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ITA vs WDEF

iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

ITAACboe

WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund

WDEFCNYSE Arca

Overlap

Expense ratio

ITA −0.08pt a year

ITA0.37%WDEF0.45%

Avg volume · 30D

ITA 26.8×the volume

ITA747KWDEF27.9K

ITA vs WDEF Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Oct 30, 2026

−2.6%ITA−4.9%WDEF

Oct 31, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026. ITA −2.6%. WDEF −4.9%. Use the arrow keys to read each point.−10%5%10%15%Oct 2025Apr 2026Oct 2026
Expense ratio
ITA 0.37%, better
WDEF 0.45%
Fund size
ITA $12.2B
WDEF $84M
1Y total return
ITA −2.6%, better
WDEF −4.9%
Yield (12M)
ITA 0.27%
WDEF No data
Holdings
ITA 52
WDEF 51
Avg volume (30D)
ITA 747K sh, better
WDEF 27.9K sh
NAV per share
ITA $209.66
WDEF $29.17
52W range

ETF.net Grade

ITA: Cost 80, Risk 61, Mission 76, Tradability 96, Holdings 34, Durability 98. WDEF: Cost 66, Risk 35, Mission not scored, Tradability 48, Holdings 23, Durability 61.
Pillar letters and Scores for ITA, WDEF, with each pillar’s weight
PillarITAWDEF
Cost30% weightA80HigherB66
Mission25% weightA76Not scored
Risk15% weightB61HigherD35
Tradability15% weightA96HigherC48
Holdings10% weightD34HigherF23
Durability5% weightA98HigherB61

Rank among Defense & Aerospace funds

How we build Categories ›
Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Same Category. ITA and WDEF are both graded against the same 25 Defense & Aerospace funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Defense & Aerospace⁠

Category · 25 funds
See all 25 ›

ITA ranks 2nd and WDEF 10th of 25 funds in the Defense & Aerospace Category.

  1. Rank 1AXARState Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 78
  2. Rank 2AITAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 74
  3. Rank 3BFLDZTrueShares Patriot Defense ETFScore 62
  4. Rank 9CMISLFirst Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 53
  5. Rank 10CWDEFWisdomTree Europe Defense FundScore 50
  6. Rank 11CEUADSelect STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 48

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

ITAAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

WDEFCWisdomTree Europe Defense Fund

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.

WDEF Most defense ETFs are a bet on US primes. WDEF goes the other way: a passive index of European-listed defense companies, weighted more heavily the more of their revenue actually comes from defense.

Stated mandate

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

WDEF The Fund is designed to follow the pre-expense price and yield results of the WisdomTree Europe Defense Index. It uses passive indexing and generally applies representative sampling to pursue that objective.

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.
  • WDEF Pure European exposure: the index only takes companies domiciled and listed in developed European markets that derive at least 10% of revenue from defense-related activities.wisdomtree.com
  • Conviction weighting, not just size: over 50% defense revenue earns a 3x weight multiplier, 25-50% earns 2x. Pure-plays outrank sprawling conglomerates.wisdomtree.com
  • Costs 0.45% a year, below the 0.50% median for the defense-theme funds we track.
  • Built-in guardrails: $300M minimum free float and $2M median daily dollar volume to qualify, plus per-name weight caps so one runaway winner can't swallow the basket.wisdomtree.comdividend.com

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
  • WDEF Launched in July 2025, so any read on its risk profile rests on a short live record.
  • A smaller fund that trades thinly. Spreads can widen, so limit orders do real work here.
  • One theme, foreign-listed shares: currency moves feed into dollar returns, and broad US defense funds like XAR (0.35%) and ITA (0.37%) charge less.wisdomtree.com

Full ITA profile⁠

Full WDEF profile⁠

ITA vs WDEF 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.

ITA vs WDEF Cost

Overpaying WDEF vs ITA

$1,528

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

  • ITA 0.37%

    $7,513

  • WDEF 0.45%

    $9,041

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • ITA 0.37%
  • WDEF 0.45%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$2K$4K$6K$8K$10K051015202530WDEF $9,041ITA $7,513

Year by year

YearITAWDEFOverpaying
10$670$812$142
20$2,590$3,128$538
30$7,513$9,041$1,528

Expense ratio

  • 0.37%ITA, cheaper
  • 0.45%WDEF
  • Middle half of Defense & Aerospace funds
  • Median 0.50%

ITA 5th cheapest of 25 funds

WDEF 7th cheapest of 25 funds

ITA vs WDEF Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026
Yield (12M)
ITA 0.27%
WDEF No data
Payout (12M)
ITA $0.57
WDEF No data
Last payment
ITA $0.25
WDEF $0.02
Ex-dividend
ITA Sep 15, 2026
WDEF Dec 26, 2025
Paid on
ITA Sep 18, 2026
WDEF Dec 30, 2025
Frequency
ITA Quarterly
WDEF Irregular

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

ITAQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll ITA payments⁠
One bar per payment. 39 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Mar 24, 2017 $0.16; Jun 27, 2017 $0.19; Sep 26, 2017 $0.35; Dec 19, 2017 $0.16; Mar 22, 2018 $0.21; Jun 26, 2018 $0.22; Sep 26, 2018 $0.43; Dec 17, 2018 $0.11; Mar 20, 2019 $0.29; Jun 17, 2019 $0.31; Sep 24, 2019 $0.29; Dec 16, 2019 $0.53; Dec 30, 2019 $0.29; Mar 25, 2020 $0.39; Jun 15, 2020 $0.21; Sep 23, 2020 $0.20; Dec 14, 2020 $0.20; Mar 25, 2021 $0.32; Jun 10, 2021 $0.19; Sep 24, 2021 $0.18; Dec 13, 2021 $0.16; Mar 24, 2022 $0.16; Jun 9, 2022 $0.28; Sep 26, 2022 $0.38; Dec 13, 2022 $0.24; Mar 23, 2023 $0.28; Jun 7, 2023 $0.24; Sep 26, 2023 $0.22; Dec 20, 2023 $0.43; Mar 21, 2024 $0.27; Jun 11, 2024 $0.30; Sep 25, 2024 $0.23; Dec 17, 2024 $0.44; Mar 18, 2025 $0.25; Jun 16, 2025 $0.17; Sep 16, 2025 $0.75; Mar 17, 2026 $0.15; Jun 15, 2026 $0.16; Sep 15, 2026 $0.25. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.502017202020232026YTD
WDEFIrregular · 1 paymentAll WDEF payments⁠
One bar per payment. 1 payment from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Dec 26, 2025 $0.02. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.502017202020232026YTD

ITA vs WDEF Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years
ITA 18.5%WDEF 31.2%since Aug 2025
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years
ITA 1.06WDEF 0.04since Aug 2025
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years
ITA −20.0%WDEF −23.9%since Jul 2025
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years
ITA 0.98WDEF 0.53

ITA and WDEF in the news

All news⁠

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