Do GCAD and MISL hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 45% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.

Which is more different from the S&P 500, GCAD or MISL?

GCAD has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and MISL has 66%, so MISL differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, GCAD or MISL?

GCAD charges 0.10% a year and MISL charges 0.60%, so GCAD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

GCAD vs MISL: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, GCAD returned +9.4% to MISL's −2.3%; 45% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $44m on Jun 30, 2026 for Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF, and $685m on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF.

GCAD on its own →MISL on its own →

At a glance

40.1%

GCAD in the S&P 500

65.9%

MISL in the S&P 500

+9.4%

GCAD total return, 1 year

−2.3%

MISL total return, 1 year

GCAD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 60% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

40% of GCAD's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 60% is outside the index. Holdings as of Jun 30, 2026.

MISL · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 34% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

66% of MISL's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 34% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 3, 2026.

Pair scorecard

GCAD costs 0.50 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.7 points.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

GCAD vs MISL: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	GCAD	MISL
Return
Measure	GCAD	MISL
Total return, 1 year	+9.4%	−2.3%
Drawdown
Measure	GCAD	MISL
Below its all-time high	15.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026	19.1%, high on Jan 16, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	GCAD	MISL
What it tracks	Defense	Defense
Against the S&P 500, 1 year		behind by 17.1 pts
Its benchmark, total return, 1 year		+14.8%
Against its benchmark, 1 year		behind by 17.1 pts
Cost and size
Measure	GCAD	MISL
Expense ratio	0.10%	0.60%
Net assets, GCAD as of Jun 30, 2026 and MISL as of Nov 3, 2026	$44m	$685m
Holdings
Measure	GCAD	MISL
Holdings in common	45%

Method

What they share

45%

By the books each fund has filed, GCAD and MISL hold 45% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

45% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first GCAD MISL

BOEING COMPANY (THE) 5.20% 7.16%

RTX CORP 4.14% 8.62%

L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC 4.01% 4.61%

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 3.97% 4.93%

NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 3.48% 4.50%

HOWMET AEROSPACE INC 2.60% 3.90%

GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 2.39% 4.45%

WOODWARD INC 2.10% 2.08%

TRANSDIGM GROUP INC 2.03% 4.29%

HONEYWELL AEROSPACE INC 1.98% 3.92%

CURTISS-WRIGHT CORP 2.44% 1.95%

TEXTRON INC 3.87% 1.60%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in GCAD

ALBANY INTERNATIONAL CORP 6.84%

CRANE COMPANY 3.06%

ATI INC 2.29%

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL INC 2.01%

CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY CORP 1.41%

REDWIRE CORP 1.40%

ECHOSTAR CORP 1.30%

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND SUPPORT INC 1.16%

Only in MISL

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Class A) 6.84%

Rocket Lab Corporation 3.14%

FTAI Aviation Ltd. 2.18%

CACI International Inc. 1.59%

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. 1.53%

Loar Holdings Inc. 0.68%

AeroVironment, Inc. 0.67%

Science Applications International Corporation 0.67%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: GCAD vs MISL: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	GCAD	MISL	GCAD	MISL
3 months	−14.0%	−10.2%	not measured	−10.1 pts vs VOO
6 months	−7.1%	−7.5%	not measured	−12.5 pts vs VOO
1 year	+9.4%	−2.3%	not measured	−17.1 pts vs VOO
3 years	+105.6%	+79.3%	not measured	−4.0 pts vs VOO
Since launchNot the same days: GCAD Jan 2023 · MISL Oct 2022	+117.4%	+103.7%	not measured	−8.3 pts vs VOO

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Side by side

GCAD Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF · Holds 51 stocks in defense, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies MISL First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 44 stocks in defense, 66% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer Gabelli First Trust

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 40.1% 65.9%

Active share vs the S&P 500 97.2% 97.4%

In the Nasdaq-100 4.4% 20.5%

Holdings 51 44

Top ten, share of the fund 47.5% 60.2%

Expense ratio 0.10% 0.60%

Fee for the differing part 0.10% 0.62%

Total return, 1 year +9.4% −2.3%

vs its benchmark not measured −17.1 pts vs VOO

Below its high −15.6% −19.1%

Net assets, GCAD as of Jun 30, 2026 and MISL as of Nov 3, 2026 $44m $685m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

45% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Alert

About each fund

GCAD

By weight, 40% of GCAD'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 48% of the fund across 51 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned +9.4% with distributions reinvested. It sits 15.6% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

MISL

By weight, 66% of MISL'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 60% of the fund across 44 positions, as published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned −2.3% with distributions reinvested against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 17.1 pts. It sits 19.1% below its all-time high of Jan 16, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do GCAD and MISL hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 45% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, GCAD or MISL?: GCAD has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and MISL has 66%, so MISL differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, GCAD or MISL?: GCAD charges 0.10% a year and MISL charges 0.60%, so GCAD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

GCAD vs IDEF GCAD vs KDEF GCAD vs XAR GCAD vs SHLD MISL vs SHLD MISL vs PPA MISL vs WAR MISL vs WDAF

Where to next

All thematic ETFs ranked by the S&P 500 Difference Score →How the scores are computed →GCAD on its own →MISL on its own →GCAD dividend history →GCAD holdings →MISL dividend history →MISL holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

GCAD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

GCAD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Gabelli website ↗

MISL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MISL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for MISL ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, GCAD against MISL, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/gcad-vs-misl

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.