Do MISL and XAR hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 54% 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 XAR?

MISL has 66% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 40%, so XAR differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, MISL or XAR?

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

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

MISL vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, MISL returned −2.3% to XAR's −6.6%; 54% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about MISL and XAR

Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $685m for First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF and $5.3bn for State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF.

MISL on its own →XAR on its own →

At a glance

65.9%

MISL in the S&P 500

40.1%

XAR in the S&P 500

−2.3%

MISL total return, 1 year

−6.6%

XAR 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.

XAR · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 60% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

40% of XAR's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 60% is outside the index. Holdings as of Nov 3, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XAR costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.3 points; XAR is 7.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

MISL vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	MISL	XAR
Return
Measure	MISL	XAR
Total return, 1 year	−2.3%	−6.6%
Drawdown
Measure	MISL	XAR
Below its all-time high	19.1%, high on Jan 16, 2026	24.0%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	MISL	XAR
What it tracks	Defense	Defense
Against the S&P 500, 1 year	behind by 17.1 pts	behind by 21.4 pts
Its benchmark, total return, 1 year	+14.8%	+14.8%
Against its benchmark, 1 year	behind by 17.1 pts	behind by 21.4 pts
Cost and size
Measure	MISL	XAR
Expense ratio	0.60%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$685m	$5.3bn
Holdings
Measure	MISL	XAR
Holdings in common	54%

Method

Risk and return

Nov 4, 2022 to Oct 30, 2026 · 208 weekly returns · each against VOO

MISL XAR

Return

Total return edge XAR +97.6% +119.5%

Annualized edge XAR +18.6% +21.7%

Price return edge XAR +93.7% +115.2%

Risk

Volatility edge MISL 19.4% 23.0%

Max drawdown edge MISL −20.0% −26.6%

Downside capture 80.4% 99.6%

Beta 0.87 1.14

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XAR (slight) 0.74 0.77

Sortino edge XAR (slight) 1.14 1.21

Treynor 0.164 0.156

Calmar edge MISL 0.93 0.82

Against the benchmark

Alpha +1.0% a year +0.4% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.14 0.05

Information ratio −0.06 0.15

Tracking error 15.1% 16.7%

Reading

From Nov 2022 to Oct 2026, XAR returned more: +119.5% to +97.6%. MISL swung less: 19.4% to 23.0%. MISL fell less at its worst: −20.0% to −26.6%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: MISL vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	MISL	XAR	VOO	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+97.6%	+119.5%		XAR	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+18.6%	+21.7%		XAR	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+93.7%	+115.2%		XAR	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	19.4%	23.0%		MISL	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	12.6%	14.6%		MISL	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−20.0%	−26.6%		MISL	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	73.3%	102.0%	100.0%	XAR	Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	80.4%	99.6%	100.0%	MISL	Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.87	1.14	1.00	MISL lower	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.40	0.48	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.74	0.77		XAR (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	1.14	1.21		XAR (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.164	0.156	0.152	MISL (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.93	0.82		MISL	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	VOO	VOO	VOO		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+1.0% a year	+0.4% a year	0.0%	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.14	0.05		Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−13.9% to +16.0%	−16.2% to +17.0%		Both include zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.06	0.15		XAR	Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	15.1%	16.7%	0.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 208 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

54%

By the books each fund has filed, MISL and XAR hold 54% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

54% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first MISL XAR

Lockheed Martin Corporation 4.93% 3.63%

L3Harris Technologies, Inc. 4.61% 3.30%

HEICO Corporation 4.24% 3.22%

TransDigm Group Incorporated 4.29% 3.19%

Northrop Grumman Corporation 4.50% 3.18%

General Dynamics Corporation 4.45% 3.16%

Honeywell Aerospace Inc. 3.92% 3.09%

RTX Corporation 8.62% 3.07%

GE Aerospace 8.18% 2.93%

Howmet Aerospace Inc. 3.90% 2.85%

Rocket Lab Corporation 3.14% 2.57%

The Boeing Company 7.16% 2.50%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in MISL

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Class A) 6.84%

Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 6.60%

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%

KBR, Inc. 0.53%

Only in XAR

STANDARDAERO INC 2.94%

ATI INC 2.60%

AXON ENTERPRISE INC 2.53%

BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC 2.50%

VSE CORP 2.34%

CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY 1.93%

ARCHER AVIATION INC A 1.48%

V2X INC 1.42%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: MISL vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	MISL	XAR	MISL	XAR
3 months	−10.2%	−20.0%	−10.1 pts vs VOO	−19.9 pts vs VOO
6 months	−7.5%	−15.6%	−12.5 pts vs VOO	−20.6 pts vs VOO
1 year	−2.3%	−6.6%	−17.1 pts vs VOO	−21.4 pts vs VOO
3 years	+79.3%	+89.1%	−4.0 pts vs VOO	+5.8 pts vs VOO
Since launchNot the same days: MISL Oct 2022 · XAR Sep 2011	+103.7%	+948.0%	−8.3 pts vs VOO	+180.8 pts vs VOO

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 XAR State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 50 stocks in defense, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer First Trust State Street

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 65.9% 40.1%

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

In the Nasdaq-100 20.5% 8.2%

Holdings 44 50

Top ten, share of the fund 60.2% 32.6%

Expense ratio 0.60% 0.35%

Fee for the differing part 0.62% 0.36%

Total return, 1 year −2.3% −6.6%

vs its benchmark −17.1 pts vs VOO −21.4 pts vs VOO

Below its high −19.1% −24.0%

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $685m $5.3bn

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

54% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Client brief:

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

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.

XAR

By weight, 40% of XAR'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 33% of the fund across 50 positions, as published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned −6.6% with distributions reinvested against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 21.4 pts. It sits 24.0% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do MISL and XAR hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 54% 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 XAR?: MISL has 66% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 40%, so XAR differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, MISL or XAR?: MISL charges 0.60% a year and XAR charges 0.35%, so XAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

MISL vs SHLD MISL vs IDEF MISL vs PPA MISL vs ITA XAR vs EUAD XAR vs XDEF XAR vs AMMO XAR vs DUTY

Where to next

All thematic ETFs ranked by the S&P 500 Difference Score →How the scores are computed →MISL on its own →XAR on its own →MISL dividend history →MISL holdings →XAR dividend history →XAR 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 ↗

XAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XAR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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

Open data →

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