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Data as of .

IDEF vs SHLD: which is really different?

SHLD holds 40.5% of its weight in S&P 500 companies and IDEF 36.1%.

iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF and Global X Defense Tech ETF, side by side, thematic ETFs on ETFIQ.

36.1%IDEF in the S&P 500
40.5%SHLD in the S&P 500
+4.9%IDEF total return, 1 year
−4.8%SHLD total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: SHLD scores higher

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

IDEF 35.7SHLD 63.90.1, 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
SHLD60% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
41%60%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 99% · top ten 64% of the fund · 52 holdings filed Sep 11, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 0% in41%60%in the S&P 500outside the S&P 500active share 99% · top ten 64% of the fund

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, IDEF and SHLD hold 26% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions IDEF and SHLD both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingIDEFSHLD
RTX6.72%9.40%
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A4.71%10.28%
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP3.62%8.26%
GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP2.97%8.73%
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP2.56%7.86%
KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES1.24%0.99%
BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC0.53%2.12%
HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES0.47%1.70%
KRATOS DEFENSE AND SECURITY SOLUTI0.45%1.34%
L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES0.44%3.72%
PARSONS CORP0.44%0.75%
AEROVIRONMENT0.42%0.86%
Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in IDEFOnly in SHLD
BOEING 3.32%BAE SYSTEMS PLC 4.54%
ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 3.30%HANWHA AEROSPACE CO LTD 4.04%
USD CASH 2.72%RHEINMETALL AG 3.82%
THALES SA 2.61%THALES SA 3.67%
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.38%LEONARDO SPA 3.63%
HANWHA AEROSPACE LTD 2.28%SAAB AB-B 3.39%
BAE SYSTEMS PLC 2.11%ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD 3.15%
GE AEROSPACE 1.90%KONGSBERG GRUPPEN ASA 2.09%

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 SHLD over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
IDEFSHLDIDEFSHLDIDEFSHLD
3 months−1.9%−2.9%−5.2 pts−6.2 pts−1.1 pts−2.1 pts
6 months−8.5%−18.1%−24.5 pts−34.1 pts−29.2 pts−38.8 pts
1 year+4.9%−4.8%−12.6 pts−22.4 pts−18.1 pts−27.8 pts
Since launch+26.5%+153.8%−6.4 pts+76.2 pts−13.6 pts+59.5 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
IDEF and SHLD 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
SHLD
Global X Defense Tech ETF
Holds 52 stocks in defense, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssueriSharesGlobal X
ThemeDefenseDefense
In the S&P 50036.1%40.5%
Active share vs the S&P 50095.9%99.1%
In the Nasdaq-1008.5%0.0%
Holdings15252
Top ten, share of the fund35.2%64.3%
Expense rationot published0.50%
Fee for the differing partnot published0.50%
Total return, 1 year+4.9%−4.8%
vs the S&P 500−12.6 pts−22.4 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100−18.1 pts−27.8 pts
Below its high−13.9%−20.6%

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.

SHLD in plain words

By weight, 40% of SHLD's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 64% of the fund across 52 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 11, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned −4.8% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 22.4 pts. It sits 20.6% below its all-time high of Mar 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which is more different from the S&P 500, IDEF or SHLD?
IDEF has 36% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SHLD has 40%, so SHLD 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 SHLD, 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 SHLD, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/idef-vs-shld Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources