Get the weekly note
ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

Data as of .

IDEF vs PAVE: which is really different?

PAVE holds 63.1% of its weight in S&P 500 companies and IDEF 36.1%.

iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF and Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF, side by side, thematic ETFs on ETFIQ.

36.1%IDEF in the S&P 500
63.1%PAVE in the S&P 500
+4.9%IDEF total return, 1 year
+15.7%PAVE total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: PAVE scores higher

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

IDEF 35.7PAVE 41.40.1, 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

IDEF64% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
36%64%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 96% · top ten 35% of the fund · 152 holdings filed Sep 10, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 9% in36%64%inoutside the S&P 500active share 96% · top ten 35% of the fund
PAVE37% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
63%37%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 97% · top ten 32% of the fund · 102 holdings filed Sep 11, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 6% in63%37%in the S&P 500outsideactive share 97% · top ten 32% of the fund

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, IDEF and PAVE hold 4% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions IDEF and PAVE both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingIDEFPAVE
ATI0.80%1.62%
CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY0.74%1.31%
HOWMET AEROSPACE0.69%2.55%
RBC BEARINGS0.51%0.93%
WOODWARD0.32%1.20%
MTU AERO ENGINES HOLDING AG0.42%0.30%
TUTOR PERINI0.16%0.32%
CRANE0.12%0.70%
LINCOLN ELECTRIC HOLDINGS0.09%0.83%
Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in IDEFOnly in PAVE
RTX 6.72%DEERE & CO 3.53%
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 4.71%NUCOR CORP 3.42%
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 3.62%FASTENAL CO 3.40%
BOEING 3.32%EMERSON ELECTRIC CO 3.35%
ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 3.30%EATON CORP PLC 3.27%
GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 2.97%QUANTA SERVICES INC 3.17%
USD CASH 2.72%PARKER HANNIFIN CORP 3.07%
THALES SA 2.61%UNION PACIFIC CORP 2.98%

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

IDEF and PAVE over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
IDEFPAVEIDEFPAVEIDEFPAVE
3 months−1.9%−6.2%−5.2 pts−9.5 pts−1.1 pts−5.4 pts
6 months−8.5%+8.0%−24.5 pts−8.0 pts−29.2 pts−12.7 pts
1 year+4.9%+15.7%−12.6 pts−1.8 pts−18.1 pts−7.3 pts
3 yearsnot published+76.8%not published−1.1 ptsnot published−18.3 pts
Since launch+26.5%+289.6%−6.4 pts+14.1 pts−13.6 pts−194.1 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
IDEF and PAVE on the same fields, as of Sep 11, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IDEF
iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF
Holds 152 stocks in defense, 36% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
PAVE
Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETF
Holds 102 stocks in infrastructure, 63% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssueriSharesGlobal X
ThemeDefenseInfrastructure
In the S&P 50036.1%63.1%
Active share vs the S&P 50095.9%97.2%
In the Nasdaq-1008.5%6.3%
Holdings152102
Top ten, share of the fund35.2%32.1%
Expense rationot published0.47%
Fee for the differing partnot published0.48%
Total return, 1 year+4.9%+15.7%
vs the S&P 500−12.6 pts−1.8 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100−18.1 pts−7.3 pts
Below its high−13.9%−9.7%

IDEF in plain words

By weight, 36% of IDEF's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 96%. The top ten holdings are 35% of the fund across 152 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +4.9% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 12.6 pts. It sits 13.9% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.

PAVE in plain words

By weight, 63% of PAVE'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 32% of the fund across 102 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 11, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +15.7% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 1.8 pts. It sits 9.7% below its all-time high of Jun 25, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which is more different from the S&P 500, IDEF or PAVE?
IDEF has 36% of its weight in S&P 500 names and PAVE has 63%, so PAVE differs more from the index.

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.

IDEF against PAVE, 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, IDEF against PAVE, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/idef-vs-pave Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources