FLDZ vs MISL

FLDZBTrueShares Patriot Defense ETF

MISLCFirst Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense 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.

MISL First Trust's aerospace-and-defense sleeve: roughly 50 US-listed names tracking the Indxx US Aerospace & Defense Index. A 2022 arrival in a crowded aisle, priced a notch above the category median.

Stated mandate

FLDZ The Fund seeks capital growth.

MISL The Fund seeks investment results corresponding generally to the price and yield of the Indxx US Aerospace & Defense Index and normally invests at least 80% of net assets in the stocks comprising that index.

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

• MISL Roughly 50 US aerospace and defense stocks, with at least 80% of net assets in the index names. Rules-based tracking, no manager hunches.ftportfolios.com
• Moderately traded rather than thin, which generally shows up as workable spreads on retail-size orders.
• Live since 2022 and run by First Trust, a long-established ETF shop. It sits in the upper half of the defense-theme funds we grade.

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.

• MISL 0.60% a year sits above the category median of 0.50%, and cheaper US aerospace-and-defense trackers exist: XAR at 0.35%, ITA at 0.37%.
• One theme, one country. Results ride on defense budgets and aerospace cycles, and with about 50 names each holding carries real weight.
• Built for exposure, not income: distributions land annually or semiannually.

Full FLDZ profile⁠

Full MISL profile⁠