Do NATO and XDEF hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 32% 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, NATO or XDEF?

NATO has 54% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XDEF has 0%, so XDEF differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, NATO or XDEF?

NATO and XDEF both charge 0.35% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

NATO vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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NATO and XDEF hold 32% of their weight in the same names.

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Net assets: $88m on Nov 4, 2026 for Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF, and $4.3m on Nov 2, 2026 for Xtrackers Europe Defense Technologies ETF.

NATO on its own →XDEF on its own →

At a glance

54.5%

NATO in the S&P 500

0.0%

XDEF in the S&P 500

−1.8%

NATO total return, 1 year

−12.4%

XDEF total return, since launch, Feb 19, 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.

XDEF · 6 months to Nov 4, 2026 100% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

0% of XDEF's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 100% is outside the index. Holdings as of Aug 31, 2026.

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.35% a year; NATO is far larger, $87m against $4.3m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

NATO vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	NATO	XDEF
Return
Measure	NATO	XDEF
Total return, 1 year	−1.8%	not published
Drawdown
Measure	NATO	XDEF
Below its all-time high	16.1%, high on Mar 2, 2026	13.0%, high on Feb 20, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	NATO	XDEF
What it tracks	Defense	Defense
Its benchmark, total return, 1 year	+15.0%
Against its benchmark, 1 year	behind by 16.8 pts
Cost and size
Measure	NATO	XDEF
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 30, 2026	$87m	$4.3m
Holdings
Measure	NATO	XDEF
Holdings in common	32%

Method

What they share

32%

By the books each fund has filed, NATO and XDEF hold 32% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

32% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first NATO XDEF

Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC 7.09% 9.20%

AIRBUS GROUP SE 6.66% 8.40%

Safran SA 5.75% 8.53%

BAE Systems PLC 4.19% 7.93%

Rheinmetall AG 2.75% 6.81%

Thales SA 1.16% 4.31%

MTU Aero Engines AG 1.09% 4.83%

Saab AB 1.06% 4.90%

Kongsberg Gruppen ASA 0.83% 4.47%

Melrose Industries PLC 0.41% 4.66%

Dassault Aviation SA 0.30% 3.11%

Hensoldt AG 0.29% 3.23%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in NATO

RTX Corp 8.53%

GE AEROSPACE 8.40%

Boeing Co 6.81%

Lockheed Martin Corp 5.19%

General Dynamics Corp 4.36%

Howmet Aerospace Inc 4.18%

Northrop Grumman Corp 3.90%

TransDigm Group Inc 3.45%

Only in XDEF

LEONARDO SPA 4.04%

BABCOCK INTERNATIONAL GROUP PLC 3.91%

INDRA SISTEMAS SA 3.85%

SERCO GROUP PLC 1.90%

TKMS AG & CO. KGAA 1.36%

SES SA 1.06%

SENIOR PLC 0.90%

BITTIUM OYJ 0.79%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: NATO vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	NATO	XDEF	NATO	XDEF
3 months	−14.7%	−9.7%	−13.4 pts vs ACWI	not measured
6 months	−6.9%	−5.7%	−9.5 pts vs ACWI	not measured
1 year	−1.8%	–	−16.8 pts vs ACWI	–
Since launchNot the same days: NATO Oct 2024 · XDEF Feb 2026	+47.0%	−12.4%	+10.9 pts vs ACWI	not measured

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

Side by side

NATO Themes Transatlantic Defense ETF · Holds 83 stocks in defense, 54% of its weight in S&P 500 companies XDEF Xtrackers Europe Defense Technologies ETF · Holds 35 stocks in defense, 0% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer Themes Xtrackers

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 54.5% 0.0%

Active share vs the S&P 500 97.7% 100.0%

In the Nasdaq-100 5.9% 0.0%

Holdings 83 35

Top ten, share of the fund 61.2% 64.0%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.35%

Fee for the differing part 0.36% 0.35%

Total return, 1 year −1.8% −12.4% (since launch, Feb 19, 2026)

vs its benchmark −16.8 pts vs ACWI not measured

Below its high −16.1% −13.0%

Net assets, NATO as of Nov 4, 2026 and XDEF as of Nov 2, 2026 $88m $4.3m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

32% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Alert

About each fund

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.

XDEF

By weight, 0% of XDEF's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 64% of the fund across 35 positions, as filed for Aug 31, 2026. Since it first traded on Feb 19, 2026 the fund returned −12.4% with distributions reinvested. It sits 13.0% below its all-time high of Feb 20, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do NATO and XDEF hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 32% 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, NATO or XDEF?: NATO has 54% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XDEF has 0%, so XDEF differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, NATO or XDEF?: NATO and XDEF both charge 0.35% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

NATO vs WDGF NATO vs TSSD NATO vs AMMO NATO vs DUTY XDEF vs FOWF XDEF vs ARMY XDEF vs AMMO XDEF vs DUTY

Where to next

All thematic ETFs ranked by the S&P 500 Difference Score →How the scores are computed →NATO on its own →XDEF on its own →NATO dividend history →NATO holdings →XDEF dividend history →XDEF holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

NATO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NATO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Themes page for NATO ↗

XDEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XDEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Xtrackers 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, NATO against XDEF, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/nato-vs-xdef

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