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GCAD

GradeCNew York Stock Exchange Arca

Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF

Themes · Gabelli · Inception 2023-01-03

$49.58+0.09 (+0.18%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 3:05 PM EDT

History starts Jan 4, 2023.
Intraday session: up, 67 prints from 49.49 to 49.58. Range 49.31 to 49.84. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$49.40$49.8010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.90%
Fund size
$43M
1Y return
+14.0%
Yield · Last 12 months
1.93%
Volume · 30D
0M sh
NAV per share
$49.83
52W range
low $44.00high $59.11

The ETF.net GCAD Grade

C

40/ 100

Rank 16 of 26 in Defense & Aerospace⁠

Confidence High

Six-pillar profile for GCAD. Scores out of 100: Cost 8, Risk 79, Mission 82, Tradability 50, Holdings 59, Durability 53. Strongest: Mission (82). Weakest: Cost (8). Leans toward Mission and Risk.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 40 of 100 sits in the C band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    FScore 8
    Category rank24/26 · bottom quartile

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    AScore 82
    Category rank1/4 · top 25%

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    AScore 79
    Category rank4/25 · top 16%

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    CScore 50
    Category rank13/26 · top 50%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    BScore 59
    Category rank12/26 · top 46%

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    CScore 53
    Category rank14/26 · mid-pack

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026

Our read on GCAD

ETF.net Research

CA stock-picker's defense fund. Gabelli runs GCAD without a declared index, chasing total return with an emphasis on income, an unusual mandate in a corner of the market where index trackers set the rules.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks a high level of total return, emphasizing income.

Why people hold it

  1. 01No index to follow. The mandate is total return with an income emphasis, so the portfolio reflects Gabelli's own calls rather than a benchmark's weighting rules.
  2. 02Trading since 2022, so there is a multi-year live record in the aerospace and defense theme to judge, not a backtest.
  3. 03The book stays on-theme: holdings line up closely with the commercial aerospace and defense mandate on the label, with little drift into loosely related names.

Worth knowing

  1. 01Costs 0.90% a year, well above the defense-theme median of 0.50%. Index rivals XAR (0.35%) and ITA (0.37%) cover the sector for a fraction of that.
  2. 02A small, thinly traded fund. Spreads tend to run wider than the big index names, and larger orders can push the price around.
  3. 03Income sits in the objective, but cash reaches shareholders on an annual or semiannual schedule, not monthly.

GCAD Holdings

As of Sep 20, 2026, 9:03 AM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
—
Top-10 weight
51%
Largest holding
AIN6.6%

Sectors

  • Industrials94.1%
  • Materials2.0%
  • Technology1.6%
  • Communication1.5%
  • Real Estate0.8%

Geography

  • United States97.37%
  • Canada1.37%
  • Israel0.67%
  • Germany0.58%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 4.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001AINALBANY INTL CORP-CL A6.60%46,849$284M106
002—MOOG INC-CLASS A6.04%7,127$260M11
003BABOEING CO/THE5.39%11,693$232M305
004LHXL3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC5.09%8,853$219M307
005HONAHONEYWELL AEROSPACE INC4.93%12,974$212M279
006DCODUCOMMUN INC4.82%12,463$207M101
007RTXRTX CORP4.79%10,619$206M390
008LMTLOCKHEED MARTIN CORP4.72%3,803$203M406
009HXLHEXCEL CORP4.56%22,271$196M169
010NOCNORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP4.08%3,328$175M345
011TXTTEXTRON INC3.81%20,559$164M258
012MRCYMERCURY SYSTEMS INC3.10%15,644$133M135
013CRCRANE CO3.07%6,682$132M151
014GDGENERAL DYNAMICS CORP2.70%3,293$116M367
015ATIATI INC2.53%5,673$109M225

Showing 1–15 of 56 holdings

GCAD Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

GCAD$11,403
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. GCAD $11,403. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,229$11,418$13,607Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for GCAD. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodGCAD
Year to date+6.6%
1 month−7.4%
3 months−10.3%
1 year+14.0%
3 years+29.4%per year
5 yearsFund is under 5 years old—per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old—per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for GCAD
YearReturn barGCAD
2026 YTD+6.6%
2025+39.3%
2024+22.2%
2023+14.1%

History from Jan 4, 2023

GCAD in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on GCAD yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

GCAD Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Sep 22, 2026.
1.93%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$0.96Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.96 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Annual

Distribution history

2023–2026

One bar per payment. 3 payments from 2023 to 2026 YTD. Dec 27, 2023 $0.27; Dec 27, 2024 $0.62; Dec 29, 2025 $0.96. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 29, 2025Jan 9, 2026$0.96
Dec 27, 2024Jan 8, 2025$0.62
Dec 27, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.27

GCAD Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
17.3%
Annualised · 36 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
1.27
vs 3-month T-bills · to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−16.1%
44 months · trough Apr 2025
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.99
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

GCAD Cost

Expense ratio0.90%
  • The middle half of Defense & Aerospace funds
  • Median 0.50%

22 of the 25 Defense & Aerospace funds charge less.

GCAD costs $90.00 a year on $10,000. The median Defense & Aerospace fund costs $50.00.