Do ITA and KDEF 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.

Which is more different from the S&P 500, ITA or KDEF?

ITA has 81% of its weight in S&P 500 names and KDEF has 0%, so KDEF differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, ITA or KDEF?

ITA charges 0.37% a year and KDEF charges 0.65%, so ITA is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

ITA vs KDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, ITA returned +0.8% to KDEF's −28.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $12.2bn on Nov 4, 2026 for iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, and $113m on Aug 31, 2026 for PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF.

ITA on its own →KDEF on its own →

At a glance

80.8%

ITA in the S&P 500

0.0%

KDEF in the S&P 500

+0.8%

ITA total return, 1 year

−28.3%

KDEF total return, 1 year

ITA · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 19% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

81% of ITA's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 19% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 3, 2026.

KDEF · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 100% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

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

Pair scorecard

ITA costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 29.1 points.

ITA vs KDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	ITA	KDEF
Return
Measure	ITA	KDEF
Total return, 1 year	+0.8%	−28.3%
Drawdown
Measure	ITA	KDEF
Below its all-time high	15.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026	50.7%, high on May 5, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ITA	KDEF
What it tracks	Defense	Defense
Cost and size
Measure	ITA	KDEF
Expense ratio	0.37%	0.65%
Net assets, ITA as of Nov 4, 2026 and KDEF as of Aug 31, 2026	$12.2bn	$113m
Holdings
Measure	ITA	KDEF
Holdings in common	0%

Method

Risk and return

Feb 14, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 89 weekly returns

ITA KDEF

Return

Total return edge ITA +37.8% +33.5%

Annualized edge ITA +20.6% +18.4%

Price return edge ITA +36.6% +25.4%

Risk

Volatility edge ITA 23.5% 50.9%

Max drawdown edge ITA −20.0% −51.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge ITA 0.75 0.51

Sortino edge ITA 1.10 0.74

Calmar edge ITA 1.03 0.36

Reading

From Feb 2025 to Oct 2026, ITA returned more: +37.8% to +33.5%. ITA swung less: 23.5% to 50.9%. ITA fell less at its worst: −20.0% to −51.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: ITA vs KDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	ITA	KDEF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+37.8%	+33.5%	ITA	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+20.6%	+18.4%	ITA	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+36.6%	+25.4%	ITA	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	23.5%	50.9%	ITA	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.0%	34.7%	ITA	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−20.0%	−51.6%	ITA	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.75	0.51	ITA	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.10	0.74	ITA	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	1.03	0.36	ITA	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 89 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, ITA and KDEF hold 0% 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

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ITA KDEF

Only in one fund ↓

Only in ITA

GE AEROSPACE 20.61%

RTX 17.02%

BOEING 6.68%

LOCKHEED MARTIN 5.53%

TRANSDIGM GROUP 4.87%

NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 4.84%

GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 4.82%

HOWMET AEROSPACE 4.35%

Only in KDEF

HANWHA AEROSPACE CO LTD 23.38%

HYUNDAI ROTEM COMPANY 7.63%

KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES LTD 6.71%

LIG DEFENSE & AEROSPACE CO LTD 6.67%

POONGSAN CORP 6.04%

SK OCEANPLANT CO LTD 4.33%

SNT MOTIV CO LTD 4.25%

SNT DYNAMICS CO LTD 3.94%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: ITA vs KDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return
Window	ITA	KDEF
3 months	−15.5%	−22.9%
6 months	−4.6%	−49.1%
1 year	+0.8%	−28.3%
3 years	+91.7%	–
Since launchNot the same days: ITA May 2006 · KDEF Feb 2025	+916.6%	+60.9%

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

Side by side

ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 51 stocks in defense, 81% of its weight in S&P 500 companies KDEF PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF · Holds 20 stocks in defense, 0% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer iShares PLUS

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 80.8% 0.0%

Active share vs the S&P 500 97.7% 100.0%

In the Nasdaq-100 8.5% 0.0%

Holdings 51 20

Top ten, share of the fund 76.3% 70.4%

Expense ratio 0.37% 0.65%

Fee for the differing part 0.38% 0.65%

Total return, 1 year +0.8% −28.3%

vs its benchmark not measured not measured

Below its high −15.8% −50.7%

Net assets, ITA as of Nov 4, 2026 and KDEF as of Aug 31, 2026 $12.2bn $113m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Client brief:

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About each fund

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 Nov 3, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned +0.8% with distributions reinvested. It sits 15.8% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

KDEF

By weight, 0% of KDEF'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 70% of the fund across 20 positions, as filed for Aug 31, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned −28.3% with distributions reinvested. It sits 50.7% below its all-time high of May 5, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do ITA and KDEF 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.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, ITA or KDEF?: ITA has 81% of its weight in S&P 500 names and KDEF has 0%, so KDEF differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, ITA or KDEF?: ITA charges 0.37% a year and KDEF charges 0.65%, so ITA is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ITA vs NATO ITA vs WDEF ITA vs WAR ITA vs WDAF KDEF vs PPA KDEF vs SHLD KDEF vs MISL KDEF vs NATO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

ITA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ITA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ITA ↗

KDEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

KDEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

PLUS 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, ITA against KDEF, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ita-vs-kdef

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