Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
ITA vs MISL: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, ITA returned +0.8% to MISL's −2.3%; 67% 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 $685m on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF.
81% of ITA's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 19% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 3, 2026.
66% of MISL's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 34% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 3, 2026.
Pair scorecard
ITA costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.1 points; ITA is 18.1 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | ITA | MISL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +0.8% | −2.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 15.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 19.1%, high on Jan 16, 2026 |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Defense | Defense |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | behind by 17.1 pts | |
| Its benchmark, total return, 1 year | +14.8% | |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | behind by 17.1 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.37% | 0.60% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $12.4bn | $685m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 67% | |
How different its holdings are from the S&P 500, ranked against 114 thematic ETFs with at least half their money in S&P 500 companies. 100 is best. How it is computed
Weight not shared with the S&P 500 only; it says nothing about returns, fees or whether the theme pays off. All thematic ETFs ranked by it →
Risk and return
Nov 4, 2022 to Oct 30, 2026 · 208 weekly returnsFrom Nov 2022 to Oct 2026, ITA returned slightly more: +101.7% to +97.6%. ITA and MISL swung about the same: 19.3% and 19.4%. ITA and MISL fell about the same at their worst: −20.0% and −20.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ITA | MISL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +101.7% | +97.6% | ITA (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +19.2% | +18.6% | ITA (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +95.7% | +93.7% | ITA (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.3% | 19.4% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.0% | 12.6% | MISL (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −20.0% | −20.0% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.77 | 0.74 | ITA (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.14 | 1.14 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.96 | 0.93 | ITA (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 208 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, ITA and MISL hold 67% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.
half
67% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Window by window
| Total return | vs its benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | ITA | MISL | ITA | MISL |
| 3 months | −15.5% | −10.2% | not measured | −10.1 pts vs VOO |
| 6 months | −4.6% | −7.5% | not measured | −12.5 pts vs VOO |
| 1 year | +0.8% | −2.3% | not measured | −17.1 pts vs VOO |
| 3 years | +91.7% | +79.3% | not measured | −4.0 pts vs VOO |
| Since launchNot the same days: ITA May 2006 · MISL Oct 2022 | +916.6% | +103.7% | not measured | −8.3 pts vs VOO |
Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
67% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
Client brief:
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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.
MISL
By weight, 66% of MISL'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 60% of the fund across 44 positions, as published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned −2.3% with distributions reinvested against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 17.1 pts. It sits 19.1% below its all-time high of Jan 16, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do ITA and MISL hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 67% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
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ETFIQ, ITA against MISL, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ita-vs-misl
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). ITA against MISL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ita-vs-misl
[ITA against MISL (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ita-vs-misl)
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