DUTY vs FLDZ

DUTYCU.S. Defense ETF

FLDZBTrueShares Patriot Defense ETF

In short

DUTY A pure-play on American defense: DUTY tracks the Solactive U.S. Defense Index, US names only, at a fee under the category median. It launched in 2026, making it the young challenger in a field of entrenched aerospace-and-defense blends.

FLDZ A defense-stock ETF with an unusual arrangement: the adviser's management fee, less fund expenses, goes to the Folds of Honor Foundation. Launched in 2021 as a patriot-themed core equity fund, it now runs an active, concentrated book of aerospace and defense names.

Stated mandate

DUTY The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the Solactive U.S. Defense Index.

FLDZ The Fund seeks capital growth.

Why people hold it

• DUTY Charges 0.45%, below the median for defense-themed ETFs. That undercuts PPA and SHLD, though the category's two largest, ITA and XAR, still price lower.
• The name is the mandate. It tracks a defense index rather than an aerospace-and-defense blend, which is how the category's biggest funds (ITA, XAR, PPA) are built.
• US-only by design, so foreign-listed primes stay out of the basket. Holdings follow a published Solactive index, not a manager's stock picks.

• FLDZ The adviser's management fee, less fund operating expenses, goes to Folds of Honor, a charity funding scholarships for families of fallen or disabled service members and first responders.true-shares.comtrue-shares.com 2
• Charges 0.40% a year, below the median for its actively managed US stock peers. The charitable angle does not arrive with a premium price tag attached.
• The mandate is spelled out: at least 80% of net assets in aerospace and defense companies as classified by GICS, with a policy of concentrating in that industry. No guessing what you own.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• DUTY A 2026 launch means a short record: limited evidence on how closely it tracks its index or how it behaves in a drawdown.
• It hasn't built the asset base or daily volume of long-running rivals like ITA and XAR. Thinner trading tends to mean wider spreads between the price you pay and the fund's value.
• One theme, one country. The basket moves with defense budgets and contract news, and it has paid no distributions, so this is a price story rather than an income one.

• FLDZ The strategy was rewritten in 2026 from broad US-economy equities to defense companies, so the fund's older track record reflects a different portfolio.sec.govsec.gov 2
• Non-diversified and concentrated in one industry, so a single contract award or budget headline moves it more than it would a broad market fund.sec.gov
• A small fund that trades thinly, so bid-ask spreads tend to run wider than on heavily traded ETFs. Limit orders matter more here.

Full DUTY profile⁠

Full FLDZ profile⁠