FLDZ vs KDEF

FLDZBTrueShares Patriot Defense ETF

KDEFDPLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF

In short

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.

KDEF Most 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

FLDZ The Fund seeks capital growth.

KDEF 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

• 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

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

Worth knowing

• 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.

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

Full FLDZ profile⁠

Full KDEF profile⁠