IBB vs IDNA

IBBAiShares Biotechnology ETF

IDNABiShares Genomics Immunology and Healthcare ETF

In short

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.

IDNA Most biotech ETFs hand you the US biotech index. IDNA goes narrower and wider at once: about 50 companies from developed and emerging markets, picked around genomics, immunology and bioengineering.

Stated mandate

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

IDNA The Fund seeks to track an index of developed- and emerging-market companies positioned to benefit from long-term growth and innovation in genomics, immunology, and bioengineering.

Why people hold it

• 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

• IDNA The mandate is specific: an index of developed- and emerging-market companies tied to genomics, immunology and bioengineering, not a catch-all biotech basket.ishares.com
• 0.47% a year, a shade under the typical fund in its genomics-and-biotech peer group.
• About 50 holdings, so individual genomics and immunology names carry real weight instead of getting diluted inside a broad healthcare index.
• Running since 2019 under the iShares roof, and it stands in the upper half of its biotech and genomics peer group.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• IDNA Concentration cuts both ways: about 50 stocks in one theme, so single-company clinical news lands harder here than in a broad healthcare fund.
• Smaller and less actively traded than the category's giants, so limit orders earn their keep. Emerging-market holdings add currency and local-market risk.
• Broad biotech index funds charge less, IBBQ at 0.19% and IBB at 0.44%; the extra basis points here buy the global genomics-and-immunology tilt.

Full IBB profile⁠

Full IDNA profile⁠