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Data as of .

ARKK vs IDEF: which is really different?

ARKK and IDEF hold 7% of their weight in the same names, and ARKK returned more over the year.

ARK Innovation ETF and iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF, side by side, thematic ETFs on ETFIQ.

38.1%ARKK in the S&P 500
36.1%IDEF in the S&P 500
+6.7%ARKK total return, 1 year
+4.9%IDEF total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: IDEF scores higher

How much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?

ARKK 19.1IDEF 37.70.1, the lowest in this set91.4, the highest

A percentile among the 349 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All thematic ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed

ARKK62% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
38%62%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 85% · top ten 49% of the fund · 47 holdings filed Sep 11, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 29% in38%62%in the S&P 500outside the S&P 500active share 85% · top ten 49% of the fund
IDEF64% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
36%64%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 96% · top ten 35% of the fund · 152 holdings filed Sep 10, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 9% in36%64%inoutside the S&P 500active share 96% · top ten 35% of the fund

7% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ARKK and IDEF hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in ARKKOnly in IDEF
TESLA INC 9.75%RTX 6.72%
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHN-CL A 6.52%PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 4.71%
CIRCLE INTERNET GROUP INC 5.56%LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 3.62%
TEMPUS AI INC-CL A 4.83%BOEING 3.32%
CRISPR THERAPEUTICS AG 4.52%ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 3.30%
COINBASE GLOBAL INC -CLASS A 4.47%GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 2.97%
ROBINHOOD MARKETS INC - A 4.18%USD CASH 2.72%
TWIST BIOSCIENCE CORP 3.29%THALES SA 2.61%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 10, 2026 and Sep 11, 2026.

Performance, window by window

ARKK and IDEF over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
ARKKIDEFARKKIDEFARKKIDEF
3 months+10.5%−1.9%+7.2 pts−5.2 pts+11.3 pts−1.1 pts
6 months+19.0%−8.5%+3.0 pts−24.5 pts−1.7 pts−29.2 pts
1 year+6.7%+4.9%−10.8 pts−12.6 pts−16.2 pts−18.1 pts
3 years+89.9%not published+12.0 ptsnot published−5.2 ptsnot published
Since launch+353.4%+26.5%−8.3 pts−6.4 pts−318.1 pts−13.6 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
ARKK and IDEF on the same fields, as of Sep 11, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ARKK
ARK Innovation ETF
Holds 47 stocks in broad innovation and megatrends, 38% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IDEF
iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF
Holds 152 stocks in defense, 36% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssuerARKiShares
ThemeBroad innovation and megatrendsDefense
In the S&P 50038.1%36.1%
Active share vs the S&P 50085.0%95.9%
In the Nasdaq-10028.6%8.5%
Holdings47152
Top ten, share of the fund49.4%35.2%
Expense ratio0.75%not published
Fee for the differing part0.88%not published
Total return, 1 year+6.7%+4.9%
vs the S&P 500−10.8 pts−12.6 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100−16.2 pts−18.1 pts
Below its high−45.9%−13.9%

ARKK in plain words

By weight, 38% of ARKK's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 85%. The top ten holdings are 49% of the fund across 47 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 11, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +6.7% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 10.8 pts. It sits 45.9% below its all-time high of Feb 12, 2021.

IDEF in plain words

By weight, 36% of IDEF's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 96%. The top ten holdings are 35% of the fund across 152 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +4.9% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 12.6 pts. It sits 13.9% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do ARKK and IDEF hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 7% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is mostly different names. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, ARKK or IDEF?
ARKK has 38% of its weight in S&P 500 names and IDEF has 36%, so IDEF differs more from the index.

Other comparisons

Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

ARKK against IDEF, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 11, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, ARKK against IDEF, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ARKK-IDEF Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources