Data as of .
MISL vs SHLD: which is really different?
MISL and SHLD hold 43% of their weight in the same names, and MISL returned more over the year.
ETFIQ Off-Index Score: SHLD scores higher
How much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?
A percentile among the 379 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All thematic ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
43% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, MISL and SHLD hold 43% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | MISL | SHLD |
|---|---|---|
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) | 11.75% | 10.77% |
| RTX Corporation | 8.30% | 9.10% |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | 4.27% | 8.29% |
| Northrop Grumman Corporation | 4.10% | 7.88% |
| General Dynamics Corporation | 3.95% | 8.54% |
| L3Harris Technologies, Inc. | 3.57% | 3.69% |
| Leidos Holdings, Inc. | 1.81% | 2.44% |
| Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. | 1.21% | 1.64% |
| Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. | 1.00% | 1.35% |
| AeroVironment, Inc. | 0.91% | 0.93% |
| Mercury Systems, Inc. | 0.58% | 0.77% |
| Parsons Corporation | 0.54% | 0.72% |
| Only in MISL | Only in SHLD |
|---|---|
| Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Class A) 8.81% | BAE SYSTEMS PLC 4.72% |
| The Boeing Company 7.48% | HANWHA AEROSPACE CO LTD 3.86% |
| GE Aerospace 7.34% | RHEINMETALL AG 3.80% |
| HEICO Corporation 3.56% | THALES SA 3.76% |
| Howmet Aerospace Inc. 3.56% | LEONARDO SPA 3.56% |
| TransDigm Group Incorporated 3.53% | SAAB AB-B 3.47% |
| Rocket Lab Corporation 3.34% | ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD 3.15% |
| AST SpaceMobile, Inc. 2.56% | KONGSBERG GRUPPEN ASA 2.16% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | vs the S&P 500 | vs the Nasdaq-100 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MISL | SHLD | MISL | SHLD | MISL | SHLD | |
| 3 months | −8.7% | +0.9% | −10.9 pts | −1.3 pts | −6.2 pts | +3.4 pts |
| 6 months | −7.5% | −14.0% | −25.5 pts | −32.1 pts | −31.7 pts | −38.3 pts |
| 1 year | +6.4% | −5.1% | −10.2 pts | −21.7 pts | −15.4 pts | −26.9 pts |
| 3 years | +93.1% | +156.1% | +14.7 pts | +77.7 pts | −5.1 pts | +57.9 pts |
| Since launch | +109.5% | +157.7% | −0.6 pts | +80.2 pts | −56.0 pts | +61.5 pts |
| MISL First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF Holds 40 stocks in defense, 62% of its weight in S&P 500 companies | SHLD Global X Defense Tech ETF Holds 59 stocks in defense, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | Global X |
| Theme | Defense | Defense |
| In the S&P 500 | 62.4% | 39.9% |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 97.5% | 99.1% |
| In the Nasdaq-100 | 11.8% | 0.0% |
| Holdings | 40 | 59 |
| Top ten, share of the fund | 63.1% | 64.4% |
| Expense ratio | 0.60% | 0.50% |
| Fee for the differing part | 0.62% | 0.50% |
| Total return, 1 year | +6.4% | −5.1% |
| vs the S&P 500 | −10.2 pts | −21.7 pts |
| vs the Nasdaq-100 | −15.4 pts | −26.9 pts |
| Below its high | −16.9% | −19.4% |
| Net assets | $704m | $7.1bn |
MISL in plain words
By weight, 62% of MISL'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 63% of the fund across 40 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 18, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned +6.4% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 10.2 pts. It sits 16.9% below its all-time high of Jan 16, 2026.
SHLD in plain words
By weight, 40% 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 64% of the fund across 59 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 18, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned −5.1% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 21.7 pts. It sits 19.4% below its all-time high of Mar 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do MISL and SHLD hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 43% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is a meaningful overlap. 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 62% of its weight in S&P 500 names and SHLD has 40%, 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
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, MISL against SHLD, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/misl-vs-shld Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.