Are IDEF and VUG in the same category?

IDEF is a thematic ETF and VUG 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 VUG?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IDEF returned −5.7% and VUG +6.6%.

Which is cheaper, IDEF or VUG?

VUG 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 VUG overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 42% of IDEF and 97% of VUG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IDEF vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IDEF returned −5.7% to VUG's +6.6%, and VUG 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 $232.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF.

IDEF on its own →VUG on its own →

At a glance

−5.7%

IDEF total return, 1 year

+6.6%

VUG total return, 1 year

0.55%

IDEF expense ratio

0.03%

VUG expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VUG costs 0.52 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 12.3 points; VUG is far larger, $232.9bn against $3.8bn.

IDEF vs VUG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IDEF	VUG
Return
Measure	IDEF	VUG
Total return, 1 year	−5.7%	+6.6%
Drawdown
Measure	IDEF	VUG
Below its all-time high	17.0%, high on Mar 2, 2026
Below its high		4.1%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IDEF	VUG
What it tracks	Defense	Morningstar US Large Cap Growth Index
Cost and size
Measure	IDEF	VUG
Expense ratio	0.55%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$3.8bn	$232.9bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	92%
Holdings
Measure	IDEF	VUG
Holdings in common	9%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	37%	63.1%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IDEF and VUG hold 9% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

9% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IDEF VUG

MICROSOFT 1.34% 9.74%

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 3.02% 1.10%

AMAZON.COM INC 0.94% 4.26%

PALO ALTO NETWORKS 1.46% 0.88%

CROWDSTRIKE HOLDINGS CLASS A 1.30% 0.71%

AMPHENOL CORP CLASS A 1.07% 0.57%

BROADCOM INC 0.55% 4.34%

GE AEROSPACE 1.72% 0.45%

BOEING 3.44% 0.41%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 0.34% 2.66%

FORTINET 0.85% 0.32%

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.93% 0.26%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IDEF

RTX 7.05%

LOCKHEED MARTIN 5.27%

GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 4.15%

NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 3.92%

ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 3.06%

AIRBUS GROUP 2.34%

THALES SA 2.15%

SAAB CLASS B 1.85%

Only in VUG

NVIDIA Corp 13.49%

Apple Inc 12.51%

Alphabet Inc 5.16%

Meta Platforms Inc 4.23%

Alphabet Inc 4.09%

Tesla Inc 2.65%

Eli Lilly & Co 2.60%

Visa Inc 1.59%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IDEF iShares Defense Industrials and Tech Active ETF VUG Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Defense Tracks an index of US growth

Total return, 1 year −5.7% +6.6%

Expense ratio 0.55% 0.03%

Already in the S&P 500 42.5% 97.3%

Holdings 155 137

Net assets, IDEF as of Oct 28, 2026 and VUG as of Sep 30, 2026 $3.7bn $232.9bn

IDEF and VUG 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.

VUG

VUG tracks an index of US growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +6.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 137 positions, with the top ten at 63.1%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IDEF and VUG in the same category?: IDEF is a thematic ETF and VUG 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 VUG?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IDEF returned −5.7% and VUG +6.6%.
Which is cheaper, IDEF or VUG?: VUG 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 VUG overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 42% of IDEF and 97% of VUG by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IDEF vs QQQM IDEF vs SCHG IDEF vs QQQ IDEF vs VTI VUG vs XAR ITA vs VUG PPA vs VUG SHLD vs VUG

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IDEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IDEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IDEF ↗

VUG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VUG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VUG ↗

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 VUG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/idef-vs-vug

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