IBB vs PBE: which is really different?
IBB and PBE hold 42% of their weight in the same names, and PBE returned +37.6% over the year. iShares Biotechnology ETF and Invesco Biotechnology & Genome ETF.
IBB costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points; IBB is far larger, $10.8bn against $410m.
| IBB | PBE | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.44% | 0.59% |
| Net assets, IBB as of Oct 9, 2026 and PBE as of Oct 8, 2026 | $10.8bn | $410m |
| Total return, 1 year | +36.1% | +37.6% |
| What it tracks | Biotech | Biotech |
| Holdings in common | 42% | |
| S&P 500, total return, 1 year | +17.3% | |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | ahead by 18.8 pts | ahead by 20.3 pts |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.
40% of IBB's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 61% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.
31% of PBE's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 69% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.
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, IBB and PBE hold 42% 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
42% in common
42% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
Performance, window by window
| Total return | vs the S&P 500 | vs the Nasdaq-100 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | IBB | PBE | IBB | PBE | IBB | PBE |
| 3 months | +7.5% | +6.3% | +4.1 pts | +2.9 pts | +3.9 pts | +2.6 pts |
| 6 months | +21.9% | +24.1% | +6.8 pts | +8.9 pts | −1.3 pts | +0.9 pts |
| 1 year | +36.1% | +37.6% | +18.8 pts | +20.3 pts | +12.5 pts | +14.0 pts |
| 3 years | +69.1% | +72.5% | −16.7 pts | −13.2 pts | −38.2 pts | −34.7 pts |
| Since launch IBB Feb 2001 · PBE Jun 2005 | +525.3% | +594.8% | −299.7 pts | −263.2 pts | −936.3 pts | −1,663.5 pts |
Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
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.
PBE in plain words
By weight, 31% of PBE'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 48% of the fund across 32 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +37.6% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 20.3 pts.
Questions people ask
- Do IBB and PBE hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 42% 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.
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.
ETFIQ, IBB against PBE, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ibb-vs-pbe
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). IBB against PBE. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ibb-vs-pbe
[IBB against PBE (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ibb-vs-pbe)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.