What is the fee difference between ITA and PPA?

ITA has an expense ratio of 0.37% and PPA 0.58%, a gap of 0.21 percentage points. On $10,000 invested that is roughly $37 a year for ITA against about $58 for PPA. Both are more expensive than broad-market ETFs, which is typical of sector funds, but ITA is clearly the cheaper of the two.

What index does each fund track?

ITA tracks the Dow Jones US Select Aerospace & Defense index, a market-cap-weighted index of US companies that make aircraft, defense equipment and related systems, with 52 holdings. PPA tracks the SPADE Defense Index, which covers US companies involved in defense, homeland security and aerospace with a weighting scheme that keeps the largest positions smaller. PPA holds 63 stocks.

How much do ITA and PPA overlap?

Eight of the ten largest positions appear in both funds: GE Aerospace, RTX, Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Howmet Aerospace and L3Harris. ITA's top ten also has TransDigm and Axon, while PPA's has Parker-Hannifin and Honeywell Aerospace. The stocks are largely the same; the weights are very different.

Which fund pays a higher dividend yield?

PPA yields slightly more at 0.40% compared with 0.26% for ITA. Both figures are low because aerospace and defense companies tend to reinvest heavily and many of the largest holdings pay small dividends. Neither fund is suitable as an income holding; investors buy them for sector exposure.

Which fund suits which goal?

ITA suits investors who want the lowest-cost exposure to US aerospace and defense and are comfortable with GE Aerospace and RTX together making up almost 39% of the fund. PPA suits investors who prefer flatter weights across more companies and accept paying 0.21 percentage points more per year for that structure.

How large and liquid are ITA and PPA?

ITA is larger at about $12.5 billion in net assets, compared with roughly $7.62 billion for PPA. Both are well-established sector funds; PPA launched in October 2005 and ITA in May 2006. Retail investors should find both easy to trade, though ITA's larger size typically means slightly tighter spreads.

Are there tax or account considerations?

Both are US-listed equity ETFs with low yields, so most of any return comes as capital gains rather than income. Non-US investors may still see US withholding tax on the small dividends. How gains and dividends are taxed depends on your country and whether you hold the fund in a taxable or tax-advantaged account. Check local guidance.

Can I hold both ITA and PPA?

You can, but the funds hold mostly the same companies, so owning both provides little extra diversification. The main effect is to average the two weighting schemes, reducing ITA's heavy GE Aerospace and RTX weights somewhat. Most investors choose one based on fee and concentration preference and pair it with broad-market funds.

How concentrated is each fund?

ITA is far more concentrated. GE Aerospace is 21.51% and RTX 17.14%, so two stocks are almost 39% of the fund and the top ten is about 77%. PPA's largest holding, RTX, is 8.15%, and its top ten totals around 54%. PPA's index deliberately limits the largest weights, which is the main structural difference between the funds.

ITA vs PPA

Two funds, one decision: we compare cost, performance and what each ETF actually holds in October 2026.

ITA tracks the Dow Jones US Select Aerospace & Defense index with 52 holdings for a 0.37% fee, while PPA tracks the SPADE Defense Index with 63 holdings for 0.58%. ITA puts 21.51% in GE Aerospace and 17.14% in RTX, whereas PPA caps its top name, RTX, at 8.15%. ITA suits investors who accept concentration for a lower fee; PPA suits those wanting flatter weights. Educational content, not financial advice.

ITA tracks the Dow Jones US Select Aerospace & Defense index with 52 holdings for a 0.37% fee, while PPA tracks the SPADE Defense Index with 63 holdings for 0.58%. ITA puts 21.51% in GE Aerospace and ...

Fund Snapshot

Key Fund Metrics

ITA

Metric

PPA

0.37%

Expense Ratio

0.58%

0.26%

Dividend Yield

0.40%

$12.51B

Net Assets

$7.62B

52

Holdings

63

May 1, 2006

Inception Date

Oct 26, 2005

DJ US Select / Aerospace & Defense

Index Tracked

SPADE Defense Index

Industrials

Fund Category

Industrials

ITA costs about $21.00 less per year for every $10,000 invested.

Shared Top Holdings

Holding	ITA	PPA
GEGE Aerospace	21.51%	6.76%
RTXRTX Corporation	17.14%	8.15%
BAThe Boeing Company	9.18%	6.83%
GDGeneral Dynamics Corporation	4.94%	5.03%
LMTLockheed Martin Corporation	4.85%	6.69%
NOCNorthrop Grumman Corporation	4.57%	5.01%
HWMHowmet Aerospace Inc.	4.28%	3.90%
LHXL3Harris Technologies, Inc.	3.71%	3.78%

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Investment Analysis

ITA

Pros

Expense ratio of 0.37%, about $21 a year less than PPA per $10,000 invested
About $12.5 billion in net assets, larger than PPA's $7.62 billion
Heavy weights in GE Aerospace and RTX give direct exposure to the two largest names

Considerations

GE Aerospace at 21.51% and RTX at 17.14% make up almost 39% of the fund
Only 52 holdings, all US-listed aerospace and defense companies
Dividend yield of 0.26% is very low even for a sector fund

PPA

Pros

Flatter weighting with no single stock above RTX at 8.15%
63 holdings including Parker-Hannifin and Honeywell Aerospace not in ITA's top ten
Dividend yield of 0.40% is modestly higher than ITA's 0.26%

Considerations

Expense ratio of 0.58% is 0.21 percentage points above ITA's 0.37%
Smaller fund at about $7.62 billion in net assets
Still concentrated in the same handful of large defense contractors as ITA

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