Get the weekly note
ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

Data as of .

ARMY vs ITA: which is really different?

ARMY and ITA hold 12% of their weight in the same names.

Tema International Defense ETF and iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF.

11.1%ARMY in the S&P 500
79.3%ITA in the S&P 500
−6.1%ARMY total return, 1 year
+5.6%ITA total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: ARMY scores higher

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

ARMY 55.3ITA 480.1, the lowest in this set91.8, the highest

A percentile among the 379 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

ARMY89% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 3 months to Sep 18, 2026
11%89%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 47% of the fund · 34 holdings filed Sep 18, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 3% in11%89%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 47% of the fund
ITA21% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
79%21%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesoutside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 77% of the fund · 52 holdings filed Sep 17, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 3% in79%21%in the S&P 50021% of its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 77% of the fund

12% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ARMY and ITA hold 12% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions ARMY and ITA both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingARMYITA
ROCKET LAB CORP3.67%2.67%
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP1.81%4.66%
RTX CORP1.65%16.38%
GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP1.34%4.59%
L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC1.27%3.46%
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP1.12%4.69%
BOEING CO/THE1.09%7.72%
AEROVIRONMENT INC0.70%0.46%
AIRBUS GROUP SE2.43%0.34%
LEONARDO DRS INC1.16%0.22%
Only in each
Only in ARMYOnly in ITA
ANDURIL SPV EXPOSURE 14.63%GE AEROSPACE 20.42%
ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD 3.88%HOWMET AEROSPACE 4.53%
KONGSBERG GRUPPEN ASA 3.69%TRANSDIGM GROUP 4.43%
DASSAULT AVIATION SA 3.66%HONEYWELL AEROSPACE INC 3.91%
INDRA SISTEMAS SA 3.65%AXON ENTERPRISE 2.74%
BAE SYSTEMS PLC 3.58%ATI 1.96%
QINETIQ GROUP PLC 3.55%CURTISS WRIGHT 1.58%
THALES SA 3.54%CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY 1.52%

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 18, 2026.

Performance, window by window

ARMY 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
ARMYITAARMYITAARMYITA
3 months−2.2%−10.4%−4.4 pts−12.7 pts+0.3 pts−7.9 pts
6 monthsnot published−3.7%not published−21.8 ptsnot published−28.0 pts
1 yearnot published+5.6%not published−10.9 ptsnot published−16.1 pts
3 yearsnot published+100.0%not published+21.6 ptsnot published+1.9 pts
Since launch−6.1%+884.1%−23.8 pts+80.5 pts−31.2 pts−806.1 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
ARMY and ITA on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ARMY
Tema International Defense ETF
Holds 34 stocks in defense, 11% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
ITA
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF
Holds 52 stocks in defense, 79% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssuerTemaiShares
ThemeDefenseDefense
In the S&P 50011.1%79.3%
Active share vs the S&P 50098.4%97.9%
In the Nasdaq-1002.9%2.9%
Holdings3452
Top ten, share of the fund47.4%77.3%
Expense ratio0.68%0.37%
Fee for the differing part0.69%0.38%
Total return, 1 year−6.1% (since launch on Mar 31, 2026)+5.6%
vs the S&P 500−23.8 pts−10.9 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100−31.2 pts−16.1 pts
Below its high−14.6%−15.4%
Net assets$7m$12.5bn

ARMY in plain words

By weight, 11% of ARMY'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 47% of the fund across 34 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 18, 2026. Since it launched on Mar 31, 2026 the fund returned −6.1% with distributions reinvested against +17.7% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 23.8 pts. It sits 14.6% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

ITA in plain words

By weight, 79% 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 77% of the fund across 52 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 18, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned +5.6% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 10.9 pts. It sits 15.4% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do ARMY and ITA hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 12% 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, ARMY or ITA?
ARMY has 11% of its weight in S&P 500 names and ITA has 79%, so ARMY differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, ARMY or ITA?
ARMY charges 0.68% 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.

ARMY against ITA, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, ARMY against ITA, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/army-vs-ita Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources