First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (MISL)


Market Price (8/5/2026): $46.47

First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (MISL)


Market Price (8/5/2026): $46.47

Key Takeaways

  • MISL has returned +8.6% YTD vs +13.4% for SPY; +19.1% over the past 12 months (SPY +23.2%). details →
  • Priced in gold, MISL has returned -4.8% over the past 3 years, vs +101.5% in dollars — its dollar gains have lagged gold. details →
  • Over the past month, MISL has seen net outflows of −$17M (−2.3% of assets). details →
  • MISL's portfolio trades at 32.0x forward earnings — a 303% premium to SPY (8.0x). details →
  • MISL's top 10 holdings represent 59% of the fund vs 38% for SPY — a more concentrated portfolio. details →
Last updated: 8/4/2026.

Price Chart

Asset Allocation with MISL

Risk Tolerance:
ConservativeModerateAggressive
Moderate — 55% equity / 25% bonds / 20% alternatives
10Y Return (ann.)
+7.9%
Volatility
7.9%
Sharpe
0.66
YTD
+5.6%
Modeled with monthly rebalancing to target weights; 10-year figures are annualized from monthly returns. Illustrative only — past performance is not indicative of future results.

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Top 20 Holdings for MISL

Total Weights
Top 5: 39.6% | Top 10: 61.1% | Top 20: 87.3%

TickerHoldingETF WeightSales WeightEarnings WeightFwd P/SFwd P/EFwd Sales GrowthFwd Earnings Growth
Total92.17%100.00%100.00%2.832.0+9.2%+14.5%
Top 2081.15%82.99%89.21%3.032.7+9.4%+13.9%
RTXRTX9.08%9.87%10.20%2.928.3+7.4%+8.7%
GEGE Aerospace8.29%3.66%8.10%7.343.5+11.1%+12.8%
BABoeing8.04%13.79%4.46%1.794.4+14.4%
PLTRPalantir Technologies8.02%0.43%2.65%37.889.3+47.1%+40.0%
SPCXSpace Exploration Technologies6.17%
LMTLockheed Martin4.60%8.94%9.12%1.618.4+5.7%+7.1%
HWMHowmet Aerospace4.31%1.10%2.78%10.950.2+13.2%+19.1%
GDGeneral Dynamics4.23%7.61%7.78%1.821.2+4.8%+8.9%
HEIHeico4.20%1.37%2.76%8.953.4+10.2%+13.2%
NOCNorthrop Grumman4.16%7.78%10.19%1.718.5+6.9%+4.0%
TDGTransDigm4.02%1.88%4.99%6.527.3+9.4%+17.6%
LHXL3Harris Technologies3.94%5.82%5.89%2.221.7+7.6%+15.0%
RKLBRocket Lab3.31%0.17%38.1+43.3%
CWCurtiss-Wright2.98%1.31%2.33%7.045.7+8.1%+9.8%
ASTSAST SpaceMobile2.55%0.04%40.1+330.7%
WWDWoodward2.39%1.54%2.54%4.734.3+8.9%+13.4%
FTAIFTAI Aviation2.35%1.10%2.19%4.422.5+59.6%+101.8%
TXTTextron1.65%5.58%4.27%1.012.3+3.7%+12.8%
LDOSLeidos1.62%5.93%5.78%0.99.8+4.6%+6.6%
HIIHuntington Ingalls Industries1.43%5.06%3.17%0.916.4+6.1%+11.6%
[1] Total and Top 20 rows are weighted aggregates across constituents.
[2] Forward P/S and P/E ratios use consensus sales and earnings for the 12 months ending 8/31/27. Individual constituent FY1 and FY2 consensus figures adjusted to align with 8/31/27.
[3] Forward Sales and Non-GAAP Earnings Growth are calculated as next fiscal year (FY2) consensus growth over current fiscal year (FY1) consensus. They are not derived from the forward P/S and P/E multiples shown.

Performance for MISL Top Holdings

TickerHoldingWeightMkt Price
8/4
1D Rtn1M RtnYTD Rtn1Y Rtn3Y Rtn5Y Rtn10Y Rtn
MISLFirst Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF100.00%46.474.9%-0.8%8.6%19.1%101.5%  
RTXRTX9.08%217.930.6%9.4%19.7%40.7%174.6%180.0%334.8%
GEGE Aerospace8.29%377.282.3%0.1%22.8%37.3%325.0%496.7%178.5%
BABoeing8.04%237.161.6%4.7%9.2%6.7%2.5%3.1%97.3%
PLTRPalantir Technologies8.02%162.6629.5%25.8%-8.5%1.2%793.7%622.3% 
SPCXSpace Exploration Technologies6.17%125.339.4%-22.6%     
LMTLockheed Martin4.60%589.330.5%8.0%23.3%42.8%43.3%86.9%195.0%
HWMHowmet Aerospace4.31%288.200.6%6.6%40.7%59.4%492.1%823.4%1,151.1%
GDGeneral Dynamics4.23%385.760.9%3.3%16.1%25.5%82.8%117.8%221.8%
HEIHeico4.20%367.662.0%1.5%13.7%9.0%109.2%180.4%934.6%
NOCNorthrop Grumman4.16%551.550.6%0.5%-2.5%-5.0%32.2%66.7%195.7%
TDGTransDigm4.02%1,275.05-0.8%-5.4%-4.1%-15.3%66.5%145.6%627.1%
LHXL3Harris Technologies3.94%285.302.7%-5.6%-2.1%4.3%62.4%36.3%287.9%
RKLBRocket Lab3.31%74.485.8%-25.9%6.8%67.2%990.5%628.8% 
CWCurtiss-Wright2.98%757.311.3%-0.4%37.5%52.8%277.1%537.1%781.9%
ASTSAST SpaceMobile2.55%70.3110.7%-17.4%-3.2%36.8%1,558.3%539.2% 
WWDWoodward2.39%373.672.8%-10.6%23.8%44.4%201.9%236.7%576.7%
FTAIFTAI Aviation2.35%221.96-1.4%-10.5%13.1%58.1%585.7%1,045.2%3,968.8%
TXTTextron1.65%89.123.2%-3.7%2.3%14.6%13.7%25.0%131.6%
LDOSLeidos1.62%130.6010.0%20.0%-27.2%-18.0%39.2%47.8%332.0%
HIIHuntington Ingalls Industries1.43%323.06-0.9%10.8%-4.3%23.7%51.6%77.3%130.0%

Guidance Updates for MISL Top Holdings

 TickerCompanyEarnings DateGuidance MetricMidpoint Value% ChangeGuidance Change
HII_7302026HIIHuntington Ingalls Industries7/30/20262026 Shipbuilding Revenue10.30 Bil5.1%RaisedRaised Prior Guidance of 9.80 Bil for 2026
HWM_5072026HWMHowmet Aerospace5/7/20262026 Revenue9.65 Bil6.0%RaisedRaised Prior Guidance of 9.10 Bil for 2026
PLTR_8032026PLTRPalantir Technologies8/3/20262026 Revenue8.15 Bil6.5%RaisedRaised Prior Guidance of 7.66 Bil for 2026
RKLB_5072026RKLBRocket Lab5/7/2026Q2 2026 Revenue232.50 Mil20.8%Higher NewNew Guidance Higher than Prior Actual of 192.50 Mil for Q1 2026

Return vs. Risk

Price Returns Compared

 202120222023202420252026Total [1]
Returns
MISL Return-8%15%20%41%4%119%
Peers Return15%-20%33%13%40%33%161%
S&P 500 Return27%-19%24%23%16%11%102%

Monthly Win Rates [3]
MISL Win Rate-100%58%58%83%50% 
Peers Win Rate58%45%62%58%67%70% 
S&P 500 Win Rate75%42%67%75%67%50% 

Max Drawdowns [4]
MISL Max Drawdown---10%-10%-16%-17% 
Peers Max Drawdown-20%-37%-19%-18%-26%-18% 
S&P 500 Max Drawdown-5%-25%-10%-8%-19%-9% 


[1] Cumulative total returns since the beginning of 2021
[2] Peers: SMH, SOXX, IBB, XBI, ITA.
[3] Win Rate = % of calendar months in which monthly returns were positive
[4] Max drawdown represents maximum peak-to-trough decline within a year
[5] 2026 data is for the year up to 8/4/2026 (YTD)

Sharpe Ratios Compared

One measure of reward vs. risk is a Sharpe ratio. A higher ratio indicates better risk-adjusted returns. Most funds have Sharpe ratios < 1.0.

Ticker1Y3Y5Y
MISL0.340.910.91
Equity Top Results (3Y)   
IALT2.112.112.11
SPMO0.891.380.82
VLUE2.491.260.69
CORO1.331.251.25
CGDV1.351.230.94

Results as of 7312026.

MISL Dip Buy History


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Current Dip Buy Opportunities Across ETFs

ETFs currently down 5% or more from trailing 6M peaks.

TickerNameDip %Mkt PricePrice DatePeak PricePeak Date# Days
IEMGiShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF-6.7%80.24804202686.00622202643
EEMiShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF-7.3%66.00804202671.21622202643
ASHRXtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF-7.9%34.35804202637.30622202643
EWYiShares MSCI South Korea ETF-21.9%171.148042026219.20621202644
EWZiShares MSCI Brazil ETF-13.5%36.09804202641.734142026112
FXIiShares China Large-Cap ETF-8.1%36.31804202639.532102026175
ILFiShares Latin America 40 ETF-7.9%35.08804202638.104142026112
KWEBKraneShares CSI China Internet ETF-16.1%28.89804202634.422032026182
MTUMiShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF-9.2%313.358042026345.22622202643
SPMOInvesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF-6.5%151.178042026161.66622202643
ARKKARK Innovation ETF-8.2%76.76804202683.61706202629
URAGlobal X Uranium ETF-27.1%42.49804202658.26506202690
BOTZGlobal X Funds Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF-10.9%37.09804202641.63513202683
ROBOROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF-6.6%84.34804202690.34602202663
LITGlobal X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF-21.8%71.69804202691.62511202685
ICLNiShares Global Clean Energy ETF-22.4%18.44804202623.75602202663
ARKQARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF-13.2%124.838042026143.82528202668
ARKXARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF-12.0%33.20804202637.74528202668
NASATema Space Innovators ETF-41.5%24.51804202641.89527202669
XOVREntrepreneurShares Series Trust ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF-6.7%19.90804202621.34706202629
AGIXKraneShares Artificial Intelligence ETF-8.3%45.30804202649.40601202664
GDEWisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund-10.1%63.30804202670.39511202685
RAAXVanEck Real Assets ETF-7.1%39.66804202642.70511202685
XLKState Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF-5.7%186.908042026198.21602202663
XLEState Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF-6.5%58.52804202662.563292026128
XLCState Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF-5.9%112.048042026119.104192026107
XLUState Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF-6.9%44.11804202647.403012026156
FXNFirst Trust Energy AlphaDEX Fund-5.8%21.83804202623.183292026128
SMHVanEck Semiconductor ETF-13.9%575.718042026668.91622202643
SOXXiShares Semiconductor ETF-17.2%542.218042026655.01622202643
XBIState Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF-7.5%151.888042026164.28709202626
XOPState Street SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF-8.6%171.958042026188.183292026128
IGViShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF-5.3%102.008042026107.70601202664
MISLFirst Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF-8.3%46.47804202650.663022026155
RINGiShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF-32.7%66.90804202699.423012026156
SOXQInvesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF-16.7%95.868042026115.11622202643
TLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF-7.1%82.82804202689.153012026156
VGLTVanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF-6.0%53.16804202656.533012026156
SPTLState Street SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF-6.3%25.29804202626.993012026156
TLHiShares 10-20 Year Treasury Bond ETF-5.7%97.248042026103.083012026156
EDVVanguard World Funds Extended Duration ETF-10.3%60.44804202667.423012026156
PDBCInvesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF-10.6%16.90804202618.91512202684
DBCInvesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund-10.7%28.31804202631.69512202684
COMTiShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF-12.3%32.03804202636.53519202677
GSGiShares GSCI Commodity-5.8%30.01804202631.853182026139
BCIabrdn Bloomberg All Commodity Strategy K-1 Free ETF-9.9%23.35804202625.91512202684
FTGCFirst Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund-6.9%28.43804202630.53512202684
HGERHarbor Commodity All-Weather Strategy ETF-6.2%31.41804202633.47512202684
GLDSPDR Gold Trust-23.6%374.168042026490.003022026155
IAUiShares Gold Trust-23.6%76.698042026100.383022026155
GLDMSPDR Gold MiniShares Trust-23.5%80.708042026105.543022026155
SGOLETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares-12.1%44.66804202650.813022026155
BARDirexion Daily Gold Bull 3X Shares-15.6%44.34804202652.533022026155
SLViShares Silver Trust-36.7%53.84804202684.993012026156
SIVRETFS Physical Silver Shares Trust ETF-6.6%83.39804202689.263012026156
PPLTETFS Physical Platinum Shares-26.7%15.74804202621.473012026156
CPERUnited States Copper Index Fund ETV-11.1%33.33804202637.482032026182
PALLETFS Physical Palladium Shares-24.7%24.50804202632.542242026161
USOUnited States Oil Fund LP-24.3%115.788042026152.96519202677
UNGUnited States Natural Gas Fund LP-27.7%9.77804202613.522052026180
BNOUnited States Brent Oil Fund LP ETV-7.1%55.85804202660.13504202692
IBITiShares Bitcoin Trust ETF-21.7%36.39804202646.47511202685
FBTCFidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund-21.7%55.89804202671.35511202685
ETHAiShares Ethereum Trust ETF-23.0%14.15804202618.384192026107

ETF Fund Flows

Largest fund inflows and outflows across ETFs, with the asset-allocation rotation they imply.

Net fund flows · as of 2026-08-03

Asset allocation rotation · Past month

  • Equity ETFs drew the largest net inflows (+$44.6B), followed by Bond (+$16.1B), with every major asset class in net inflows.
  • Within the mix, money rotated into Industry Subsector (+$9.5B) and out of US Nasdaq Growth (−$6.2B).
  • Relative to fund size, BFLX drew the largest inflow (+56.3% of AUM) and FTXL the largest outflow (−38.6%).
Largest inflows
#TickerNameTypeNet flow% of AUM
1VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETFEquity US Large Cap Core+$10.31B+1.0%
2SOXXiShares Semiconductor ETFEquity Industry Subsector+$7.78B+17.0%
3SPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETFEquity US Large Cap Core+$6.37B+0.8%
4DRAMRoundhill Memory ETFOther+$6.13B+25.6%
5EWYiShares MSCI South Korea ETFEquity Emerging Markets+$5.93B+26.4%
6SPYMState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETFEquity US Large Cap Core+$5.87B+3.7%
7VTIVanguard Total Stock Market ETFEquity US Total Market+$4.14B+0.6%
8EFViShares MSCI EAFE Value ETFEquity International Developed Broad+$3.64B+13.2%
9SGOViShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETFCash+$3.64B+3.7%
10XLFState Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETFEquity Broad Sector+$3.36B+6.0%
Largest outflows
#TickerNameTypeNet flow% of AUM
1IVViShares Core S&P 500 ETFEquity US Large Cap Core-$14.84B-1.7%
2QQQInvesco QQQ Trust, Series 1Equity US Nasdaq Growth-$8.85B-1.9%
3IQMMProShares - GENIUS Money Market ETFOther-$3.05B-16.8%
4LQDiShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFBond Intermediate Corporate-$1.79B-5.1%
5IWDiShares Russell 1000 Value ETFEquity US Large Value-$1.15B-1.4%
6XLCState Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETFEquity Broad Sector-$1.08B-4.8%
7SCZiShares MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETFEquity International Small Cap-$1.05B-7.9%
8IWFiShares Russell 1000 Growth ETFEquity US Large Growth-$952M-0.8%
9KREState Street SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETFEquity Industry Subsector-$892M-18.8%
10FTXLFirst Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETFOther-$885M-38.6%

Largest ETF fund flows across ~2581 funds (min AUM $100M). Net creations/redemptions; leveraged & inverse ETFs excluded. A ⚠ marks a day excluded as a suspected data error.

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About MISL

0Holdings Count: 49
Expense Ratio: 0.6%
Inception Date: 2022-10-25
First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF
The First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF aims to mirror the financial performance, specifically the capital appreciation and income generation, of the Indxx US Aerospace & Defense Index, before factoring in its operational costs. Typically, under ordinary market circumstances, the Fund allocates a minimum of 80% of its net assets, including any capital acquired through borrowing, to the equity securities composing that benchmark index.
Asset Class: Sector Equity | ETF Website

Recent Active Movers

Peer Comparisons

Peers to compare with:

Profile

MISLSMHSOXXIBBXBIITAMedian
NameFirst Trus.VanEck Sem.iShares Se.iShares Bi.State Stre.iShares U.. 
Asset ClassEquityEquityEquityEquityEquityEquity-
AUM ($ Bil)0.768.144.79.29.914.112.0
Expense Ratio0.60%0.35%0.33%0.44%0.35%0.37%0.36%
10-D Avg Volume (Mil)0.4311.9310.221.559.040.785.29
Latest Day Volume (Mil)0.0817.2114.021.038.91-8.91
Holdings Count4926302481554949
Inception Date10/25/202212/20/20117/10/20012/5/20011/31/20065/1/2006-

Fundamentals

MISLSMHSOXXIBBXBIITAMedian
NameFirst Trus.VanEck Sem.iShares Se.iShares Bi.State Stre.iShares U.. 
Net Asset Value44.22540.29504.09186.49151.59239.52-
Premium/Discount5.1%6.6%7.6%2.0%0.2%4.6%4.9%
Distribution Yield0.4%0.2%0.3%0.2%0.4%0.0%0.2%
Sales Yield29.7%7.0%7.2%12.9%8.9%28.5%10.9%
Earnings Yield2.4%2.2%2.0%2.4%1.1%2.5%2.3%

Valuation

MISLSMHSOXXIBBXBIITAMedian
NameFirst Trus.VanEck Sem.iShares Se.iShares Bi.State Stre.iShares U.. 
P/S (TTM)3.4x14.2x13.8x7.8x11.3x3.5x9.5x
P/E (TTM)42.0x45.0x51.1x42.1x91.5x40.0x43.5x
P/FCF (TTM)47.7x50.0x55.7x227.4x-41.6x50.0x
Forward P/E34.1x---59.7x33.3x34.1x
Forward P/S3.0x---8.7x3.2x3.2x

Risk

MISLSMHSOXXIBBXBIITAMedian
NameFirst Trus.VanEck Sem.iShares Se.iShares Bi.State Stre.iShares U.. 
Volatility (1Y)25.1%38.8%44.8%20.5%27.1%22.7%26.1%
Volatility (3Y)20.6%36.8%39.4%20.4%27.6%20.0%24.1%
Volatility (5Y)19.8%36.5%38.3%22.1%32.3%20.3%27.2%
Beta (1Y)1.162.352.560.771.031.011.10
Beta (3Y)0.861.972.050.811.020.850.94
Beta (5Y)0.811.751.810.861.160.811.01
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.862.032.081.852.251.221.94
Sharpe Ratio (3Y)1.231.351.160.740.861.411.19
Sharpe Ratio (5Y)1.221.030.900.260.290.970.93
Max Drawdown (1Y)-17.1%-24.6%-29.0%-9.6%-10.5%-15.8%-16.5%
Max Drawdown (3Y)-17.9%-35.7%-41.4%-24.9%-33.0%-15.8%-28.9%
Max Drawdown (5Y)-17.9%-45.3%-45.8%-39.8%-54.0%-18.7%-42.6%

Returns

MISLSMHSOXXIBBXBIITAMedian
NameFirst Trus.VanEck Sem.iShares Se.iShares Bi.State Stre.iShares U.. 
1M Return-1.0%-4.7%-6.8%-2.6%-5.6%-0.1%-3.7%
3M Return6.5%13.6%17.3%11.7%13.8%16.9%13.7%
6M Return-3.9%41.1%53.8%9.3%19.3%8.5%14.3%
YTD Return8.6%59.9%80.2%12.8%24.6%16.8%20.7%
1Y Return20.2%103.4%129.5%43.3%77.4%28.6%60.3%
2Y Return57.0%152.8%148.7%29.2%54.0%79.0%68.0%
3Y Return100.8%263.6%211.1%47.6%82.2%119.0%109.9%

Short Interest

Short Interest: As Of Date7152026
Short Interest: Shares Quantity0.0 Mil
Short Interest: % Change Since 6302026422.4%
Average Daily Volume0.1 Mil
Days-to-Cover Short Interest1