 44% 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

44% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding FBT IBB
Natera, Inc. 4.62% 3.88%
Gilead Sciences, Inc. 3.61% 8.37%
Amgen Inc. 3.58% 7.89%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 3.55% 5.40%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 3.31% 7.69%
argenx SE (ADR) 2.98% 3.35%
Illumina, Inc. 4.44% 2.94%
Biogen Inc. 3.50% 2.36%
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2.40% 2.21%
BeOne Medicines Ltd. (ADR) 3.74% 2.17%
Incyte Corporation 3.08% 1.67%
United Therapeutics Corporation 3.11% 1.63%
Only in FBT
Corcept Therapeutics Inc. 4.12%
NeoGenomics, Inc. 3.62%
TG Therapeutics, Inc. 2.98%
Only in IBB
MODERNA 5.30%
REVOLUTION MEDICINES 2.67%
INSMED 1.59%
ROIVANT SCIENCES LTD 1.32%
CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNA 1.04%
ASCENDIS PHARMA 1.01%
MEDPACE HOLDINGS 1.00%
BRIDGEBIO PHARMA 0.84%

44% 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
WindowFBTIBBFBTIBBFBTIBB
3 months+6.3%+7.5%+3.0 pts+4.1 pts+2.7 pts+3.9 pts
6 months+31.5%+21.9%+16.4 pts+6.8 pts+8.3 pts−1.3 pts
1 year+42.1%+36.1%+24.9 pts+18.8 pts+18.6 pts+12.5 pts
3 years+81.0%+69.1%−4.8 pts−16.7 pts−26.3 pts−38.2 pts
Since launch
FBT Jun 2006 · IBB Feb 2001
+1,276.7%+525.3%+470.4 pts−299.7 pts−925.8 pts−936.3 pts

Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

FBT
First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund · Holds 30 stocks in biotech, 24% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IBB
iShares Biotechnology ETF · Holds 245 stocks in biotech, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
Issuer First Trust iShares
Theme Biotech Biotech
In the S&P 500 23.9% 39.5%
Active share vs the S&P 500 99.1% 99.0%
In the Nasdaq-100 16.4% 33.1%
Holdings 30 245
Top ten, share of the fund 40.0% 49.9%
Expense ratio 0.55% 0.44%
Fee for the differing part 0.55% 0.44%
Total return, 1 year +42.1% +36.1%
vs the S&P 500 +24.9 pts +18.8 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100 +18.6 pts +12.5 pts
Below its high −3.1% −4.8%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 $2.8bn $10.3bn

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

FBT in plain words

By weight, 24% of FBT'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 40% of the fund across 30 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +42.1% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 24.9 pts.

IBB in plain words

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 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +36.1% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 18.8 pts.

Questions people ask

Do FBT and IBB hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 44% 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, FBT or IBB?
FBT has 24% of its weight in S&P 500 names and IBB has 40%, so FBT differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, FBT or IBB?
FBT charges 0.55% a year and IBB charges 0.44%, so IBB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
FBT vs XBIFBT vs PBPHFBT vs PBEFBT vs IBBQIBB vs IBBQIBB vs PBEIBB vs PBPHIBB vs BBC
FBT on its own →IBB on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
FBT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗FBT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗First Trust page for FBT ↗IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for IBB ↗

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, FBT against IBB, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/fbt-vs-ibb

Open data

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