FLDZ vs XAR

FLDZBTrueShares Patriot Defense ETF

XARAState Street SPDR S&P 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.

XAR Most defense funds hand the wheel to a handful of giant primes. XAR spreads its roughly 50 aerospace and defense names close to equal weight, so a mid cap parts maker carries about the same load as a household-name contractor.

Stated mandate

FLDZ The Fund seeks capital growth.

XAR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the S&P Aerospace & Defense Select Industry 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

• XAR Modified equal weighting keeps any single prime contractor from running the show: large, mid and small cap names carry similar weight in the index.ssga.com
• Costs 0.35% a year, under the 0.50% typical of defense funds and a hair below ITA at 0.37%. Cheap for a targeted industry bet.
• Trading since 2011 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it is one of the most established and best-built ways to own the US aerospace and defense industry.
• About 50 US-listed aerospace and defense stocks pulled from the S&P Total Market Index, so suppliers and smaller specialists sit alongside the famous names.ssga.com

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.

• XAR One industry, tied to government budgets and order cycles. Expect bigger swings than a broad market fund.
• Equal weighting leans on smaller suppliers, which cuts both ways: less of the fund rides the megacap primes when those lead.ssga.com
• Distributions land quarterly, but this is an industry growth basket, not an income vehicle.

Full FLDZ profile⁠

Full XAR profile⁠