Data as of . Every figure is the themes desk's own, on published data.
GRID vs XAR
First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund and State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Aerospace & Defense ETF, side by side on the themes desk.
0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ| GRID First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund | XAR State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Aerospace & Defense ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | State Street |
| Theme | Electrification and the grid | Defense |
| In the S&P 500 | 39.9% | 32.4% |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 91.9% | 97.9% |
| In the Nasdaq-100 | 8.6% | 3.2% |
| Holdings | 121 | 48 |
| Top ten, share of the fund | 58.4% | 30.4% |
| Expense ratio | 0.56% | 0.35% |
| Fee for the differing part | 0.61% | 0.36% |
| Total return, 1 year | +26.6% | +17.9% |
| vs the S&P 500 | +6.6 pts | −2.1 pts |
| vs the Nasdaq-100 | +1.0 pts | −7.7 pts |
| Below its high | −10.1% | −14.8% |
GRID in plain words
By weight, 40% of GRID'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 58% of the fund across 121 positions, as filed for Sep 3, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +26.6% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 6.6 pts. It sits 10.1% below its all-time high of May 11, 2026.
XAR in plain words
By weight, 32% of XAR's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 30% of the fund across 48 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +17.9% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 2.1 pts. It sits 14.8% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do GRID and XAR hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 0% 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, GRID or XAR?
- GRID has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 32%, so XAR differs more from the index.
- Which is cheaper, GRID or XAR?
- GRID charges 0.56% a year and XAR charges 0.35%, so XAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Cite this page. ETFIQ, GRID against XAR, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/GRID-XAR.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
ETFIQ is an independent publisher of exchange-traded fund data. It is not a fund issuer, broker-dealer or investment adviser, and it makes no recommendations; every figure here is stated arithmetic on published data. Standards and sources