First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (MISL)


Market Price (8/26/2026): $44.71

First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (MISL)


Market Price (8/26/2026): $44.71

Key Takeaways

  • MISL has returned +3.8% YTD vs +12.6% for SPY; +14.9% over the past 12 months (SPY +20.2%). details →
  • Priced in gold, MISL has returned -20.2% over the past 3 years, vs +96.9% in dollars — its dollar gains have lagged gold. details →
  • Over the past month, MISL has seen net outflows of −$22M (−2.9% of assets). details →
  • MISL's portfolio trades at 33.1x forward earnings — a 316% premium to SPY (8.0x). details →
  • MISL's top 10 holdings represent 63% of the fund vs 37% for SPY — a more concentrated portfolio. details →
Last updated: 8/25/2026.

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
0.65
YTD
+4.7%
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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Tailored Asset Allocation
[1] Personalized 5 Level Risk Tolerance Assessment
[2] Asset Allocation for My Risk Tolerance
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[1] Defensive Portfolios
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Top 20 Holdings for MISL

Total Weights
Top 5: 42.2% | Top 10: 62.5% | Top 20: 87.5%

TickerHoldingETF WeightSales WeightEarnings WeightFwd P/SFwd P/EFwd Sales GrowthFwd Earnings Growth
Total99.70%100.00%100.00%2.933.1+11.1%+16.1%
Top 2087.48%80.15%87.09%3.234.2+11.9%+16.3%
PLTRPalantir Technologies11.08%0.54%3.33%38.194.9+49.5%+40.0%
RTXRTX8.53%9.21%9.60%2.827.1+7.4%+8.8%
GEGE Aerospace7.60%3.47%7.75%6.740.3+11.1%+12.8%
BABoeing7.56%13.98%4.56%1.595.0+14.8%
SPCXSpace Exploration Technologies7.42%0.62%9.7211.7+139.0%+260.6%
LMTLockheed Martin4.30%8.49%8.73%1.517.4+5.7%+6.9%
GDGeneral Dynamics4.09%7.23%7.44%1.820.6+4.9%+9.0%
NOCNorthrop Grumman4.06%7.42%9.79%1.718.1+6.9%+4.1%
HEIHeico4.01%1.32%2.67%8.550.8+10.2%+13.2%
HWMHowmet Aerospace3.88%1.10%2.84%9.643.3+13.3%+20.6%
TDGTransDigm3.71%1.78%4.76%6.024.8+10.1%+17.5%
LHXL3Harris Technologies3.61%5.56%5.68%2.020.1+7.0%+15.0%
RKLBRocket Lab3.36%0.20%33.8+46.0%
ASTSAST SpaceMobile2.60%0.05%34.9+351.0%
CWCurtiss-Wright2.44%1.30%2.42%5.636.6+8.2%+10.2%
FTAIFTAI Aviation2.19%1.09%2.18%3.718.9+65.6%+134.5%
WWDWoodward2.13%1.45%2.41%4.331.2+8.9%+12.3%
LDOSLeidos1.87%6.39%6.27%0.910.1+4.7%+4.6%
TXTTextron1.53%5.43%4.19%0.911.4+3.7%+12.4%
CACICACI International1.51%3.51%2.47%1.217.7+6.7%+12.3%
[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
8/25
1D Rtn1M RtnYTD Rtn1Y Rtn3Y Rtn5Y Rtn10Y Rtn
MISLFirst Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF100.00%44.41-0.4%2.1%3.8%14.9%96.9%  
PLTRPalantir Technologies11.08%172.73-1.8%40.5%-2.8%9.9%1,088.8%594.5% 
RTXRTX8.53%210.280.5%-0.9%15.9%36.6%163.6%176.2%320.1%
GEGE Aerospace7.60%349.542.3%-1.2%13.8%31.8%297.6%450.9%158.4%
BABoeing7.56%211.080.3%0.7%-2.8%-7.0%-5.5%-2.5%73.5%
SPCXSpace Exploration Technologies7.42%137.952.2%19.9%     
LMTLockheed Martin4.30%556.52-1.4%-4.5%16.4%27.7%33.7%76.1%196.6%
GDGeneral Dynamics4.09%376.58-1.9%-2.6%13.3%19.8%78.7%110.1%208.5%
NOCNorthrop Grumman4.06%542.52-1.2%0.1%-4.1%-6.1%32.2%60.4%199.2%
HEIHeico4.01%351.05-0.5%0.4%8.6%15.1%111.5%178.6%905.8%
HWMHowmet Aerospace3.88%264.040.3%-8.7%29.0%54.5%452.6%731.7%1,104.1%
TDGTransDigm3.71%1,192.60-0.5%-3.6%-10.3%-8.3%61.3%141.4%570.2%
LHXL3Harris Technologies3.61%262.17-0.3%-12.7%-10.0%-3.5%55.9%23.5%248.2%
RKLBRocket Lab3.36%66.91-2.0%4.7%-4.1%41.7%1,055.6%571.8% 
ASTSAST SpaceMobile2.60%62.01-0.5%10.3%-14.6%24.0%1,553.6%459.7% 
CWCurtiss-Wright2.44%609.71-0.9%-18.7%10.7%27.5%198.8%419.0%608.3%
FTAIFTAI Aviation2.19%200.471.0%-7.0%2.4%35.8%489.0%906.1%3,372.0%
WWDWoodward2.13%339.662.0%-18.9%12.6%38.6%173.6%189.6%480.7%
LDOSLeidos1.87%134.54-2.8%20.0%-25.0%-25.1%45.3%46.6%298.8%
TXTTextron1.53%81.80-0.4%-14.4%-6.1%1.4%9.1%14.6%102.5%
CACICACI International1.51%612.10-3.8%25.7%14.9%26.3%88.2%138.5%520.2%

Guidance Updates for MISL Top Holdings

 TickerCompanyEarnings DateGuidance MetricMidpoint Value% ChangeGuidance Change
CACI_8052026CACICACI International8/5/20262027 Revenue10.75 Bil12.6%Higher NewNew Guidance Higher than Prior Actual of 9.55 Bil for 2026
HWM_8062026HWMHowmet Aerospace8/6/2026Q3 2026 Revenue2.58 Bil7.3%Higher NewNew Guidance Higher than Prior Actual of 2.40 Bil for Q2 2026
PLTR_8032026PLTRPalantir Technologies8/3/20262026 Revenue8.15 Bil6.5%RaisedRaised Prior Guidance of 7.66 Bil for 2026
RKLB_8102026RKLBRocket Lab8/10/2026Q3 2026 Revenue257.50 Mil10.8%Higher NewNew Guidance Higher than Prior Actual of 232.50 Mil for Q2 2026

Return vs. Risk

Price Returns Compared

 202120222023202420252026Total [1]
Returns
MISL Return-8%15%20%41%4%120%
Peers Return15%-20%33%13%40%38%171%
S&P 500 Return27%-19%24%23%16%12%104%

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 8/25/2026 (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
IWFiShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF-5.4%121.838252026128.77601202685
VONGVanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF-5.2%125.438252026132.35601202685
EEMiShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF-5.6%67.25825202671.21622202664
ASHRXtrackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF-8.6%34.08825202637.30622202664
EWYiShares MSCI South Korea ETF-17.8%180.158252026219.20621202665
EWZiShares MSCI Brazil ETF-14.0%35.88825202641.734142026133
FXIiShares China Large-Cap ETF-7.4%35.56825202638.422252026181
ILFiShares Latin America 40 ETF-7.6%35.21825202638.104142026133
KWEBKraneShares CSI China Internet ETF-18.1%26.41825202632.252242026182
MTUMiShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF-12.4%302.408252026345.22622202664
SPMOInvesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF-8.8%147.418252026161.66622202664
URAGlobal X Uranium ETF-17.4%48.14825202658.265062026111
BOTZGlobal X Funds Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF-13.9%35.85825202641.635132026104
ROBOROBO Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF-10.4%80.93825202690.34602202684
LITGlobal X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF-16.4%76.59825202691.625112026106
ICLNiShares Global Clean Energy ETF-25.7%17.65825202623.75602202684
ARKQARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF-14.7%122.748252026143.82528202689
ARKXARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF-13.9%32.49825202637.74528202689
NASATema Space Innovators ETF-43.4%23.69825202641.89527202690
AGIXKraneShares Artificial Intelligence ETF-9.5%44.69825202649.40601202685
VGTVanguard Information Technology ETF-6.5%117.518252026125.62602202684
XLKState Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF-8.3%181.748252026198.21602202684
XLUState Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF-8.6%43.31825202647.403012026177
SMHVanEck Semiconductor ETF-16.9%555.828252026668.91622202664
SOXXiShares Semiconductor ETF-21.5%514.068252026655.01622202664
ITAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF-7.5%234.308252026253.2281620269
IGViShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF-5.4%101.858252026107.70601202685
MISLFirst Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF-12.3%44.41825202650.663022026176
RINGiShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF-6.3%93.17825202699.423012026177
SOXQInvesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF-20.8%91.198252026115.11622202664
TLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF-6.4%83.47825202689.153012026177
VGLTVanguard Long-Term Treasury ETF-5.3%53.56825202656.533012026177
SPTLState Street SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF-5.6%25.47825202626.993012026177
EDVVanguard World Funds Extended Duration ETF-9.2%61.22825202667.423012026177
COMTiShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF-6.9%34.00825202636.53519202698
GSGiShares GSCI Commodity-5.8%30.01825202631.853182026160
GLDSPDR Gold Trust-12.6%428.078252026490.003022026176
IAUiShares Gold Trust-12.6%87.768252026100.383022026176
GLDMSPDR Gold MiniShares Trust-12.5%92.358252026105.543022026176
SGOLETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares-12.1%44.66825202650.813022026176
BARDirexion Daily Gold Bull 3X Shares-15.6%44.34825202652.533022026176
SLViShares Silver Trust-26.7%62.32825202684.993012026177
SIVRETFS Physical Silver Shares Trust ETF-6.6%83.39825202689.263012026177
PPLTETFS Physical Platinum Shares-21.5%16.86825202621.473012026177
CPERUnited States Copper Index Fund ETV-9.6%33.33825202636.883012026177
PALLETFS Physical Palladium Shares-25.3%24.32825202632.542242026182
USOUnited States Oil Fund LP-17.5%126.158252026152.96519202698
UNGUnited States Natural Gas Fund LP-21.5%10.23825202613.043122026166
BNOUnited States Brent Oil Fund LP ETV-7.1%55.85825202660.135042026113

ETF Fund Flows

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

Net fund flows · as of 2026-08-25

Asset allocation rotation · Past month

  • Equity ETFs drew the largest net inflows (+$58.0B), followed by Bond (+$20.2B), while Real Estate (−$140M) saw the largest outflows.
  • Within the mix, money rotated into US Nasdaq Growth (+$15.7B) and out of Broad Sector (−$2.9B).
  • Relative to fund size, CNEQ drew the largest inflow (+102.0% of AUM) and FTXL the largest outflow (−63.2%).
Largest inflows
#TickerNameTypeNet flow% of AUM
1VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETFEquity US Large Cap Core+$22.54B+2.2%
2QQQInvesco QQQ Trust, Series 1Equity US Nasdaq Growth+$12.3B+2.5%
3SGOViShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETFCash+$5.8B+5.7%
4GLDSPDR Gold SharesCommodity Gold+$5.52B+3.9%
5SPYMState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETFEquity US Large Cap Core+$4.72B+2.8%
6VTIVanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETFEquity US Total Market+$4.71B+0.7%
7TLTiShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETFBond Long Treasury+$4.24B+9.4%
8SCHDSchwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETFEquity Dividend Income+$3.85B+3.6%
9QQQMInvesco NASDAQ 100 ETFEquity US Nasdaq Growth+$3.43B+3.3%
10AVLVAvantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETFOther+$3.37B+18.3%
Largest outflows
#TickerNameTypeNet flow% of AUM
1IVViShares Core S&P 500 ETFEquity US Large Cap Core-$14.81B-1.7%
2SPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETFEquity US Large Cap Core-$4.99B-0.6%
3IEFiShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETFBond Intermediate Treasury-$4.34B-10.1%
4XLFState Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETFEquity Broad Sector-$1.5B-2.6%
5XLEState Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETFEquity Broad Sector-$1.09B-2.7%
6EWZiShares MSCI Brazil ETFEquity Emerging Markets-$891M-10.3%
7FTXLFirst Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETFOther-$835M-63.2%
8VUGVanguard Morningstar Growth ETFEquity US Large Growth-$834M-0.4%
9LQDiShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETFBond Intermediate Corporate-$782M-2.4%
10FVFirst Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETFOther-$754M-20.0%

Largest ETF fund flows across ~2624 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)0.866.841.810.711.414.312.8
Expense Ratio0.60%0.35%0.33%0.44%0.35%0.37%0.36%
10-D Avg Volume (Mil)0.4210.759.441.558.720.785.13
Latest Day Volume (Mil)0.058.648.262.3914.05-8.26
Holdings Count4926302471554949
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 Value47.78560.29520213.62163.31237.31520.00
Premium/Discount-7.1%-0.8%-1.1%1.3%3.5%-1.3%-1.0%
Distribution Yield0.4%0.2%0.3%0.2%0.3%0.0%0.2%
Sales Yield30.2%7.5%7.9%11.6%8.1%30.5%9.9%
Earnings Yield2.4%2.4%2.2%1.8%1.1%2.7%2.3%

Valuation

MISLSMHSOXXIBBXBIITAMedian
NameFirst Trus.VanEck Sem.iShares Se.iShares Bi.State Stre.iShares U.. 
P/S (TTM)3.3x13.4x12.7x8.6x12.3x3.3x10.5x
P/E (TTM)41.7x42.1x46.3x56.4x90.2x37.7x44.2x
P/FCF (TTM)60.5x48.4x52.9x--39.8x50.6x
Forward P/E33.4x---66.5x31.3x33.4x
Forward P/S2.9x---8.4x3.0x3.0x

Risk

MISLSMHSOXXIBBXBIITAMedian
NameFirst Trus.VanEck Sem.iShares Se.iShares Bi.State Stre.iShares U.. 
Volatility (1Y)25.5%39.0%45.2%21.7%27.9%23.1%26.7%
Volatility (3Y)20.8%36.8%39.4%20.9%27.9%20.1%24.4%
Volatility (5Y)19.9%36.6%38.4%22.3%32.4%20.3%27.3%
Beta (1Y)1.192.372.590.781.061.041.12
Beta (3Y)0.861.972.050.821.030.850.95
Beta (5Y)0.811.761.810.861.160.811.01
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.661.841.842.132.370.911.84
Sharpe Ratio (3Y)1.191.411.200.991.081.321.19
Sharpe Ratio (5Y)1.141.000.860.340.360.920.89
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%-39.7%-54.0%-18.7%-42.5%

Returns

MISLSMHSOXXIBBXBIITAMedian
NameFirst Trus.VanEck Sem.iShares Se.iShares Bi.State Stre.iShares U.. 
1M Return0.4%1.3%-0.4%14.9%12.3%-3.9%0.9%
3M Return-6.6%-7.7%-9.8%27.7%26.8%2.1%-2.3%
6M Return-10.7%32.6%42.1%22.8%30.9%-3.6%26.9%
YTD Return3.8%54.3%70.8%28.3%38.7%9.2%33.5%
1Y Return14.6%89.9%107.2%55.1%86.7%20.2%70.9%
2Y Return46.3%125.8%124.1%47.6%68.4%65.3%66.9%
3Y Return96.5%285.5%227.1%74.0%119.3%108.8%114.0%

Short Interest

Short Interest: As Of Date8142026
Short Interest: Shares Quantity0.0 Mil
Short Interest: % Change Since 731202685.9%
Average Daily Volume0.1 Mil
Days-to-Cover Short Interest1