Do MISL and NATO hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 58% 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, MISL or NATO?

MISL has 66% of its weight in S&P 500 names and NATO has 54%, so NATO differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, MISL or NATO?

MISL charges 0.60% a year and NATO charges 0.35%, so NATO is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

MISL vs NATO: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, MISL returned −2.3% to NATO's −1.8%; 58% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $685m on Nov 3, 2026 for First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF, and $88m on Nov 4, 2026 for Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF.

MISL on its own →NATO on its own →

At a glance

65.9%

MISL in the S&P 500

54.5%

NATO in the S&P 500

−2.3%

MISL total return, 1 year

−1.8%

NATO total return, 1 year

MISL · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 34% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

66% of MISL's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 34% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 3, 2026.

NATO · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 46% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

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 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.5 points; MISL is 7.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

MISL vs NATO: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	MISL	NATO
Return
Measure	MISL	NATO
Total return, 1 year	−2.3%	−1.8%
Drawdown
Measure	MISL	NATO
Below its all-time high	19.1%, high on Jan 16, 2026	16.1%, high on Mar 2, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	MISL	NATO
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%	+15.0%
Against its benchmark, 1 year	behind by 17.1 pts	behind by 16.8 pts
Cost and size
Measure	MISL	NATO
Expense ratio	0.60%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$685m	$89m
Holdings
Measure	MISL	NATO
Holdings in common	58%

ETFIQ S&P 500 Difference Score · NATO scores higher How much of its weight does it not share with the S&P 500?

IQ Themes Score81.1MISL86.4NATO

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

MISL 81.1

NATO 86.4

0.4, the lowest in this set 99.6, the highest

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 →

Method

What they share

58%

By the books each fund has filed, MISL and NATO hold 58% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

58% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first MISL NATO

RTX Corporation 8.62% 8.53%

GE Aerospace 8.18% 8.40%

The Boeing Company 7.16% 6.81%

Lockheed Martin Corporation 4.93% 5.19%

General Dynamics Corporation 4.45% 4.36%

Howmet Aerospace Inc. 3.90% 4.18%

Northrop Grumman Corporation 4.50% 3.90%

TransDigm Group Incorporated 4.29% 3.45%

Honeywell Aerospace Inc. 3.92% 2.60%

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. 4.61% 2.52%

Rocket Lab Corporation 3.14% 1.61%

FTAI Aviation Ltd. 2.18% 0.96%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in MISL

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Class A) 6.84%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 6.60%

Woodward, Inc. 2.08%

Leidos Holdings, Inc. 1.79%

CACI International Inc. 1.59%

AST SpaceMobile, Inc. 1.53%

Science Applications International Corporation 0.67%

Parsons Corporation 0.59%

Only in NATO

Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC 7.09%

AIRBUS GROUP SE 6.66%

Safran SA 5.75%

BAE Systems PLC 4.19%

Rheinmetall AG 2.75%

Axon Enterprise Inc 1.70%

Teledyne Technologies Inc 1.51%

LEONARDO-FINMECCANICA SPA 1.20%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: MISL vs NATO: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	MISL	NATO	MISL	NATO
3 months	−10.2%	−14.7%	−10.1 pts vs VOO	−13.4 pts vs ACWI
6 months	−7.5%	−6.9%	−12.5 pts vs VOO	−9.5 pts vs ACWI
1 year	−2.3%	−1.8%	−17.1 pts vs VOO	−16.8 pts vs ACWI
3 years	+79.3%	–	−4.0 pts vs VOO	–
Since launchNot the same days: MISL Oct 2022 · NATO Oct 2024	+103.7%	+47.0%	−8.3 pts vs VOO	+10.9 pts vs ACWI

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

Side by side

MISL First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 44 stocks in defense, 66% of its weight in S&P 500 companies NATO Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF · Holds 83 stocks in defense, 54% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer First Trust Themes

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 65.9% 54.5%

Active share vs the S&P 500 97.4% 97.7%

In the Nasdaq-100 20.5% 5.9%

Holdings 44 83

Top ten, share of the fund 60.2% 61.2%

Expense ratio 0.60% 0.35%

Fee for the differing part 0.62% 0.36%

Total return, 1 year −2.3% −1.8%

vs its benchmark −17.1 pts vs VOO −16.8 pts vs ACWI

Below its high −19.1% −16.1%

Net assets, MISL as of Nov 3, 2026 and NATO as of Nov 4, 2026 $685m $88m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

58% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Alert

About each fund

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.

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 MISL and NATO hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 58% 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, MISL or NATO?: MISL has 66% of its weight in S&P 500 names and NATO has 54%, so NATO differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, MISL or NATO?: MISL charges 0.60% a year and NATO charges 0.35%, so NATO is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

MISL vs AV MISL vs WDEF MISL vs WAR MISL vs WDAF NATO vs AV NATO vs WAR NATO vs ARMY NATO vs TSSD

Where to next

MISL on its own →NATO on its own →MISL dividend history →MISL holdings →NATO dividend history →NATO holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

MISL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MISL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for MISL ↗

NATO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NATO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Themes page for NATO ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, MISL against NATO, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/misl-vs-nato

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