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IBB vs PBPH: which is really different?

IBB and PBPH hold 22% of their weight in the same names. iShares Biotechnology ETF and Portfolio Building Block World Pharma and Biotech Index ETF.

PBPH costs 0.31 points a year less; IBB is 10.8 times larger.

IBBPBPH
Expense ratio0.44%0.13%
Net assets, IBB as of Oct 8, 2026 and PBPH as of Jul 31, 2026$10.3bn$952m
Total return, 1 year+36.1%not published
What it tracksBiotechBiotech
Holdings in common22%
S&P 500, total return, 1 year+17.3%
S&P 500, total return, since Nov 25, 2025+16.6%
Against the S&P 500, 1 yearahead by 18.8 pts
Against the S&P 500, since Nov 25, 2025behind by 3.4 pts

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

39.5%
IBB in the S&P 500
59.6%
PBPH in the S&P 500
+36.1%
IBB total return, 1 year
+13.2%
PBPH total return, since launch
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.

PBPH · 6 months to Oct 9, 202640% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
40% of its weight is outside the S&P 50060% of PBPH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 40% is outside the index. Holdings as of Jul 31, 2026.60%40%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 95% · top ten 62% of the fund · 53 holdings as filed for Jul 31, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 14% in40% of its weight is outside the S&P 50060% of PBPH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 40% is outside the index. Holdings as of Jul 31, 2026.60%40%in the S&P 500outsideactive share 95% · Nasdaq-100: 14% in

60% of PBPH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 40% is outside the index. Holdings as of Jul 31, 2026.

ETFIQ Off-Index Score · IBB 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, IBB and PBPH hold 22% 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 Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

half

22% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding IBB PBPH
AMGEN INC 7.89% 4.63%
GILEAD SCIENCES 8.37% 3.77%
VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.69% 2.82%
REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.40% 1.79%
ARGENX SE ADR 3.35% 1.24%
NATERA 3.88% 0.85%
REVOLUTION MEDICINES 2.67% 0.77%
ILLUMINA INC 2.94% 0.72%
BIOGEN 2.36% 0.70%
ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS 2.21% 0.63%
INCYTE CORP 1.67% 0.56%
UNITED THERAPEUTICS 1.63% 0.51%
Only in IBB
BEONE MEDICINES AG 2.17%
CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNA 1.04%
ASCENDIS PHARMA 1.01%
MEDPACE HOLDINGS 1.00%
HALOZYME THERAPEUTICS 0.91%
BIO TECHNE 0.83%
MADRIGAL PHARMACEUTICALS 0.76%
TWIST BIOSCIENCE 0.71%
Only in PBPH
ELI LILLY & COMPANY 15.20%
JOHNSON & JOHNSON 9.66%
ABBVIE INC 6.94%
MERCK & COMPANY INC 5.04%
ROCHE HOLDING AG 4.74%
NOVARTIS AG 4.47%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 3.90%
NOVO NORDISK A/S 3.51%

22% 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
WindowIBBPBPHIBBPBPHIBBPBPH
3 months+7.5%+4.7%+4.1 pts+1.3 pts+3.9 pts+1.0 pts
6 months+21.9%+11.0%+6.8 pts−4.1 pts−1.3 pts−12.2 pts
1 year+36.1%not published+18.8 ptsnot published+12.5 ptsnot published
3 years+69.1%not published−16.7 ptsnot published−38.2 ptsnot published
Since launch
IBB Feb 2001 · PBPH Nov 2025
+525.3%+13.2%−299.7 pts−3.4 pts−936.3 pts−10.8 pts

Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

IBB
iShares Biotechnology ETF · Holds 245 stocks in biotech, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
PBPH
Portfolio Building Block World Pharma and Biotech Index ETF · Holds 53 stocks in biotech, 60% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
Issuer iShares Portfolio Building Block
Theme Biotech Biotech
In the S&P 500 39.5% 59.6%
Active share vs the S&P 500 99.0% 95.0%
In the Nasdaq-100 33.1% 14.2%
Holdings 245 53
Top ten, share of the fund 49.9% 62.2%
Expense ratio 0.44% 0.13%
Fee for the differing part 0.44% 0.14%
Total return, 1 year +36.1% +13.2% (since it first traded on Nov 25, 2025)
vs the S&P 500 +18.8 pts −3.4 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100 +12.5 pts −10.8 pts
Below its high −4.8% −4.8%
Net assets, IBB as of Oct 8, 2026 and PBPH as of Jul 31, 2026 $10.3bn $952m

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.

PBPH in plain words

By weight, 60% of PBPH's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 95%. The top ten holdings are 62% of the fund across 53 positions, as filed for Jul 31, 2026. Since it first traded on Nov 25, 2025 the fund returned +13.2% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 3.4 pts.

Questions people ask

Do IBB and PBPH hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 22% 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, IBB or PBPH?
IBB has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and PBPH has 60%, so IBB differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, IBB or PBPH?
IBB charges 0.44% a year and PBPH charges 0.13%, so PBPH is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
IBB vs IBBQIBB vs PBEIBB vs BBCIBB vs BBHPBPH vs BBHPBPH vs XBIPBPH vs BBPPBPH vs BBC
IBB on its own →PBPH on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for IBB ↗PBPH filings on SEC EDGAR ↗PBPH prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Portfolio Building Block page for PBPH ↗

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

Open data

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