Do IDEF and XDEF hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 18% 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, IDEF or XDEF?

IDEF has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XDEF has 0%, so XDEF differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, IDEF or XDEF?

IDEF charges 0.55% a year and XDEF charges 0.35%, so XDEF is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

IDEF vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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IDEF and XDEF hold 18% of their weight in the same names.

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Net assets: $3.6bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares Defense Industrials and Tech Active ETF, and $4.3m on Nov 2, 2026 for Xtrackers Europe Defense Technologies ETF.

IDEF on its own →XDEF on its own →

At a glance

40.1%

IDEF in the S&P 500

0.0%

XDEF in the S&P 500

−5.8%

IDEF total return, 1 year

−12.4%

XDEF total return, since launch, Feb 19, 2026

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

40% of IDEF's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 60% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 3, 2026.

XDEF · 6 months to Nov 4, 2026 100% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

0% of XDEF's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 100% is outside the index. Holdings as of Aug 31, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XDEF costs 0.20 points a year less; IDEF is far larger, $3.7bn against $4.3m.

IDEF vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	IDEF	XDEF
Return
Measure	IDEF	XDEF
Total return, 1 year	−5.8%	not published
Drawdown
Measure	IDEF	XDEF
Below its all-time high	19.2%, high on Mar 2, 2026	13.0%, high on Feb 20, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IDEF	XDEF
What it tracks	Defense	Defense
Cost and size
Measure	IDEF	XDEF
Expense ratio	0.55%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Nov 2, 2026	$3.7bn	$4.3m
Holdings
Measure	IDEF	XDEF
Holdings in common	18%

Method

What they share

18%

By the books each fund has filed, IDEF and XDEF hold 18% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

18% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IDEF XDEF

THALES SA 3.76% 4.31%

ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 2.27% 9.20%

RHEINMETALL AG 1.67% 6.81%

LEONARDO FINMECCANICA SPA 1.63% 4.04%

AIRBUS GROUP 1.61% 8.40%

KONGSBERG GRUPPEN 1.01% 4.47%

BAE SYSTEMS PLC 0.93% 7.93%

HENSOLDT AG 0.78% 3.23%

BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL GROUP PLC 0.71% 3.91%

QINETIQ GROUP PLC 0.69% 1.64%

CSG CLASS A NV 0.65% 1.73%

DASSAULT AVIATION SA 0.61% 3.11%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IDEF

RTX 7.41%

LOCKHEED MARTIN 5.42%

GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 4.39%

NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 3.93%

SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES COR 2.77%

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES CLASS A 2.67%

SAAB CLASS B 1.95%

PALO ALTO NETWORKS 1.74%

Only in XDEF

SAAB AB 4.90%

MELROSE INDUSTRIES PLC 4.66%

INDRA SISTEMAS SA 3.85%

SERCO GROUP PLC 1.90%

SES SA 1.06%

SENIOR PLC 0.90%

LISI SA 0.87%

BITTIUM OYJ 0.79%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: IDEF vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return
Window	IDEF	XDEF
3 months	−14.0%	−9.7%
6 months	−12.4%	−5.7%
1 year	−5.8%	–
Since launchNot the same days: IDEF May 2025 · XDEF Feb 2026	+18.8%	−12.4%

– means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →

Side by side

IDEF iShares Defense Industrials and Tech Active ETF · Holds 162 stocks in defense, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies XDEF Xtrackers Europe Defense Technologies ETF · Holds 35 stocks in defense, 0% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer iShares Xtrackers

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 40.1% 0.0%

Active share vs the S&P 500 92.6% 100.0%

In the Nasdaq-100 11.2% 0.0%

Holdings 162 35

Top ten, share of the fund 36.3% 64.0%

Expense ratio 0.55% 0.35%

Fee for the differing part 0.59% 0.35%

Total return, 1 year −5.8% −12.4% (since launch, Feb 19, 2026)

vs its benchmark not measured not measured

Below its high −19.2% −13.0%

Net assets, IDEF as of Nov 4, 2026 and XDEF as of Nov 2, 2026 $3.6bn $4.3m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

18% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Alert

About each fund

IDEF

By weight, 40% of IDEF's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 93%. The top ten holdings are 36% of the fund across 162 positions, as published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned −5.8% with distributions reinvested. It sits 19.2% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.

XDEF

By weight, 0% of XDEF'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 64% of the fund across 35 positions, as filed for Aug 31, 2026. Since it first traded on Feb 19, 2026 the fund returned −12.4% with distributions reinvested. It sits 13.0% below its all-time high of Feb 20, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do IDEF and XDEF hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 18% 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, IDEF or XDEF?: IDEF has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XDEF has 0%, so XDEF differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, IDEF or XDEF?: IDEF charges 0.55% a year and XDEF charges 0.35%, so XDEF is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

IDEF vs WR IDEF vs WAR IDEF vs XAR IDEF vs WDGF XDEF vs PPA XDEF vs ITA XDEF vs MISL XDEF vs KDEF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IDEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IDEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IDEF ↗

XDEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XDEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Xtrackers website ↗

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, IDEF against XDEF, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/idef-vs-xdef

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