ITA: iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF

ITA is the iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF, the standard passive vehicle for US defense and aerospace exposure. It holds approximately 35 stocks, heavily weighted toward the major defense primes (RTX, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman). Expense ratio of 0.40%.

ITA, listed on NYSE Arca. The official name is iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF, issued by BlackRock. It tracks the Dow Jones US Select Aerospace & Defense Index, which selects US-listed companies whose primary business is aerospace or defense.

Approximately 35 stocks. Top holdings: RTX (~17.5%), Boeing (~13.5%), Lockheed Martin (~9.2%), General Dynamics (~6.4%), Northrop Grumman (~6%), Axon Enterprise (~4.2%), Howmet Aerospace (~4%), TransDigm (~3.8%), L3Harris Technologies (~3.2%), Huntington Ingalls (~2.5%). Heavily top-heavy: top 5 names account for ~52% of the fund.

Both are US aerospace and defense ETFs. ITA (iShares) charges 0.40%, holds ~35 stocks. PPA (Invesco) charges 0.55%, holds ~55 stocks (slightly broader universe including some defense-adjacent names ITA excludes). ITA is more concentrated; PPA is more diversified. Returns over multi-year windows have been close. ITA has been the preferred default for cost-conscious investors; PPA for those wanting broader defense exposure.

0.40% per year. On a $10,000 investment, that's $40/year in fees. Higher than broad-market or sector ETFs (XLI at 0.09%) but typical for thematic ETFs. The 0.40% reflects the narrower universe and the methodology cost of tracking a sub-sector index.

Approximately 0.9% as of early 2026, paid quarterly. The defense primes (RTX, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman) pay meaningful dividends; Boeing's dividend was suspended during the 737 MAX crisis and remains modest. Specialty defense growth names (Axon, TransDigm) pay minimal dividends.

ITA trades like any stock during US market hours. Buy it through any broker: Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Public, M1, or any other. Fractional shares supported at most modern brokers. ITA is the most-traded defense ETF and the standard passive vehicle for the theme.

Approximately $7 billion as of early 2026. ITA has grown substantially since 2022 as geopolitical concerns have driven flows into defense ETFs. Growth has been faster than for broad-market ETFs during the same period.

ITA gives you passive exposure to the major US defense primes and some emerging defense-adjacent names. It's the most direct way to express a defense modernization thesis through a single ticker. Walnut isn't an investment adviser; whether ITA fits depends on your view on defense spending sustainability and your tolerance for the concentration in the top 5 names.

May 2006. ITA has been the standard US aerospace and defense ETF for nearly two decades, growing through multiple geopolitical cycles. The fund has seen its largest AUM growth during the 2022-2025 period as Ukraine, Pacific theater concerns, and NATO expansion drove defense thesis interest.

RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies after the 2020 merger with United Technologies) is one of the largest US defense and aerospace companies by market cap. It manufactures missiles, missile defense systems, aircraft engines (Pratt & Whitney), and various aerospace systems. Cap weighting makes it the largest ITA holding at ~17.5%.

Yes, at brokers that support fractional ETF purchases: Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Public, M1, and several others. Fractional purchases let you fine-tune position size without full-share commitments.

No. ITA holds only US-listed companies. European defense primes (BAE Systems, Rheinmetall, Leonardo, Thales) and other international defense exposures are not in ITA. For international defense exposure, ETFs like SHLD (Global X Defense Tech) or international defense ADRs provide alternatives.

XAR (SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF) is an equal-weighted alternative to ITA. ITA is cap-weighted (RTX ~17.5%, top 5 ~52%); XAR equal-weights all holdings (~3% each), giving smaller defense names more representation. Returns have diverged meaningfully across periods: ITA outperforms when large primes lead; XAR outperforms when smaller defense names lead.