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Data as of .

MISL vs WDGF: which is really different?

MISL and WDGF hold 46% of their weight in the same names, and MISL returned more over the year.

First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF and WisdomTree Global Defense Fund.

62.4%MISL in the S&P 500
34.9%WDGF in the S&P 500
+6.4%MISL total return, 1 year
−0.4%WDGF total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Off-Index Score: WDGF scores higher

How much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?

MISL 43.3WDGF 54.50.1, the lowest in this set91.8, the highest

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

MISL38% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
62%38%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 63% of the fund · 40 holdings filed Sep 18, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 12% in62%38%in the S&P 500outsideactive share 98% · top ten 63% of the fund
WDGF65% of its weight is outside the S&P 500 · 1 year to Sep 18, 2026
35%65%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 44% of the fund · 115 holdings filed Jun 30, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 5% in35%65%inoutside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 44% of the fund

46% 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 WDGF hold 46% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions MISL and WDGF both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingMISLWDGF
RTX Corporation8.30%5.46%
Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A)11.75%4.73%
Lockheed Martin Corporation4.27%4.94%
Northrop Grumman Corporation4.10%4.92%
General Dynamics Corporation3.95%5.19%
L3Harris Technologies, Inc.3.57%3.33%
TransDigm Group Incorporated3.53%2.75%
The Boeing Company7.48%2.55%
Rocket Lab Corporation3.34%2.33%
HEICO Corporation3.56%2.04%
Curtiss-Wright Corporation2.37%1.81%
Woodward, Inc.2.16%1.07%
Only in each
Only in MISLOnly in WDGF
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Class A) 8.81%BAE SYSTEMS PLC 5.04%
GE Aerospace 7.34%RHEINMETALL AG 4.27%
Howmet Aerospace Inc. 3.56%THALES SA 3.35%
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. 2.56%ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 3.04%
FTAI Aviation Ltd. 2.21%HANWHA AEROSPACE CO LTD 2.51%
Textron Inc. 1.56%ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD 2.15%
Hexcel Corporation 0.75%HINDUSTAN AERONAUTICS LTD 2.09%
Intuitive Machines, Inc. (Class A) 0.34%LEONARDO SPA 2.07%

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 Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 18, 2026.

Performance, window by window

MISL and WDGF over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
MISLWDGFMISLWDGFMISLWDGF
3 months−8.7%−2.8%−10.9 pts−5.1 pts−6.2 pts−0.3 pts
6 months−7.5%−8.3%−25.5 pts−26.3 pts−31.7 pts−32.5 pts
1 year+6.4%−0.4%−10.2 pts−17.0 pts−15.4 pts−22.2 pts
3 years+93.1%not published+14.7 ptsnot published−5.1 ptsnot published
Since launch+109.5%+0.5%−0.6 pts−17.0 pts−56.0 pts−23.1 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
MISL and WDGF on the same fields, as of Sep 18, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
MISL
First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF
Holds 40 stocks in defense, 62% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
WDGF
WisdomTree Global Defense Fund
Holds 115 stocks in defense, 35% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IssuerFirst TrustWisdomTree
ThemeDefenseDefense
In the S&P 50062.4%34.9%
Active share vs the S&P 50097.5%98.3%
In the Nasdaq-10011.8%4.7%
Holdings40115
Top ten, share of the fund63.1%44.3%
Expense ratio0.60%0.45%
Fee for the differing part0.62%0.46%
Total return, 1 year+6.4%−0.4%
vs the S&P 500−10.2 pts−17.0 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100−15.4 pts−22.2 pts
Below its high−16.9%−14.8%
Net assets$704m$5m

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.

WDGF in plain words

By weight, 35% of WDGF'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 44% of the fund across 115 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 18, 2026 the fund returned −0.4% with distributions reinvested against +16.6% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 17.0 pts. It sits 14.8% below its all-time high of Mar 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do MISL and WDGF hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 46% 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 WDGF?
MISL has 62% of its weight in S&P 500 names and WDGF has 35%, so WDGF differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, MISL or WDGF?
MISL charges 0.60% a year and WDGF charges 0.45%, so WDGF 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.

MISL against WDGF, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, MISL against WDGF, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/misl-vs-wdgf Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources