Data as of . Every figure is the themes desk's own, on published data.
ITA vs SHLD
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF and Global X Defense Tech ETF, side by side on the themes desk.
29% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ| ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF | SHLD Global X Defense Tech ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | Global X |
| Theme | Defense | Defense |
| In the S&P 500 | 76.6% | 44.8% |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 97.9% | 98.7% |
| In the Nasdaq-100 | 3.2% | 7.1% |
| Holdings | 49 | 48 |
| Top ten, share of the fund | 75.2% | 59.5% |
| Expense ratio | not published | 0.50% |
| Fee for the differing part | not published | 0.51% |
| Total return, 1 year | +14.2% | +2.3% |
| vs the S&P 500 | −5.7 pts | −17.7 pts |
| vs the Nasdaq-100 | −11.4 pts | −23.3 pts |
| Below its high | −10.9% | −19.0% |
ITA in plain words
By weight, 77% of ITA'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 75% of the fund across 49 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +14.2% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 5.7 pts. It sits 10.9% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
SHLD in plain words
By weight, 45% of SHLD's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 60% of the fund across 48 positions, as filed for May 31, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +2.3% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 17.7 pts. It sits 19.0% below its all-time high of Mar 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do ITA and SHLD hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 29% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is a meaningful overlap. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
- Which is more different from the S&P 500, ITA or SHLD?
- ITA has 77% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SHLD has 45%, so SHLD differs more from the index.
Other comparisons
Cite this page. ETFIQ, ITA against SHLD, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ITA-SHLD.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