Data as of .
BULD vs FRWD: which is really different?
BULD and FRWD hold 12% of their weight in the same names.
ETFIQ Off-Index Score: BULD scores higher
How much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?
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
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, BULD and FRWD hold 12% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | BULD | FRWD |
|---|---|---|
| Lam Research Corp | 8.44% | 6.67% |
| ASML Holding NV | 8.91% | 5.09% |
| Only in BULD | Only in FRWD |
|---|---|
| Proto Labs Inc 8.59% | NVIDIA Corp. 8.12% |
| Applied Materials Inc 8.29% | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 7.83% |
| Stratasys Ltd 5.79% | Seagate Technology Holdings plc 7.77% |
| KLA Corp 5.53% | Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. L 6.33% |
| Autodesk Inc 5.49% | Micron Technology, Inc. 5.16% |
| 3D Systems Corp 4.82% | Western Digital Corp. 5.05% |
| Nano Dimension Ltd 3.80% | Broadcom, Inc. 4.67% |
| Dassault Systemes SE 3.26% | Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. 4.15% |
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 Apr 30, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | vs the S&P 500 | vs the Nasdaq-100 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BULD | FRWD | BULD | FRWD | BULD | FRWD | |
| 3 months | −7.2% | −8.0% | −9.5 pts | −10.2 pts | −4.8 pts | −5.5 pts |
| 6 months | +26.1% | +36.3% | +8.1 pts | +18.3 pts | +1.9 pts | +12.1 pts |
| 1 year | +37.2% | not published | +20.6 pts | not published | +15.4 pts | not published |
| 3 years | +84.5% | not published | +6.1 pts | not published | −13.7 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +75.7% | +27.3% | −19.8 pts | +16.6 pts | −60.9 pts | +11.8 pts |
| BULD Pacer BlueStar Engineering the Future ETF Holds 55 stocks in broad innovation and megatrends, 36% of its weight in S&P 500 companies | FRWD Nomura Transformational Technologies ETF Holds 25 stocks in broad innovation and megatrends, 70% of its weight in S&P 500 companies | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Pacer | Nomura |
| Theme | Broad innovation and megatrends | Broad innovation and megatrends |
| In the S&P 500 | 35.8% | 70.1% |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 97.2% | 74.3% |
| In the Nasdaq-100 | 36.7% | 77.7% |
| Holdings | 55 | 25 |
| Top ten, share of the fund | 62.9% | 60.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.65% |
| Fee for the differing part | 0.50% | 0.87% |
| Total return, 1 year | +37.2% | +27.3% (since launch on Jan 13, 2026) |
| vs the S&P 500 | +20.6 pts | +16.6 pts |
| vs the Nasdaq-100 | +15.4 pts | +11.8 pts |
| Below its high | −10.4% | −8.0% |
| Net assets | $5m | $285m |
BULD in plain words
By weight, 36% of BULD's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 97%. The top ten holdings are 63% of the fund across 55 positions, as filed for Apr 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned +37.2% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 20.6 pts. It sits 10.4% below its all-time high of Jun 30, 2026.
FRWD in plain words
By weight, 70% of FRWD's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 74%. The top ten holdings are 61% of the fund across 25 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Since it launched on Jan 13, 2026 the fund returned +27.3% with distributions reinvested against +10.7% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 16.6 pts. It sits 8.0% below its all-time high of Jun 18, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do BULD and FRWD 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, BULD or FRWD?
- BULD has 36% of its weight in S&P 500 names and FRWD has 70%, so BULD differs more from the index.
- Which is cheaper, BULD or FRWD?
- BULD charges 0.49% a year and FRWD charges 0.65%, so BULD 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.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, BULD against FRWD, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/buld-vs-frwd Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.