Do KDEF and SHLD hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 6% 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, KDEF or SHLD?

KDEF has 0% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SHLD has 53%, so KDEF differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, KDEF or SHLD?

KDEF charges 0.65% a year and SHLD charges 0.50%, so SHLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

KDEF vs SHLD: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, KDEF returned −28.3% to SHLD's −8.5%; 6% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $113m on Aug 31, 2026 for PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF, and $6.3bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Defense Tech ETF.

KDEF on its own →SHLD on its own →

At a glance

0.0%

KDEF in the S&P 500

52.8%

SHLD in the S&P 500

−28.3%

KDEF total return, 1 year

−8.5%

SHLD total return, 1 year

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.

SHLD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 47% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

53% of SHLD's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 47% is outside the index. Holdings as of Aug 31, 2026.

Pair scorecard

SHLD costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.8 points.

KDEF vs SHLD: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	KDEF	SHLD
Return
Measure	KDEF	SHLD
Total return, 1 year	−28.3%	−8.5%
Drawdown
Measure	KDEF	SHLD
Below its all-time high	50.7%, high on May 5, 2026	21.4%, high on Mar 9, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	KDEF	SHLD
What it tracks	Defense	Defense
Cost and size
Measure	KDEF	SHLD
Expense ratio	0.65%	0.50%
Net assets, KDEF as of Aug 31, 2026 and SHLD as of Oct 12, 2026	$113m	$6.3bn
Holdings
Measure	KDEF	SHLD
Holdings in common	6%

Method

Risk and return

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

KDEF SHLD

Return

Total return edge SHLD +33.5% +56.9%

Annualized edge SHLD +18.4% +30.1%

Price return edge SHLD +25.4% +55.6%

Risk

Volatility edge SHLD 50.9% 28.5%

Max drawdown edge SHLD −51.6% −25.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SHLD 0.51 0.92

Sortino edge SHLD 0.74 1.59

Calmar edge SHLD 0.36 1.20

Reading

From Feb 2025 to Oct 2026, SHLD returned more: +56.9% to +33.5%. SHLD swung less: 28.5% to 50.9%. SHLD fell less at its worst: −25.1% to −51.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: KDEF vs SHLD: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	KDEF	SHLD	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+33.5%	+56.9%	SHLD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+18.4%	+30.1%	SHLD	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+25.4%	+55.6%	SHLD	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	50.9%	28.5%	SHLD	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	34.7%	16.6%	SHLD	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−51.6%	−25.1%	SHLD	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.51	0.92	SHLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.74	1.59	SHLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.36	1.20	SHLD	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, KDEF and SHLD hold 6% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

6% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first KDEF SHLD

HANWHA AEROSPACE CO LTD 23.38% 3.81%

KOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES LTD 6.71% 0.92%

LIG DEFENSE & AEROSPACE CO LTD 6.67% 0.91%

HANWHA SYSTEMS CO LTD 2.31% 0.58%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in KDEF

HYUNDAI ROTEM COMPANY 7.63%

POONGSAN CORP 6.04%

SK OCEANPLANT CO LTD 4.33%

SNT MOTIV CO LTD 4.25%

SNT DYNAMICS CO LTD 3.94%

SAMHYUN CO LTD 3.71%

SATREC INITIATIVE CO LTD 3.71%

WOORI TECHNOLOGY INC 3.58%

Only in SHLD

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC. 10.80%

RTX CORPORATION 9.31%

GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION 8.59%

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION 8.34%

Northrop Grumman Corporation 7.71%

BAE SYSTEMS PLC 4.62%

Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft 4.04%

L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 3.80%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: KDEF vs SHLD: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return
Window	KDEF	SHLD
3 months	−22.9%	−9.2%
6 months	−49.1%	−9.7%
1 year	−28.3%	−8.5%
3 years	–	+133.6%
Since launchNot the same days: KDEF Feb 2025 · SHLD Sep 2023	+60.9%	+151.4%

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Side by side

KDEF PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF · Holds 20 stocks in defense, 0% of its weight in S&P 500 companies SHLD Global X Defense Tech ETF · Holds 50 stocks in defense, 53% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer PLUS Global X

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 0.0% 52.8%

Active share vs the S&P 500 100.0% 98.7%

In the Nasdaq-100 0.0% 10.8%

Holdings 20 50

Top ten, share of the fund 70.4% 64.8%

Expense ratio 0.65% 0.50%

Fee for the differing part 0.65% 0.51%

Total return, 1 year −28.3% −8.5%

vs its benchmark not measured not measured

Below its high −50.7% −21.4%

Net assets, KDEF as of Aug 31, 2026 and SHLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $113m $6.3bn

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

6% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Client brief:

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About each fund

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.

SHLD

By weight, 53% of SHLD's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 65% of the fund across 50 positions, as filed for Aug 31, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned −8.5% with distributions reinvested. It sits 21.4% below its all-time high of Mar 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do KDEF and SHLD hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 6% 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, KDEF or SHLD?: KDEF has 0% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SHLD has 53%, so KDEF differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, KDEF or SHLD?: KDEF charges 0.65% a year and SHLD charges 0.50%, so SHLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

KDEF vs PPA KDEF vs AMMO KDEF vs DUTY KDEF vs WR SHLD vs ARMY SHLD vs TSSD SHLD vs AMMO SHLD vs NATO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

KDEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

KDEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

PLUS website ↗

SHLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SHLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Global X page for SHLD ↗

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

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