Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
GDXJ vs ITA: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, GDXJ returned +14.8% to ITA's −4.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $7.6bn for VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF and $12.0bn for iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF.
0% of GDXJ's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 100% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 22, 2026.
81% of ITA's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 19% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 27, 2026.
Pair scorecard
ITA costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.1 points; ITA is 1.6 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | GDXJ | ITA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.8% | −4.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 33.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026 | 17.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Gold miners | Defense |
| Its benchmark, total return, 1 year | +13.4% | |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | ahead by 1.4 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.52% | 0.37% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $7.6bn | $12.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 20, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026 · 883 weekly returnsITA returned more: +910.0% to +31.1%. ITA swung less: 22.2% to 42.7%. ITA fell less at its worst: −49.3% to −88.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | GDXJ | ITA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +31.1% | +910.0% | ITA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +1.6% | +14.6% | ITA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −7.2% | +735.3% | ITA | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 42.7% | 22.2% | ITA | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 30.0% | 15.2% | ITA | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −88.3% | −49.3% | ITA | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.22 | 0.66 | ITA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.31 | 0.96 | ITA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.02 | 0.30 | ITA | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 883 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, GDXJ and ITA hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Window by window
| Total return | vs its benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | GDXJ | ITA | GDXJ | ITA |
| 3 months | +9.9% | −12.0% | +5.5 pts vs ACWI | not measured |
| 6 months | −8.0% | −2.4% | −15.4 pts vs ACWI | not measured |
| 1 year | +14.8% | −4.3% | +1.4 pts vs ACWI | not measured |
| 3 years | +220.2% | +97.8% | +131.3 pts vs ACWI | not measured |
| Since launchNot the same days: GDXJ Nov 2009 · ITA May 2006 | +44.9% | +892.2% | not measured | not measured |
Side by side
As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
GDXJ and ITA are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Theme. GDXJ covers Gold miners and ITA covers Defense.
- Concentration. The top ten holdings are 40.8% of GDXJ and 76.1% of ITA, a gap of 35.3 points.
- What each follows. GDXJ follows Gold miners and ITA follows Defense.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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GDXJ
By weight, 0% of GDXJ's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 41% of the fund across 156 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Index, so a holder was ahead by 1.4 pts. It sits 33.1% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.
ITA
By weight, 81% 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 76% of the fund across 51 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −4.3% with distributions reinvested. It sits 17.9% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do GDXJ and ITA hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
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.
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ETFIQ, GDXJ against ITA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/gdxj-vs-ita
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). GDXJ against ITA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/gdxj-vs-ita
[GDXJ against ITA (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/gdxj-vs-ita)
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