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KDEF

GradeDNew York Stock Exchange Arca

PLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF

Themes · PLUS · Inception 2025-02-05

$41.27−2.50 (−5.70%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:19 PM EDT

History starts Feb 5, 2025.
Intraday session: down, 37 prints from 43.77 to 41.27. Range 41.20 to 41.99. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$41.40$41.60$41.80$42.0010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.65%
Fund size
$110M
1Y return
−5.6%
Yield · Last 12 months
Data unavailable
Holdings
20
Volume · 30D
0.1M sh
NAV per share
$42.59
52W range
low $33.17high $67.41

The ETF.net KDEF Grade

D

33/ 100

Rank 22 of 26 in Defense & Aerospace⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for KDEF. Scores out of 100: Cost 26, Risk 17, Mission not scored, Tradability 68, Holdings 20, Durability 58. Strongest: Tradability (68). Weakest: Risk (17). Based on 5 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 33 of 100 sits in the D 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.
    DScore 26
    Category rank19/26 · mid-pack

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    FScore 17
    Category rank25/25 · bottom quartile

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 68
    Category rank7/26 · top 27%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    FScore 20
    Category rank26/26 · bottom quartile

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    BScore 58
    Category rank12/26 · top 46%

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 5 of 6 pillars

Our read on KDEF

ETF.net Research

DMost defense ETFs are a bet on American primes. KDEF points somewhere else: an index fund built entirely around South Korea's defense industry, which landed on the US shelf in 2025.

Stated mandate

The Fund seeks investment results corresponding generally to the total return performance of the Korea Defense Industry Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

  1. 01A rare single-country angle: South Korean defense specifically, not the US aerospace-and-defense names that fill XAR, ITA and PPA.
  2. 02Plain plumbing: a 1940 Act index fund tracking the Korea Defense Industry Index. No leverage, no options overlay, no swap wrapper.
  3. 03Narrow theme, but the shares change hands with moderate regularity rather than going quiet for stretches.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The 0.65% fee sits above the typical defense ETF, the toll for reaching into one overseas industry.
  2. 02Launched in 2025, so the live record is short, and the ride has been choppier than broad defense funds.
  3. 03One country, one industry: Korean policy, the won and export orders drive it, and cash comes back only once or twice a year.

KDEF Holdings

As of Sep 20, 2026, 10:01 AM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
20
Top-10 weight
70%
Largest holding
012450.KS23.0%

Sectors

  • Industrials85.7%
  • Consumer Discr.7.2%
  • Technology3.7%
  • Health Care3.4%

Geography

  • South Korea100.00%

Developed 0% · Emerging 100% of the foreign sleeve

The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 2.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001012450.KSHANWHA AEROSPACE CO LTD22.99%32,169$26M93
002064350.KSHYUNDAI ROTEM CO LTD6.77%84,949$8M85
003079550.KSLIG NEX1 CO LTD6.72%14,564$7M70
004047810.KSKOREA AEROSPACE INDUSTRIES LTD ORD6.60%77,676$7M70
005103140.KSPOONGSAN CORP5.69%111,853$6M42
006—SAMHYUN ORD5.53%175,422$6M1
007064960.KSSNT MOTIV CO LTD4.22%247,214$5M16
008—WOORI TECHNOLOGY INC4.06%467,712$5M2
009—SATREC INITIATIVE CO LTD3.92%76,847$4M2
010003570.KSSNT DYNAMICS CO LTD3.80%203,732$4M13
011—SPHERE CORP3.76%242,743$4M1
012100090.KSSK OCEANPLANT CO LTD3.68%476,104$4M20
013010820.KSFIRSTEC CO LTD3.23%780,739$4M6
014484870.KSMNC SOLUTION CO LTD3.07%256,242$3M3
015097230.KSHJ SHIPBUILDING & CONSTRUCTION CO LTD2.90%286,327$3M35

Showing 1–15 of 21 holdings

KDEF Performance

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

KDEF$9,443
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. KDEF $9,443. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$6,697$10,667$14,636Sep 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 KDEF. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodKDEF
Year to date−0.3%
1 month+6.4%
3 months−3.7%
1 year−5.6%
3 yearsFund is under 3 years old—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 KDEF
YearReturn barKDEF
2026 YTD−0.3%
2025+120.9%

Since listing, Feb 5, 2025

KDEF in the news

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

KDEF 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.
Data unavailableLast 12 months
Payout per share
Data unavailableLast 12 months
Last payment
$2.96 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Irregular

Distribution data unavailable.

Distribution history

2025–2026

One bar per payment. 1 payment from 2025 to 2026 YTD. Dec 30, 2025 $2.96. Use the arrow keys to read each point.20252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Dec 30, 2025Dec 31, 2025$2.96

KDEF Risk

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
56.4%
Annualised · 18 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.
0.93
vs 3-month T-bills · 18 months 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.
−48.6%
19 months · trough Jul 2026
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.
1.65
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.

KDEF Cost

Expense ratio0.65%
  • The middle half of Defense & Aerospace funds
  • Median 0.50%

17 of the 25 Defense & Aerospace funds charge less.

KDEF costs $65.00 a year on $10,000. The median Defense & Aerospace fund costs $50.00.