Compare/Updated Oct 26, 2026, refreshed every trading day
ITA vs PPA
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF against Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF: 4 years of returns, risk and today’s technical read, from Kavout’s own data.
XAR did best over the period, turning $1,000 into $2,084 (+108.4%), narrowly ahead of PPA at $2,072 (+107.2%) and clearly ahead of ITA at $1,937 (+93.7%). The difference matters because XAR delivered the highest total return but also carried substantially greater risk: 29.2% volatility and a -26.6% drawdown. PPA offered nearly the same return with lower volatility of 21.3% and a smaller -17.3% drawdown, although its 0.58% expense ratio was the highest. ITA lagged on total return and had a 23.0% volatility with a -20.0% drawdown; its 0.38% expense ratio was intermediate. Recent performance favored PPA: it was down only 1.3% YTD and up 0.2% over one year, versus larger losses for ITA and XAR.
- Price is below its 200-day average ($229); 50-day at $219.
- RSI 32, neutral. Supertrend says sell. ADX 42, so the trend is strong.
- Price is below its 200-day average ($170); 50-day at $162.
- RSI 39, neutral. Supertrend says sell. ADX 39, so the trend is strong.
Head to head
Which has returned more, ITA or PPA?
ITA beat PPA in 24 of the last 48 months; PPA won the other 24. The typical monthly gap was 1.09 points.
Total return by period
Which is riskier?
ITA: Aug 14, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026; PPA: Mar 2, 2026 to Oct 7, 2026
- 0.964
- correlation of daily moves, 4 years
- 1.04
- ITA move per 1% in PPA
- 0.968
- correlation, last 12 months
Month by month
Of the last 48 months. The typical gap was 1.09 points.
When did they diverge?
| Month | ITA | PPA | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | +3.0% | -0.5% | +3.49 pts |
| May 2025 | +12.9% | +9.6% | +3.37 pts |
| February 2024 | +4.3% | +7.5% | -3.24 pts |
| January 2026 | +8.2% | +11.5% | -3.22 pts |
Where the numbers come from. 1000 daily adjusted closes per fund from the Kavout market-data API, dividends included. Signals and indicators are Kavout’s own, refreshed nightly. Every figure is calculated from those adjusted closes.
Holdings and fees
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