FBT vs IBB

FBTBFirst Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund

IBBAiShares Biotechnology ETF

In short

FBT Biotech served in about 30 equal-sized bites. FBT has tracked the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index since 2006, spreading each dollar evenly across a short roster instead of letting a few large caps run the show.

IBB Biotech's original index fund. Since 2001 IBB has packed the whole US biotech sector, roughly 250 names, into one line item for 0.44% a year, below what the typical biotech fund charges.

Stated mandate

FBT The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index.

IBB The Fund seeks to track an index composed of U.S.-listed equities focused on the biotechnology sector.

Why people hold it

• FBT Equal weighting hands a small cap the same slot as a mega cap. About 30 names, each sized alike, so no single giant steers the fund.
• Live since 2006, through multiple biotech booms and busts, with a billion-dollar-plus asset base behind it.
• Moderately traded rather than a thin corner of the shelf, which matters in a sector where headlines arrive fast.
• Lands in the upper half of the biotech and genomics funds we grade.

• IBB A 2001 launch makes it one of the sector's originals, and it has grown into a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively.
• Roughly 250 stocks, so the whole US biotech bench comes along instead of a few marquee drugmakers.
• 0.44% a year, set by the prospectus and below the median fee in its biotech peer group.
• Sticks closely to the job in its prospectus: US-listed biotech equities, nothing exotic bolted on. That lands it in the upper half of its peer group.ishares.com

Worth knowing

• FBT At 0.55% a year it runs above the typical biotech fund's fee, and cheaper index routes exist (IBBQ at 0.19%, XBI at 0.35%).
• About 30 stocks, equally weighted, means one trial readout can swing the whole basket. Concentrated biotech moves hard in both directions.
• Not an income holding: drug developers plow cash into pipelines, and the fund has not been sending out distributions.

• IBB Cheaper seats exist in the same aisle: IBBQ at 0.19%, BBP at 0.34%, XBI at 0.35%.
• One industry carries the whole fund. Trial readouts, FDA decisions and patent expiries drive it, with no other sector to cushion a rough patch.
• Distributions arrive quarterly, but biotech is a growth sector and payouts are a side effect, not the point.

Full FBT profile⁠

Full IBB profile⁠