FOWF vs ITA

FOWFBPacer Solactive Whitney Future of Warfare ETF

ITAAiShares U.S. Aerospace & 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.

ITA The 2006 original in aerospace and defense, and still the anchor fund of the category. It follows a market-cap-weighted index of U.S. aircraft, parts and weapons makers, so the big primes carry most of the weight.

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.

ITA The fund is designed to follow an index of U.S. equity companies focused on aerospace and defense.

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.

• ITA Charges 0.37% a year, below the typical defense-fund fee and a whisker off the cheapest large rival, XAR at 0.35%.
• Trading since 2006 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund: the long-standing incumbent in U.S. aerospace and defense.
• The index weights by market cap but caps any single company's weight, so the biggest primes lead without swallowing the whole portfolio.spglobal.com
• One of the strongest builds in a crowded defense peer group, with a plain-vanilla index mandate and quarterly payouts.

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.

• ITA About 50 stocks, cap-weighted: a few primes drive most of the ride. XAR's modified equal weight spreads exposure further down the size ladder.ssga.com
• One U.S. industry, running on two engines: government procurement and commercial aircraft demand. Narrower than a broad-market fund by design.ishares.com
• Holds a representative sample of the index rather than every constituent, which can leave small gaps versus the benchmark.sec.gov

Full FOWF profile⁠

Full ITA profile⁠