IBB vs SMH: which is really different?
IBB and SMH hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and SMH returned +75.3% over the year. iShares Biotechnology ETF and VanEck Semiconductor ETF.
SMH costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 39.2 points; SMH is 7.1 times larger.
| IBB | SMH | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.44% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 | $10.3bn | $73.2bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +36.1% | +75.3% |
| What it tracks | Biotech | Semiconductors |
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| S&P 500, total return, 1 year | +17.3% | |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | ahead by 18.8 pts | ahead by 58.1 pts |
| Below its all-time high | 9.8%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | |
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.
79% of SMH's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 21% 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 SMH hold 0% 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
0% in common
0% 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 | SMH | IBB | SMH | IBB | SMH |
| 3 months | +7.5% | −1.3% | +4.1 pts | −4.6 pts | +3.9 pts | −4.9 pts |
| 6 months | +21.9% | +38.1% | +6.8 pts | +22.9 pts | −1.3 pts | +14.9 pts |
| 1 year | +36.1% | +75.3% | +18.8 pts | +58.1 pts | +12.5 pts | +51.7 pts |
| 3 years | +69.1% | +308.2% | −16.7 pts | +222.4 pts | −38.2 pts | +200.9 pts |
| Since launch IBB Feb 2001 · SMH Dec 2011 | +525.3% | +4,627.9% | −299.7 pts | +3,916.6 pts | −936.3 pts | +3,203.2 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.
SMH in plain words
By weight, 79% of SMH's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 81%. The top ten holdings are 68% 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 +75.3% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 58.1 pts. It sits 9.8% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do IBB and SMH hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is mostly different names. 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 SMH, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ibb-vs-smh
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). IBB against SMH. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ibb-vs-smh
[IBB against SMH (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ibb-vs-smh)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.