Do MISL and SHLD hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 41% 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 SHLD?

MISL has 66% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SHLD has 53%, so SHLD differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, MISL or SHLD?

MISL charges 0.60% 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

MISL vs SHLD: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, MISL returned −2.3% to SHLD's −8.5%; 41% 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 $6.3bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Defense Tech ETF.

MISL on its own →SHLD on its own →

At a glance

65.9%

MISL in the S&P 500

52.8%

SHLD in the S&P 500

−2.3%

MISL total return, 1 year

−8.5%

SHLD 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.

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 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.2 points; SHLD is 9.1 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

MISL vs SHLD: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	MISL	SHLD
Return
Measure	MISL	SHLD
Total return, 1 year	−2.3%	−8.5%
Drawdown
Measure	MISL	SHLD
Below its all-time high	19.1%, high on Jan 16, 2026	21.4%, high on Mar 9, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	MISL	SHLD
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
Measure	MISL	SHLD
Expense ratio	0.60%	0.50%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$691m	$6.3bn
Holdings
Measure	MISL	SHLD
Holdings in common	41%

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

IQ Themes Score81.1MISL95.6SHLD

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

SHLD 95.6

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

Risk and return

Sep 22, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 162 weekly returns

MISL SHLD

Return

Total return edge SHLD +94.6% +169.2%

Annualized edge SHLD +23.8% +37.4%

Price return edge SHLD +91.4% +164.7%

Risk

Volatility edge MISL 20.6% 24.0%

Max drawdown edge MISL −20.0% −25.1%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SHLD 0.92 1.26

Sortino edge SHLD 1.46 2.24

Calmar edge SHLD 1.19 1.49

Reading

From Sep 2023 to Oct 2026, SHLD returned more: +169.2% to +94.6%. MISL swung less: 20.6% to 24.0%. MISL fell less at its worst: −20.0% to −25.1%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: MISL vs SHLD: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	MISL	SHLD	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+94.6%	+169.2%	SHLD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+23.8%	+37.4%	SHLD	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+91.4%	+164.7%	SHLD	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	20.6%	24.0%	MISL	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	13.0%	13.5%	MISL (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−20.0%	−25.1%	MISL	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.92	1.26	SHLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.46	2.24	SHLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	1.19	1.49	SHLD	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 162 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

41%

By the books each fund has filed, MISL and SHLD hold 41% 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

41% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first MISL SHLD

RTX Corporation 8.62% 9.31%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 6.60% 10.80%

Lockheed Martin Corporation 4.93% 8.34%

Northrop Grumman Corporation 4.50% 7.71%

General Dynamics Corporation 4.45% 8.59%

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. 4.61% 3.80%

Leidos Holdings, Inc. 1.79% 2.56%

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. 1.32% 1.67%

Moog Inc. 1.21% 1.52%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. 0.82% 1.38%

AeroVironment, Inc. 0.67% 0.82%

Parsons Corporation 0.59% 0.75%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in MISL

GE Aerospace 8.18%

The Boeing Company 7.16%

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Class A) 6.84%

TransDigm Group Incorporated 4.29%

HEICO Corporation 4.24%

Honeywell Aerospace Inc. 3.92%

Howmet Aerospace Inc. 3.90%

Rocket Lab Corporation 3.14%

Only in SHLD

BAE SYSTEMS PLC 4.62%

Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft 4.04%

HANWHA AEROSPACE CO., LTD. 3.81%

THALES SA 3.72%

SAAB Aktiebolag 3.58%

LEONARDO - SOCIETA PER AZIONI 3.54%

ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD 2.84%

KONGSBERG GRUPPEN ASA 2.05%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: MISL vs SHLD: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	MISL	SHLD	MISL	SHLD
3 months	−10.2%	−9.2%	−10.1 pts vs VOO	not measured
6 months	−7.5%	−9.7%	−12.5 pts vs VOO	not measured
1 year	−2.3%	−8.5%	−17.1 pts vs VOO	not measured
3 years	+79.3%	+133.6%	−4.0 pts vs VOO	not measured
Since launchNot the same days: MISL Oct 2022 · SHLD Sep 2023	+103.7%	+151.4%	−8.3 pts vs VOO	not measured

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Side by side

MISL First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 44 stocks in defense, 66% 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 First Trust Global X

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 65.9% 52.8%

Active share vs the S&P 500 97.4% 98.7%

In the Nasdaq-100 20.5% 10.8%

Holdings 44 50

Top ten, share of the fund 60.2% 64.8%

Expense ratio 0.60% 0.50%

Fee for the differing part 0.62% 0.51%

Total return, 1 year −2.3% −8.5%

vs its benchmark −17.1 pts vs VOO not measured

Below its high −19.1% −21.4%

Net assets, MISL as of Nov 3, 2026 and SHLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $685m $6.3bn

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

41% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Client brief:

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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.

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 MISL and SHLD hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 41% 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 SHLD?: MISL has 66% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SHLD has 53%, so SHLD differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, MISL or SHLD?: MISL charges 0.60% a year and SHLD charges 0.50%, so SHLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

MISL vs PPA MISL vs WDAF MISL vs ARMY MISL vs TSSD SHLD vs XAR SHLD vs ARMY SHLD vs TSSD SHLD vs WDGF

Where to next

MISL on its own →SHLD on its own →MISL dividend history →MISL holdings →SHLD dividend history →SHLD 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 ↗

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

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

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