ITA vs TSSD

ITAAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

TSSDCTruth Social American Security & Defense ETF

In short

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.

TSSD Defense investing with a brand on the box. TSSD is Trump Media's Truth.Fi entry into the sector, tracking a MarketVector index of US national defense and cyber security companies built on an America-first rulebook.

Stated mandate

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

TSSD The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the MarketVectorTM American Security & Defense Index.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• TSSD The mandate is written down: it tracks the MarketVector American Security & Defense Index, a US defense and cyber security basket reviewed on a set semi-annual schedule.marketvector.com
• Wider lens than classic aerospace-and-defense sleeves such as XAR and ITA: the index reaches into cyber security alongside the traditional hardware names.marketvector.com
• Plain plumbing. A 1940 Act equity fund following a published index, not a derivatives package you need a decoder ring to read.

Worth knowing

• 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

• TSSD At 0.65% a year it runs above the defense cohort's 0.50% median and well above the big trackers (XAR at 0.35%, ITA at 0.37%).
• A December 2025 launch, still small and lightly traded, so spreads can run wider than the category's heavyweights. Limit orders are the usual answer.
• The branding is part of the product: it comes from Trump Media's Truth.Fi line via sponsor Yorkville America Equities, so news about the parent company travels with the fund.sec.gov

Full ITA profile⁠

Full TSSD profile⁠