DUTY vs FOWF

DUTYCU.S. Defense ETF

FOWFBPacer Solactive Whitney Future of Warfare 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.

FOWF Most defense funds are built around the old primes. FOWF tracks the Solactive Whitney Future of Warfare Index, aimed at companies behind emerging defense technology across the U.S. and allied nations.

Stated mandate

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

FOWF The Fund seeks capital appreciation by tracking companies that support critical emerging defense technologies in the U.S. and its allied nations.

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.

• FOWF Points at the next war, not the last one: the index targets companies supporting critical emerging defense technologies, not a broad aerospace-and-defense basket.
• 0.49% a year, right at the middle of the defense-theme pack. No niche premium charged for the narrower mandate.
• The mandate covers the U.S. and its allied nations, so allied suppliers abroad are in scope, not just Pentagon contractors.
• Roughly 100 holdings spread the theme across many names instead of a few giants, and the fund distributes quarterly.

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.

• FOWF Launched in December 2024, so the track record is short and any read on its risk profile rests on limited history.
• Small and thinly traded next to category heavyweights like ITA and XAR, which can mean wider spreads on larger orders.
• A narrow theme tied to defense budgets and procurement cycles, so it can move very differently from a broad market fund.

Full DUTY profile⁠

Full FOWF profile⁠