Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
ITA vs NATO: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, ITA returned +0.8% to NATO's −1.8%; 61% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Nov 4, 2026: $12.2bn for iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF and $88m for Themes Transatlantic 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.
55% of NATO's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 46% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 4, 2026.
Pair scorecard
NATO costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.6 points; ITA is far larger, $12.2bn against $88m.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | ITA | NATO |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +0.8% | −1.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 15.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 16.1%, high on Mar 2, 2026 |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Defense | Defense |
| Its benchmark, total return, 1 year | +15.0% | |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | behind by 16.8 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.37% | 0.35% |
| Net assets | $12.2bn | $88m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 61% | |
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
Oct 18, 2024 to Oct 30, 2026 · 106 weekly returnsFrom Oct 2024 to Oct 2026, NATO returned more: +41.4% to +37.0%. NATO swung slightly less: 22.6% to 23.2%. NATO fell slightly less at its worst: −18.4% to −20.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ITA | NATO | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +37.0% | +41.4% | NATO | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +16.7% | +18.5% | NATO (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +35.4% | +40.7% | NATO | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 23.2% | 22.6% | NATO (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.6% | 15.0% | NATO (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −20.0% | −18.4% | NATO (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.61 | 0.69 | NATO | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.91 | 1.04 | NATO | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.83 | 1.01 | NATO | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 106 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, ITA and NATO hold 61% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.
half
61% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Window by window
| Total return | vs its benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | ITA | NATO | ITA | NATO |
| 3 months | −15.5% | −14.7% | not measured | −13.4 pts vs ACWI |
| 6 months | −4.6% | −6.9% | not measured | −9.5 pts vs ACWI |
| 1 year | +0.8% | −1.8% | not measured | −16.8 pts vs ACWI |
| 3 years | +91.7% | – | not measured | – |
| Since launchNot the same days: ITA May 2006 · NATO Oct 2024 | +916.6% | +47.0% | not measured | +10.9 pts vs ACWI |
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Side by side
As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
61% 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.
NATO
By weight, 54% of NATO'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 61% of the fund across 83 positions, as published by its issuer for Nov 4, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned −1.8% with distributions reinvested against +15.0% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Net Total Return Index, so a holder was behind by 16.8 pts. It sits 16.1% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do ITA and NATO hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 61% 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 NATO, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ita-vs-nato
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). ITA against NATO. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ita-vs-nato
[ITA against NATO (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ita-vs-nato)
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