Data sourced from Dakota Marketplace, the global LP and GP intelligence platform trusted by thousands of investment professionals. Learn More | Book a Demo
Defense and aerospace ETFs have drawn sustained institutional interest as defense budgets and global security spending have expanded. Using Dakota Marketplace data, this breakdown ranks the firms with the largest combined positions across the major defense-sector ETFs: iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA), Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (PPA), SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (XAR), and iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF (IDEF).
Top 10 Holders by Combined Defense ETF Exposure
|
Rank
|
Firm
|
Combined Balance
|
ETFs Held
|
|
1
|
Envestnet
|
$1,701,025,677
|
IDEF, ITA
|
|
2
|
LPL
|
$1,594,597,886
|
ITA, IDEF, XAR, PPA
|
|
3
|
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
|
$1,281,824,050
|
PPA, ITA, XAR
|
|
4
|
B Riley Wealth Management
|
$431,176,000
|
ITA
|
|
5
|
UBS
|
$375,059,793
|
ITA, PPA, XAR
|
|
6
|
Wells Fargo
|
$331,857,707
|
ITA, PPA, XAR
|
|
7
|
MML Investors Services, LLC
|
$295,944,905
|
IDEF, ITA, PPA, XAR
|
|
8
|
Ameriprise Financial Services
|
$279,850,233
|
ITA, PPA, XAR
|
|
9
|
Cetera Financial Group
|
$269,213,866
|
IDEF, ITA, PPA, XAR
|
|
10
|
Commonwealth Financial Network
|
$221,907,146
|
ITA, IDEF, PPA
|
Data reflects the largest positions in Dakota Marketplace's Defense ETF Ownership dataset as of September 2026, aggregated at the firm level across each fund's most recent 13F-style filing.
1. ITA Dominates on Breadth of Ownership
The iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF carries 16,196 recorded investor positions, more than any other defense-sector fund in Dakota's dataset, roughly 1.8x PPA's 8,658 and XAR's 8,974, and over 50x IDEF's 305. For a firm building or evaluating defense ETF distribution, ITA's ownership base is the one worth benchmarking against.
2. Envestnet and LPL Lead, But Through Very Different Channels
Envestnet's top position comes from a single large IDEF holding worth $1.46 billion, its platform aggregation model concentrates exposure into fewer, larger filings. LPL's total is spread across four separate ETFs and filing dates, reflecting its broker-dealer network structure where exposure accumulates position by position rather than through a single centralized book.
3. Wirehouses and IBDs Fill Out Most of the List
Seven of the top ten holders, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, B Riley, UBS, Wells Fargo, MML Investors Services, Ameriprise, and Cetera, are wirehouse or independent broker-dealer platforms rather than asset managers or institutional allocators. That's consistent with how sector ETFs like these typically get distributed: through advisor-directed model portfolios and brokerage accounts rather than direct institutional mandates.
4. IDEF Is New and Small, But Concentrated
IDEF launched in 2025 and has just 305 recorded investors against a $28.4 million fund AUM, a fraction of the size of the passive alternatives. But it already shows up in four of the top ten firms' combined totals (Envestnet, LPL, MML, Cetera), suggesting early adoption by platforms that also hold the larger, more established defense ETFs.
To explore ETF-level and account-level defense sector exposure across Dakota Marketplace's full ownership dataset, book a demo to pull it directly in Dakota Marketplace.
