VistaShares launches Defense Supercycle ETF at 0.75% expense ratio

VistaShares began trading the Defense Supercycle ETF on NYSEARCA this month, charging 0.75% for exposure to companies supplying the Pentagon's procurement supply chain. The fund, which trades under the ticker AMMO, listed under a prospectus dated July 12, 2026, and was organized inside Tidal Trust III.

"We've always believed the biggest opportunities come from long-term shifts that reshape entire industries," Jon McNeill, co-founder of VistaShares and former president of Tesla, said.

AMMO tracks the BITA VistaShares Defense Supercycle Index, a rules-based benchmark that selects companies deriving revenue from U.S. Department of Defense procurement spending lines. The fund will concentrate more than 25% of assets in aerospace and defense industries, according to the prospectus. Top holdings include LIG Defense & Aerospace, Rheinmetall and Mildef Group. Up to 20% of the portfolio can sit outside the index in stocks the sub-adviser selects based on business plans and capital spending that suggest defense supply-chain exposure.

Global military spending reached almost $2.9 trillion in 2025, up 2.9% in real terms from the prior year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. The U.S. aerospace and defense market is projected to grow to $610.15 billion by 2031 from $463.06 billion in 2026, Mordor Intelligence data show. AMMO competes with the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (ITA), which has returned 19% over the past year and charges a lower expense ratio of 0.42%. The defense sector has outperformed the broader market over the past three years as geopolitical tensions drove increased government spending on weapons systems and modernization programs.

AMMO is an index-tracking ETF that follows a preset list of stocks rather than picking them freely. The fund can hold companies of any size, from small caps to large caps, and can own foreign stocks either directly or through American Depositary Receipts in both developed and emerging markets. It is a long-only equity ETF with no leverage or options overlay. The prospectus ties eligibility to the annual DoD procurement appropriation and its underlying P-1 spending lines, meaning the roster is designed to reflect firms directly plugged into Pentagon buying.

The fund's "Bill of Materials" approach analyzes supply chains to identify the best companies for a portfolio, according to Adam Patti, CEO of VistaShares. "It's more of a hedge fund strategy," Patti said. "We're not just creating a dumb index." The investment committee includes global luminaries, with McNeill bringing experience from his tenure as president of Tesla.

VistaShares, founded in 2024, had approximately $1.7 billion in assets under management as of May 31, 2026. The firm launched AMMO alongside two sister funds — the Space Supercycle ETF (GALX) and the Robotics Supercycle ETF (RTOO) — each carrying the same 0.75% fee and built around what the issuer calls long-running industrial "supercycles." The VistaShares fund family recently passed the $2 billion AUM mark, the issuer said.

Shares of AMMO recently changed hands around $25.50. Because the fund has only been trading for a handful of sessions, there is no meaningful performance record yet. Holdings data has not been published through public data feeds, so the exact portfolio composition is not yet visible to investors.

The defense supercycle thesis rests on sustained increases in global military spending and the modernization of weapons systems across NATO and allied nations. For investors, AMMO offers a targeted bet on that theme through a single ticker, though the 0.75% fee sits above broad-market index funds and the fund carries concentration risk in a single sector. New thematic ETFs typically launch with small asset bases and wider bid-ask spreads than mature funds, which can raise trading costs for early buyers. The key question for AMMO will be whether it can gather sufficient assets to achieve competitive trading spreads and avoid the closure risk that faces many thematic funds.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.