Get the weekly note
ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

Data as of .

ARKK vs ITA: which is really different?

ITA holds 79.5% of its weight in S&P 500 companies and ARKK 38.1%.

ARK Innovation ETF and iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, side by side, thematic ETFs on ETFIQ.

38.1%ARKK in the S&P 500
79.5%ITA in the S&P 500
+6.7%ARKK total return, 1 year
+10.0%ITA total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: ITA scores higher

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

ARKK 18.2ITA 48.20.1, the lowest in this set91.6, the highest

A percentile among the 371 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
ITA21% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
80%21%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesoutside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 78% of the fund · 51 holdings filed Sep 10, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 3% in80%21%in the S&P 50021% of its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 78% of the fund

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ARKK and ITA hold 0% 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 ITA
TESLA INC 9.75%GE AEROSPACE 21.81%
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHN-CL A 6.52%RTX 17.21%
CIRCLE INTERNET GROUP INC 5.56%BOEING 9.36%
TEMPUS AI INC-CL A 4.83%GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 4.82%
CRISPR THERAPEUTICS AG 4.52%LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 4.69%
COINBASE GLOBAL INC -CLASS A 4.47%NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 4.44%
ROBINHOOD MARKETS INC - A 4.18%TRANSDIGM GROUP 4.31%
TWIST BIOSCIENCE CORP 3.29%HOWMET AEROSPACE 4.24%

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 ITA over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
ARKKITAARKKITAARKKITA
3 months+10.5%−6.3%+7.2 pts−9.6 pts+11.3 pts−5.5 pts
6 months+19.0%−4.4%+3.0 pts−20.4 pts−1.7 pts−25.1 pts
1 year+6.7%+10.0%−10.8 pts−7.5 pts−16.2 pts−13.0 pts
3 years+89.9%+103.7%+12.0 pts+25.8 pts−5.2 pts+8.6 pts
Since launch+353.4%+906.7%−8.3 pts+102.3 pts−318.1 pts−767.2 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
ARKK and ITA 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
ITA
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF
Holds 51 stocks in defense, 80% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssuerARKiShares
ThemeBroad innovation and megatrendsDefense
In the S&P 50038.1%79.5%
Active share vs the S&P 50085.0%97.9%
In the Nasdaq-10028.6%3.0%
Holdings4751
Top ten, share of the fund49.4%77.5%
Expense ratio0.75%0.37%
Fee for the differing part0.88%0.38%
Total return, 1 year+6.7%+10.0%
vs the S&P 500−10.8 pts−7.5 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100−16.2 pts−13.0 pts
Below its high−45.9%−13.5%

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.

ITA in plain words

By weight, 80% 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 78% of the fund across 51 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +10.0% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 7.5 pts. It sits 13.5% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which is more different from the S&P 500, ARKK or ITA?
ARKK has 38% of its weight in S&P 500 names and ITA has 80%, so ITA differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, ARKK or ITA?
ARKK charges 0.75% a year and ITA charges 0.37%, so ITA is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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 ITA, 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 ITA, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/arkk-vs-ita Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources