IBB vs PBE

IBBAiShares Biotechnology ETF

PBEBInvesco Biotechnology & Genome 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.

PBE Most biotech funds own the sector by size. PBE has run a different playbook since 2005: a quant screen on momentum, quality and value that narrows the field to roughly 30 names, reshuffled every quarter.

Stated mandate

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

PBE The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the results of its designated biotechnology and genome benchmark index.

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

• PBE The index scores biotech and genome companies on price momentum, earnings momentum, quality, management action and value, then reconstitutes quarterly, so the roster follows the scores.pionline.com
• Trading since 2005, one of the longest-running biotech ETFs on the tape, and it has stayed tight to the index it promises to follow.
• About 30 holdings, so an approval or a trial readout at one company registers in the portfolio instead of being diluted across a sprawling roster.
• Sits in the upper half of the biotech and genomics group on our review, with no structural red flags in the wrapper and a plain index mandate on file with the SEC.sec.gov

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.

• PBE 0.59% sits above the category median, and above plain index rivals like IBB at 0.44% and XBI at 0.35%. The screening model is what you pay the difference for.
• Thinly traded next to the category's heavyweights, so spreads can be wider and bigger orders need more care at the point of execution.
• A 30-stock quant portfolio can diverge sharply from the broad biotech benchmark in either direction, and it pays out only quarterly.

Full IBB profile⁠

Full PBE profile⁠