IBB vs WDNA

IBBAiShares Biotechnology ETF

WDNACWisdomTree BioRevolution Fund

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.

WDNA Most biotech funds stop at drug developers. WDNA follows biology out of the clinic and into food, materials and industrial chemistry, tracking a WisdomTree index shaped with futurist Jamie Metzl.

Stated mandate

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

WDNA The Fund seeks to track the WisdomTree BioRevolution Index before fees and expenses. It uses a passive representative-sampling approach to gain global equity exposure to companies expected to be significantly transformed by advances in genetics and biotechnology.

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

• WDNA Wider map than a pipeline fund: the index sorts companies across human health, agriculture and food, materials/chemicals/energy, and biological machines and interfaces.wisdomtree.com
• The 0.45% expense ratio sits under the median for genomics and biotech thematics, which is unusual for a niche with this much research behind the index.
• Passive and global by design: roughly 100 listed names worldwide, sampled to track the WisdomTree BioRevolution Index rather than picked by a manager.wisdomtree.com

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.

• WDNA A small, thinly traded fund. Spreads can run wider than the category heavyweights, so the price you get may drift from the value of what you own.
• For plain biotech exposure, bigger peers cost less: IBBQ at 0.19% and XBI at 0.35%. You pay WDNA's fee for the broader multi-sector definition.
• The issuer flags the theme's own hazards: intense competition, fast product obsolescence, intellectual-property loss, and shifting government rules.wisdomtree.com

Full IBB profile⁠

Full WDNA profile⁠