FOWF vs KDEF

FOWFBPacer Solactive Whitney Future of Warfare ETF

KDEFDPLUS Korea Defense Industry Index 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.

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

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

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

• 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.

• 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

• 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.

• 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 FOWF profile⁠

Full KDEF profile⁠