Are IDEF and IVV in the same category?

IDEF is a thematic ETF and IVV is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, IDEF or IVV?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IDEF returned −5.7% and IVV +13.7%.

Which is cheaper, IDEF or IVV?

IVV is cheaper, by 0.52 percentage points a year. That is about $52 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do IDEF and IVV overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 42% of IDEF and 100% of IVV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IDEF vs IVV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IDEF returned −5.7% to IVV's +13.7%, and IVV charges 0.03% to IDEF's 0.55%.

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Net assets: $3.7bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Defense Industrials and Tech Active ETF, and $885.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF.

IDEF on its own →IVV on its own →

At a glance

−5.7%

IDEF total return, 1 year

+13.7%

IVV total return, 1 year

0.55%

IDEF expense ratio

0.03%

IVV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IVV costs 0.52 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.4 points; IVV is far larger, $885.1bn against $3.7bn.

IDEF vs IVV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IDEF	IVV
Return
Measure	IDEF	IVV
Total return, 1 year	−5.7%	+13.7%
Drawdown
Measure	IDEF	IVV
Below its all-time high	17.0%, high on Mar 2, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IDEF	IVV
What it tracks	Defense	S&P 500
Cost and size
Measure	IDEF	IVV
Expense ratio	0.55%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$3.7bn	$885.1bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	92%
Holdings
Measure	IDEF	IVV
Holdings in common	8%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	37%	38.1%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IDEF and IVV hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

8% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IDEF IVV

MICROSOFT 1.34% 5.93%

AMAZON.COM INC 0.94% 3.73%

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 3.02% 0.69%

BROADCOM INC 0.55% 2.45%

PALO ALTO NETWORKS 1.46% 0.49%

GE AEROSPACE 1.72% 0.46%

CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS CLASS A 1.30% 0.41%

RTX 7.05% 0.39%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 0.34% 1.37%

AMPHENOL CORP CLASS A 1.07% 0.29%

BOEING 3.44% 0.20%

INTEL CORPORATION 0.19% 0.70%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IDEF

ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 3.06%

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.93%

AIRBUS GROUP 2.34%

THALES SA 2.15%

SAAB CLASS B 1.85%

MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES 1.59%

LEONARDO FINMECCANICA SPA 1.57%

MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC 1.44%

Only in IVV

NVIDIA 7.92%

APPLE 7.61%

ALPHABET CLASS A 2.83%

ALPHABET CLASS C 2.26%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 2.05%

TESLA INC 1.73%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 1.57%

ELI LILLY 1.54%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IDEF iShares Defense Industrials and Tech Active ETF IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Defense Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year −5.7% +13.7%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.6% (SPY)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +0.1 pts vs SPY

Expense ratio 0.55% 0.03%

Already in the S&P 500 42.5% 99.8%

Holdings 155 505

Net assets, IDEF as of Oct 28, 2026 and IVV as of Oct 27, 2026 $3.7bn $885.1bn

IDEF and IVV on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

IDEF

By weight, 42% of IDEF's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 92%. The top ten holdings are 37% of the fund across 155 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −5.7% with distributions reinvested. It sits 17.0% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.

IVV

IVV tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.

Questions people ask

Are IDEF and IVV in the same category?: IDEF is a thematic ETF and IVV is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, IDEF or IVV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IDEF returned −5.7% and IVV +13.7%.
Which is cheaper, IDEF or IVV?: IVV is cheaper, by 0.52 percentage points a year. That is about $52 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IDEF and IVV overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 42% of IDEF and 100% of IVV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IDEF vs VOO IDEF vs VTI IDEF vs QQQ IDEF vs VUG IVV vs PPA IVV vs XAR IVV vs SHLD ITA vs IVV

Where to next

IDEF on its own →IVV on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →IDEF dividend history →IDEF holdings →IVV dividend history →IVV holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

IDEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IDEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IDEF ↗

IVV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IVV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IVV ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, IDEF against IVV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/idef-vs-ivv

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.