FOWF vs GCAD

FOWFBPacer Solactive Whitney Future of Warfare ETF

GCADCGabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF

In short

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.

GCAD A stock-picker's defense fund. Gabelli runs GCAD without a declared index, chasing total return with an emphasis on income, an unusual mandate in a corner of the market where index trackers set the rules.

Stated mandate

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

GCAD The Fund seeks a high level of total return, emphasizing income.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• GCAD No index to follow. The mandate is total return with an income emphasis, so the portfolio reflects Gabelli's own calls rather than a benchmark's weighting rules.
• Trading since 2022, so there is a multi-year live record in the aerospace and defense theme to judge, not a backtest.
• The book stays on-theme: holdings line up closely with the commercial aerospace and defense mandate on the label, with little drift into loosely related names.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• GCAD Costs 0.90% a year, well above the defense-theme median of 0.50%. Index rivals XAR (0.35%) and ITA (0.37%) cover the sector for a fraction of that.
• A small, thinly traded fund. Spreads tend to run wider than the big index names, and larger orders can push the price around.
• Income sits in the objective, but cash reaches shareholders on an annual or semiannual schedule, not monthly.

Full FOWF profile⁠

Full GCAD profile⁠