KDEF vs XAR

KDEFDPLUS Korea Defense Industry Index ETF

XARAState Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF

In short

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.

XAR Most defense funds hand the wheel to a handful of giant primes. XAR spreads its roughly 50 aerospace and defense names close to equal weight, so a mid cap parts maker carries about the same load as a household-name contractor.

Stated mandate

KDEF The Fund seeks investment results corresponding generally to the total return performance of the Korea Defense Industry Index before fees and expenses.

XAR The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the total return performance of the S&P Aerospace & Defense Select Industry Index.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• XAR Modified equal weighting keeps any single prime contractor from running the show: large, mid and small cap names carry similar weight in the index.ssga.com
• Costs 0.35% a year, under the 0.50% typical of defense funds and a hair below ITA at 0.37%. Cheap for a targeted industry bet.
• Trading since 2011 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, it is one of the most established and best-built ways to own the US aerospace and defense industry.
• About 50 US-listed aerospace and defense stocks pulled from the S&P Total Market Index, so suppliers and smaller specialists sit alongside the famous names.ssga.com

Worth knowing

• 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.

• XAR One industry, tied to government budgets and order cycles. Expect bigger swings than a broad market fund.
• Equal weighting leans on smaller suppliers, which cuts both ways: less of the fund rides the megacap primes when those lead.ssga.com
• Distributions land quarterly, but this is an industry growth basket, not an income vehicle.

Full KDEF profile⁠

Full XAR profile⁠