ILDR vs XT: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

First Trust Innovation Leaders ETF

ILDRCNYSE Arca

iShares Future Exponential Technologies ETF

XTANasdaq

Overlap

29.4%by weight

Expense ratio

XT −0.29pt a year

ILDR0.75%XT0.46%

Avg volume · 30D

XT 1.3×the volume

ILDR53.6KXT69.1K

5Y return · a year

ILDR +2.4pt

ILDR+9.7%XT+7.3%

ILDR vs XT Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+58.6%ILDR+42.3%XT

Expense ratio: ILDR 0.75%; XT 0.46%, better
Fund size: ILDR $335M; XT $3.98B
1Y total return: ILDR +4.8%; XT +20.1%, better
Yield (12M): ILDR 0.00%; XT 6.82%, better
Holdings: ILDR 82; XT 216
Avg volume (30D): ILDR 53.6K sh; XT 69.1K sh, better
NAV per share: ILDR $36.05; XT $83.53
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for ILDR, XT, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	ILDR	XT
Cost30% weight	F22	A95Higher
Mission25% weight	A86	Not scored
Risk15% weight	B62	A91Higher
Tradability15% weight	C52	A77Higher
Holdings10% weight	B64	B66Higher
Durability5% weight	B68	A96Higher

Rank among Disruptive Innovation funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. ILDR and XT are both graded against the same 30 Disruptive Innovation funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Disruptive Innovation⁠

Category · 30 funds

See all 30 ›

XT ranks 1st and ILDR 16th of 30 funds in the Disruptive Innovation Category.

Rank 1AXTiShares Future Exponential Technologies ETFScore 86
Rank 2AKOMPState Street SPDR S&P Kensho New Economies Composite ETFScore 83
Rank 15CGXDWGlobal X Dorsey Wright Thematic ETFScore 48
Rank 16CILDRFirst Trust Innovation Leaders ETFScore 44
Rank 16CTECHarbor Transformative Technologies ETF (TEC)Score 44

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

ILDRCFirst Trust Innovation Leaders ETF

XTAiShares Future Exponential Technologies ETF

In short

ILDR Most innovation ETFs hand the job to an index. ILDR hands it to First Trust's own managers, who pick roughly 60 US and non-US names across seven innovation themes, from advanced medicine to the energy revolution.

XT Innovation, spread thin on purpose. XT holds roughly 200 global companies scored by Morningstar analysts for exposure to a handful of exponential tech themes, so no single moonshot carries the fund.

Stated mandate

ILDR The Fund seeks capital appreciation and normally invests at least 80% of its assets in U.S. and non-U.S. companies that may benefit from scientific and technological innovation, including automation, advanced medicine, networks, advanced computing, enhanced mobility, the energy revolution, and e-commerce.

XT XT seeks to track an index of stocks from developed and emerging markets whose companies create or use exponential technologies. The strategy targets technologies with potential economic benefits, including the ability to displace older technologies or create new markets.

Why people hold it

ILDR No index to hide behind. The managers pick the roughly 60 holdings themselves, so the lineup can shift as themes like automation and advanced computing evolve.stockanalysis.com
It stays on brief: at least 80% of assets must sit in companies tied to scientific and technological innovation, and the portfolio closely reflects that mandate.ftportfolios.com
Trading since 2021, with a mid-sized asset base and moderate volume, so it sidesteps the wide spreads common to thin thematic funds.
Lands in the upper half of its disruptive-innovation peer group, a crowded shelf where plenty of funds promise the same themes.

XT Cheap for the theme at 0.46% a year, below the typical fee in its disruptive-innovation cohort and under peers like TRFM and FDTX.
Human fingerprint on the stock list: Morningstar equity analysts score companies on theme exposure instead of sorting by keywords or revenue tags.sec.gov contentstack.io
Global by construction (developed and emerging markets) and not fenced into the tech sector, so a drugmaker or an industrial can qualify on theme exposure.sec.gov
Launched in 2015 and now a multi-billion-dollar iShares fund, it stands among the stronger builds in its innovation peer group.ishares.com

Worth knowing

ILDR At 0.75% a year it sits above the 0.65% peer median and well above index-based rivals like KOMP at 0.20%. Active stock-picking is what the premium buys.
Concentrated by design: about 60 names, tech-heavy, non-diversified. Single-stock and single-theme swings land harder here than in a broad market fund.aaii.com
Built for capital appreciation, not income. Payouts are not part of the mandate.

XT The index has been reworked since launch (weighting scheme, theme list), and themes get an annual review, so today's tilt is not fixed forever.morningstar.com sec.gov
Moderately traded rather than a household name, which can mean wider spreads than the biggest tech ETFs.
About 200 positions dilutes any single breakout winner, and distributions land only once or twice a year.

Full ILDR profile⁠

Full XT profile⁠

ILDR vs XT Holdings

How ILDR and XT differ

Overlap by weight

29.4%

Shared holdings make up 65.9% of ILDR and 38.3% of XT.

Level by level

Holdings31 in both29.4%
Countryby domicile80.6%
Sector10 Sectors81.5%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in ILDR and XT, widest gap first
Sector	More in ILDRMore in XT	ILDR	XT
Health Care	XT +14.1 points	13.3%	27.4%
Technology	ILDR +10.0 points	53.2%	43.2%
Communication	ILDR +3.6 points	7.4%	3.8%
Industrials	ILDR +3.1 points	11.5%	8.4%
Financials	XT +1.8 points	2.4%	4.2%
Utilities	XT +1.8 points	2.3%	4.1%
Materials	XT +0.9 points	0.4%	1.3%
Consumer Discretionary	ILDR +1.0 points	8.6%	7.6%
Energy	ILDR +0.9 points	0.9%	0.0%
Real Estate	Same weight	0.0%	0.0%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in ILDR and XT, widest gap first
Country	More in ILDRMore in XT	ILDR	XT
United States	ILDR +10.0 points	86.9%	76.9%
United Kingdom	XT +3.7 points	0.0%	3.7%
Switzerland	XT +3.1 points	0.0%	3.1%
Japan	XT +3.1 points	0.0%	3.1%
Canada	ILDR +2.8 points	2.8%	0.0%
Ireland	ILDR +2.6 points	2.6%	0.0%
China	XT +2.5 points	0.0%	2.5%
Taiwan	XT +2.1 points	0.0%	2.1%
Other countries (9)	XT +0.8 points	7.7%	8.5%

Outside the US: XT 74% developed, 26% emerging.

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

ILDR44.1%
XT36.5%

Securities held

ILDR81
XT193

Asset class

ILDR: Equity
XT: Equity

Holdings

Only in ILDR50
In both31
Only in XT162

Only in ILDR

50 securities, 33.8% of ILDR by weight

Shopify Inc. (Class A)2.41%
Rubrik, Inc. (Class A)1.63%
Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc.1.30%
NextEra Energy, Inc.1.24%
Dell Technologies Inc. (Class C)1.15%
Xometry, Inc. (Class A)1.08%
Ascendis Pharma A/S1.07%
Solaris Energy Infrastructure, Inc. (Class A)1.05%
ServiceNow, Inc.1.04%
Toast, Inc. (Class A)0.94%
Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Inc.0.90%
Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.0.90%
argenx SE0.89%
Spotify Technology S.A.0.86%
Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, Inc.0.85%
Robinhood Markets, Inc. (Class A)0.84%
Everpure, Inc. (Class A)0.84%
Zebra Technologies Corporation0.84%
Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. (Class A)0.74%
Alkermes Plc0.62%
HP Inc.0.61%
Airbnb, Inc. (Class A)0.60%
AeroVironment, Inc.0.59%
Semtech Corporation0.59%
Kymera Therapeutics, Inc.0.58%
Viridian Therapeutics, Inc.0.57%
Vertiv Holdings Co (Class A)0.56%
Constellation Energy Corporation0.56%
Nurix Therapeutics, Inc.0.55%
Forgent Power Solutions, Inc. (Class A)0.55%
IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc.0.53%
Leonardo DRS, Inc.0.53%
Cellebrite DI Ltd.0.47%
Ouster, Inc.0.46%
Modine Manufacturing Company0.45%
Vistra Corp.0.44%
Intel Corporation0.43%
Reddit, Inc. (Class A)0.40%
Rambus Inc.0.36%
Carpenter Technology Corporation0.36%
MDA Space Ltd.0.34%
Karman Holdings Inc.0.34%
BWX Technologies, Inc.0.33%
Quantinuum Inc. (Class A)0.32%
IonQ, Inc.0.21%
Planet Labs PBC (Class A)0.21%
Oklo Inc. (Class A)0.18%
Indie Semiconductor, Inc.0.18%
AST SpaceMobile, Inc.0.17%
NuScale Power Corporation (Class A)0.16%

Only in XT

162 securities, 61.3% of XT by weight

Texas Instrument4.61%
Analog Devices3.38%
Johnson & Johnson3.09%
AbbVie2.47%
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing1.82%
Merck & Co Inc1.71%
Roche Ps Par AG1.61%
Intuitive Surgical1.59%
Iberdrola1.49%
Novartis AG1.44%
S&P Global1.30%
Astrazeneca PLC1.30%
Amgen Inc1.18%
Cisco Systems Inc1.18%
Infineon Technologies AG1.16%
Murata Manufacturing1.15%
Nxp Semiconductors NV1.01%
Te Connectivity PLC1.01%
Gilead Sciences0.96%
Emerson Electric0.93%
Fortinet0.92%
Xiaomi0.88%
Bae Systems PLC0.83%
Pfizer0.82%
Northrop Grumman Corp0.82%
Enel0.81%
Danaher0.75%
Air Products and Chemicals0.70%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals0.66%
Sk Hynix0.61%
Bristol Myers Squibb0.60%
Novo Nordisk Class B0.58%
London Stock Exchange Group PLC0.55%
Engie SA0.49%
Renesas Electronics Corp0.48%
Rockwell Automation Inc0.48%
Glaxosmithkline0.47%
On Semiconductor Corp0.47%
Stmicroelectronics0.47%
Nasdaq Inc0.46%
Sanofi SA0.46%
Rwe AG0.43%
Samsung Sdi Ltd0.41%
Sse PLC0.41%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals0.38%
Okta Class A0.37%
Moderna0.37%
Tencent Holdings0.32%
Fanuc Corp0.31%
Takeda Pharmaceutical0.30%

Weight gaps

All 31 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in ILDR and XT, widest gap first
Holding	More in ILDRMore in XT	ILDR	XT
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA	ILDR +6.18 points	9.76%	3.58%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.AMD	ILDR +4.71 points	5.66%	0.95%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN	ILDR +3.42 points	5.94%	2.52%
Marvell Technology, Inc.MRVL	ILDR +2.53 points	2.72%	0.19%
Alphabet Inc. (Class A)GOOGL	ILDR +2.44 points	4.18%	1.74%
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.PANW	XT +2.38 points	1.09%	3.47%
Oracle CorporationORCL	ILDR +2.33 points	2.56%	0.23%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA	XT +2.23 points	2.17%	4.40%
Arista Networks, Inc.ANET	ILDR +2.06 points	2.26%	0.20%
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (Class A)CRWD	XT +2.04 points	0.71%	2.75%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO	ILDR +1.79 points	3.53%	1.74%
Micron Technology, Inc.MU	ILDR +1.60 points	2.64%	1.04%
Eaton Corporation PlcETN	ILDR +1.55 points	1.95%	0.40%
Schneider Electric SE	ILDR +1.42 points	1.58%	0.16%
Siemens Energy AG	ILDR +1.30 points	1.62%	0.32%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT	XT +1.00 points	3.10%	4.09%
BridgeBio Pharma, Inc.BBIO	ILDR +0.95 points	1.01%	0.06%
Adyen NV	ILDR +0.65 points	0.92%	0.27%
MongoDB, Inc.MDB	ILDR +0.64 points	0.68%	0.04%
Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A)PLTR	ILDR +0.60 points	1.09%	0.49%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY	XT +0.59 points	4.02%	4.61%
Zscaler, Inc.ZS	ILDR +0.50 points	0.78%	0.28%
Cloudflare, Inc. (Class A)NET	XT +0.46 points	0.60%	1.06%
Synopsys, Inc.SNPS	ILDR +0.43 points	0.54%	0.11%
Block, Inc. (Class A)XYZ	ILDR +0.35 points	0.75%	0.40%
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.ALNY	ILDR +0.33 points	0.43%	0.10%
Coinbase Global, Inc. (Class A)COIN	ILDR +0.31 points	0.66%	0.35%
GE Vernova Inc.GEV	ILDR +0.24 points	0.85%	0.61%
Meta Platforms, Inc. (Class A)META	XT +0.21 points	1.12%	1.33%
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Class A)SPCX	ILDR +0.19 points	0.48%	0.29%
Rheinmetall AG	XT +0.05 points	0.53%	0.58%

All 81 ILDR holdings⁠All 193 XT holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

ILDR vs XT Cost

Overpaying ILDR vs XT

$5,252

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

ILDR 0.75%
$14,482
XT 0.46%
$9,230

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

ILDR 0.75%
XT 0.46%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	ILDR	XT	Overpaying
10	$1,336	$830	$506
20	$5,078	$3,195	$1,883
30	$14,482	$9,230	$5,252

Expense ratio

0.75%ILDR
0.46%XT, cheaper

XT0.46%ILDR0.75%

0.20%0.90%

Middle half of Disruptive Innovation funds
Median 0.65%

XT 3rd cheapest of 30 funds

ILDR 20th cheapest of 30 funds

ILDR vs XT Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): ILDR 0.00%; XT 6.82%, better
Payout (12M): ILDR None; XT $5.69
Last payment: ILDR No data; XT $0.36
Ex-dividend: ILDR No data; XT Jun 15, 2026
Paid on: ILDR No data; XT Jun 18, 2026
Frequency: ILDR No data; XT Twice a year

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

ILDR1 paymentAll ILDR payments⁠

XTTwice a year · 23 paymentsAll XT payments⁠

ILDR vs XT Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

ILDR
XT

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: ILDR 22.8%XT 16.5%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: ILDR 1.07XT 1.08, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: ILDR −44.6%XT −34.4%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: ILDR 1.55XT 1.35; Market = 1

ILDR and XT in the news

All news⁠

ETF Filings
Golden Eagle files a second ETF without the 40% sales rule of the fund it already runs
Oct 8, 2026ILDRXT
Deep Dive
Disruptive innovation ETFs share a label, not a portfolio
Sep 11, 2026XT

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