Compare XAR SHLD PPA ITA
11/4/2025 07:23am
**Bottom-line 🏁:**
Among the four large-cap Aerospace & Defense ETFs, **XAR offers the best blend of low cost, broad equal-weight exposure, and healthy inflows, making it the most “all-weather” choice for most investors.** SHLD is the clear momentum leader for growth-oriented, tech-forward capital, while PPA delivers the strongest long-term returns and a slightly lower top-weight risk than ITA. ITA remains the deepest-pocketed fund but charges the heaviest fee and is still concentrated in a handful of mega-caps. 🚀🛡️
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### 1. Quick Scorecard 📊
| ETF | AUM (US$) | Expense Ratio | 1-Yr Total Return | 3-Yr CAGR | Top-10 Weight | Key Edge | Key Caveat |
|-----|-----------|---------------|-------------------|-----------|---------------|----------|------------|
| XAR | 3.6 B | 0.35% | 50.22% | 14.98% | 42.46% | Equal-weight, low fee, good liquidity | Mid-/small-cap tilt can amplify volatility |
| SHLD| 3.0 B | 0.50% | 79.26% | n/a | 40-50% in top 5 | Global, tech-heavy, “defense innovation” angle | Highest fee; still very new (launched 2023) |
| PPA | 5.7 B | 0.57% | 26.86% | 13.3% | 52.26% | Balanced large-cap mix, lower Boeing weight | Slightly higher fee; still top-heavy |
| ITA | 8.3 B | 0.40% | 48.80% | 10.3% | 76.15% | Deepest liquidity, longest track record | Highest concentration in GE Aerospace & RTX |
*Source: Kiplinger & fund data*
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### 2. Performance Snapshot 📈
Recent momentum tells a clear story: SHLD’s 79% one-year gain dwarfs the others, while XAR and ITA hover around the mid-50% mark and PPA trails at 27%.
|market_code|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Percentage Change|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|169|PPA|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241104|0.183647|
|169|XAR|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241104|0.193573|
|169|PPA|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241105|1.571229|
|169|XAR|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241105|1.294436|
|169|PPA|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241106|3.343073|
|169|XAR|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241106|3.865471|
|169|PPA|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241107|-0.382536|
|169|XAR|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241107|-0.312175|
|169|PPA|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241108|2.788213|
|169|XAR|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241108|3.463097|
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### 3. Cost & Structure 💸
Expense ratios range from **0.35% (XAR) to 0.57% (PPA)**, with SHLD and ITA in between.
XAR, SHLD, PPA, ITA Issuer, Expense Ratio, Benchmark, Management Style, Leverage Ratio,Dividend Frequency
|code|market_code|etf code|etf name|Last Price|Last Change|Expense Ratio|Benchmark|Management Style|Leverage Ratio|Dividend Frequency|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|0.5700000000000001|SPADE Defense Index|Passive|1|Quarterly|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|0.5|Global X Defense Tech Index|Passive|1|Semi-Annually|
|ITA|171|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|214.9|-0.412438|0.4|Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index|Passive|1|Quarterly|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|0.35000000000000003|S&P Aerospace & Defense Select Industry Index|Passive|1|Quarterly|
*Why it matters:* Over a 10-year horizon, a 0.20% fee difference can shave 2% off annualized returns—small, but meaningful for capital preservation.
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### 4. What’s Inside the Wrapper? 🔍
• **Sector Mix:** All four stay 84-100% Industrials, but SHLD carves out ~16% for Technology, giving it a “defense tech” flavor.
|market_code|code|Ticker|Name|
|---|---|---|---|
|169|PPA|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|
|169|XAR|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|
• **Top Holdings:**
– ITA is 37% GE Aerospace + RTX + Boeing
– XAR spreads risk more evenly; its top names include Aerovironment, Kratos, and Rocket Lab
– PPA cuts Boeing to 7.14% and leans on GE Aerospace 7.81% and RTX 8.42%
– SHLD is 9.98% Palantir, 8.24% RTX, 7.06% Rheinmetall, and 7.02% Lockheed Martin
PPA Top 10 Holdings and Holding Name
|code|market_code|etf code|etf name|Last Price|Last Change|Holding Name|Holding Code|Holding Weight|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|RTX|RTX.N|8.42|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|GE Aerospace|GE.N|7.8100000000000005|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|The Boeing|BA.N|7.140000000000001|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|Lockheed Martin|LMT.N|6.99|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|Northrop Grumman|NOC.N|5.06|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|General Dynamics|GD.N|4.77|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|Honeywell|HON.O|4.16|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|Howmet Aerospace|HWM.N|4.05|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|L3Harris|LHX.N|4.02|
|PPA|169|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|157.5|-0.23437000000000002|Parker-Hannifin|PH.N|3.2399999999999998|
XAR Top 10 Holdings and Holding Name
|code|market_code|etf code|etf name|Last Price|Last Change|Holding Code|Holding Name|Holding Weight|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|AVAV.O|Aerovironment|4.53|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|KTOS.O|Kratos Defense & Security Solutions|4.12|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|ACHR.N|Archer Aviation|4.07|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|ATI.N|ATI|4.06|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|RKLB.O|Rocket Lab|4.04|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|CRS.N|Carpenter Technology|3.95|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|BWXT.N|BWX Technologies|3.94|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|CW.N|Curtiss-Wright|3.6900000000000004|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|HII.N|Huntington Ingalls|3.5900000000000003|
|XAR|169|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|247.36|-0.478777|RTX.N|RTX|3.5000000000000004|
SHLD Top 10 Holdings and Holding Name
|code|market_code|etf code|etf name|Last Price|Last Change|Holding Name|Holding Code|Holding Weight|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|Palantir|PLTR.O|9.98|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|RTX|RTX.N|8.24|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|Rheinmetall|RHM.F|7.06|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|Lockheed Martin|LMT.N|7.02|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|BAE Systems plc||6.58|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|General Dynamics|GD.N|4.760000000000001|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|Northrop Grumman|NOC.N|4.54|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|Leidos Holdings|LDOS.N|4.51|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|L3Harris|LHX.N|4.47|
|SHLD|169|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|68.805|0.724638|Leonardo|LDO.MI|4.18|
|market_code|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Percentage Change|Percentage Change YoY|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250102|-0.337117||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250103|0.925031||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250106|-0.841313||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250107|-0.089674||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250108|0.800884||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250110|-0.630137||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250113|0.723739||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250114|1.334428||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250115|0.547002||
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20250116|0.98059||
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### 5. Money Flow Pulse 💰
Institutional appetite is strongest for XAR and SHLD:
• XAR drew **$523 M** net inflows over the past year
• SHLD attracted **$3.36 B** despite some choppy weeks
|market_code|code|Ticker|Name|Date|Interval Net Fund Flow|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|169|PPA|PPA.P|Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241103-20251103|6.245221134781002E8|
|171|ITA|ITA.B|iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241103-20251103|3.3681669E9|
|169|SHLD|SHLD.P|Global X Defense Tech ETF|20241103-20251103|3.3549738916454E9|
|169|XAR|XAR.P|State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF|20241103-20251103|7.717770720436003E8|
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### 6. Putting It All Together 🧩
1. **Growth & Momentum:** Choose **SHLD** if you want the fastest ride and are comfortable with higher fees and tech concentration.
2. **Balanced Exposure & Low Cost:** **XAR** equal-weights 35-40 stocks, keeps fees minimal, and still captures the defense up-cycle.
3. **Long-Term Core:** **PPA** and **ITA** both boast multi-year track records; PPA edges out on 3-year CAGR and moderates Boeing risk, while ITA offers the deepest liquidity for large orders.
4. **Capital Preservation:** If your priority is limiting drawdowns (e.g., for an upcoming withdrawal), XAR’s equal-weight design and lower top-weight risk may offer a smoother ride than ITA’s mega-cap concentration.
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### 7. Actionable Takeaways 🎯
• **Barbell Approach:** Pair a core XAR (or ITA) with a satellite SHLD for growth spice.
• **Trim Concentration Risk:** If you already own heavyweights like RTX or BA elsewhere, consider lighter-weight XAR or PPA to avoid overlap.
• **Watch the Calendar:** Defense budgets often peak in Q4; monitor geopolitical headlines and contract wins for tactical entries.
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Ready to fine-tune your aerospace allocation— or curious how a defense sleeve might cushion your tech-heavy portfolio? 🛰️🤔
