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Data as of .

IDEF vs SOXX: which is really different?

SOXX holds 73.8% of its weight in S&P 500 companies and IDEF 36.1%.

iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF and iShares Semiconductor ETF, side by side, thematic ETFs on ETFIQ.

36.1%IDEF in the S&P 500
73.8%SOXX in the S&P 500
+4.9%IDEF total return, 1 year
+107.5%SOXX total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: IDEF scores higher

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

IDEF 35.7SOXX 14.30.1, 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
SOXX26% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
74%26%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesoutside the S&P 500active share 82% · top ten 62% of the fund · 32 holdings filed Sep 10, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 65% in74%26%in the S&P 500outsideactive share 82% · top ten 62% of the fund

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, IDEF and SOXX hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions IDEF and SOXX both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingIDEFSOXX
MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS0.64%1.04%
USD CASH2.72%0.04%
Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in IDEFOnly in SOXX
RTX 6.72%NVIDIA 9.22%
PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 4.71%MICRON TECHNOLOGY 8.97%
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 3.62%ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 8.70%
BOEING 3.32%BROADCOM INC 7.20%
ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 3.30%INTEL CORPORATION 5.64%
GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 2.97%MARVELL TECHNOLOGY 4.93%
THALES SA 2.61%TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 4.74%
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 2.56%APPLIED MATERIAL INC 4.50%

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.

Performance, window by window

IDEF and SOXX over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
IDEFSOXXIDEFSOXXIDEFSOXX
3 months−1.9%−11.6%−5.2 pts−14.9 pts−1.1 pts−10.8 pts
6 months−8.5%+59.3%−24.5 pts+43.2 pts−29.2 pts+38.6 pts
1 year+4.9%+107.5%−12.6 pts+90.0 pts−18.1 pts+84.5 pts
3 yearsnot published+229.6%not published+151.7 ptsnot published+134.5 pts
Since launch+26.5%+3687.1%−6.4 pts+2882.7 pts−13.6 pts+2013.2 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
IDEF and SOXX 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
SOXX
iShares Semiconductor ETF
Holds 32 stocks in semiconductors, 74% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssueriSharesiShares
ThemeDefenseSemiconductors
In the S&P 50036.1%73.8%
Active share vs the S&P 50095.9%82.3%
In the Nasdaq-1008.5%65.2%
Holdings15232
Top ten, share of the fund35.2%62.2%
Expense rationot published0.33%
Fee for the differing partnot published0.40%
Total return, 1 year+4.9%+107.5%
vs the S&P 500−12.6 pts+90.0 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100−18.1 pts+84.5 pts
Below its high−13.9%−19.5%

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.

SOXX in plain words

By weight, 74% of SOXX's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 82%. The top ten holdings are 62% of the fund across 32 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +107.5% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 90.0 pts. It sits 19.5% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which is more different from the S&P 500, IDEF or SOXX?
IDEF has 36% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SOXX has 74%, so IDEF 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 SOXX, 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 SOXX, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/idef-vs-soxx Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources