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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)?
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The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA - Free Report) was launched on May 1, 2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Industrials - Aerospace & Defense segment of the equity market.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Industrials - Aerospace & Defense is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 7, placing it in top 44%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $14.38 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Aerospace & Defense segment of the equity market. ITA seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index before fees and expenses.
The Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index measures the performance of the aerospace and defense sector of the U.S. equity market.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.38%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.57%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector -- about 99.9% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Ge Aerospace (GE) accounts for about 20.51% of total assets, followed by Rtx Corp (RTX) and Boeing (BA).
The top 10 holdings account for about 75.46% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 8.55% and it's up approximately 52.66% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/18/2026), respectively. ITA has traded between $135.31 and $250.58 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 18.11% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 45 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, ITA is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA) tracks SPADE Defense Index and the Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD) tracks GLOBAL X DEFENSE TECH INDEX. Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF has $8.27 billion in assets, Global X Defense Tech ETF has $8.33 billion. PPA has an expense ratio of 0.58%, and SHLD charges 0.5%.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.
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Should You Invest in the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA)?
The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA - Free Report) was launched on May 1, 2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Industrials - Aerospace & Defense segment of the equity market.
Passively managed ETFs are becoming increasingly popular with institutional as well as retail investors due to their low cost, transparency, flexibility and tax efficiency. They are excellent vehicles for long term investors.
Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Industrials - Aerospace & Defense is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 7, placing it in top 44%.
Index Details
The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $14.38 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Industrials - Aerospace & Defense segment of the equity market. ITA seeks to match the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index before fees and expenses.
The Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index measures the performance of the aerospace and defense sector of the U.S. equity market.
Costs
Investors should also pay attention to an ETF's expense ratio. Lower cost products will produce better results than those with a higher cost, assuming all other metrics remain the same.
Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.38%, making it one of the cheaper products in the space.
It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 0.57%.
Sector Exposure and Top Holdings
Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure that minimizes single stock risk, investors should also look at the actual holdings inside the fund. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.
This ETF has heaviest allocation in the Industrials sector -- about 99.9% of the portfolio.
Looking at individual holdings, Ge Aerospace (GE) accounts for about 20.51% of total assets, followed by Rtx Corp (RTX) and Boeing (BA).The top 10 holdings account for about 75.46% of total assets under management.
Performance and Risk
The ETF has gained about 8.55% and it's up approximately 52.66% so far this year and in the past one year (as of 03/18/2026), respectively. ITA has traded between $135.31 and $250.58 during this last 52-week period.
The ETF has a beta of 0.76 and standard deviation of 18.11% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 45 holdings, it has more concentrated exposure than peers.
Alternatives
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF carries a Zacks ETF Rank of 3 (Hold), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Thus, ITA is a good option for those seeking exposure to the Industrials ETFs area of the market. Investors might also want to consider some other ETF options in the space.
Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA) tracks SPADE Defense Index and the Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD) tracks GLOBAL X DEFENSE TECH INDEX. Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF has $8.27 billion in assets, Global X Defense Tech ETF has $8.33 billion. PPA has an expense ratio of 0.58%, and SHLD charges 0.5%.
Bottom Line
To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.