Owns US industrial companies across the stock market, such as makers of machinery and equipment, aerospace firms and transport companies.
IYJ, the iShares US Industrials ETF, is a $2.0 billion ETF whose main story is the defense trade. Over the past year it returned +7.1%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.
Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 67 ETFs on the narrative page →
1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on July 14, 2000: +7.8% a year.
Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if IYJ traded for all of it.
Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
How closely it moves
With the market0.86
−1 opposite0 unrelated+1 in step
IYJ moves closely with the market. When the market has moved 1%, IYJ has tended to move 0.92%.
With The defense trade0.92
−1 opposite0 unrelated+1 in step
IYJ moves closely with the defense trade. When the defense trade has moved 1%, IYJ has tended to move 0.85%.
Weekly returns over 157 weeks. The narrative is measured without IYJ in it, so it is not compared with itself.
Correlation of weekly returns over the last 3 years, among unlevered ETFs StoryVector covers.
Where it sits in The defense trade
Each dot is one of 25 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is the defense trade, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
16.2%Volatility, last year
−11.4%Largest fall, last year
−8.0%Below its high now
0.37%Expense ratio, a year · 11th cheapest of 30
0.68%Payout yield, last 12 months
$18.6mTraded each day, 3-month average
$1.98bnAssets
Issued by iShares · launched June 12, 2000
Cost against its peers
IYJ is the 11th cheapest of 30 ETFs in the defense trade. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.45% a year.
How it is built
An unlevered long ETF that owns its holdings directly. It counts toward Share of Narrative.
Leverage1xMoves one for one with what it holds
OptionsNoneNo options on top of what it holds
ExposureOwns its holdingsHolds the securities or the asset directly
IYJ’s main story is the defense trade, which covers defense contractors, defense technology and the industrial companies around them, paid from government budgets.
Which ETFs compete with IYJ?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like IYJ’s over the past 3 years are VIS (0.97), FIDU (0.97) and XLI (0.97).
How has IYJ performed against its story?
Over the past year IYJ returned +7.1%, the ETFs carrying the defense trade +5.2% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.92 with the story. Past performance only.
Run an ETF in the defense trade? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.
Narrative figures are from the weekly board. Performance is market price total return as of October 2, 2026. Assets are StoryVector’s weekly figure. Classification and measurement. Not investment advice. How the measurement works →