Industrials · Shares inside your ETFs
Rolls-Royce in your ETF: how much you own, and the share price
Rolls-Royce has grown from a small holding to one of the biggest in a FTSE 100 ETF in under five years. Here’s its share price, how that happened, and how much of it sits inside the ETFs UK investors can buy.
By The Off-Duty Economist Last reviewed Fund holdings to 31 August 2026
The short version
- Rolls-Royce was about 4.9% of a FTSE 100 ETF at the end of August 2026, its fourth-largest holding. So £1,000 in a FTSE 100 ETF puts about £49 into Rolls-Royce.
- In February 2022 it was 0.43% of the same fund. The fund held a similar number of shares throughout; the rise in the share price did the rest.
- European defence ETFs hold the most: 17% of one, where it's the largest holding. A world ETF holds about 0.2%.
- Rolls-Royce restarted its dividend in 2025, after more than five years without one.
Part of Shares inside your ETFs, which covers one company from each of the 11 stock market sectors. New to funds? Start with what an ETF is.
- 4.9%of a FTSE 100 ETF is Rolls-Royce, its fourth-largest holding (31 August 2026)
- 0.43%was its share of the same fund in February 2022
- 17%of the iShares Europe Defence ETF is Rolls-Royce, its largest holding
Rolls-Royce's share price today
Rolls-Royce Holdings trades on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker RR. (with a full stop), so the price is in pence.
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) live share price
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Which ETFs hold Rolls-Royce?
Every fund that tracks UK shares holds Rolls-Royce, and so do aerospace and defence funds, where it’s often among the largest holdings. The table shows 12 ETFs that UK investors can buy on the London Stock Exchange, with Rolls-Royce’s share of each.
It’s a list of which funds hold Rolls-Royce and how much, not a list of funds to buy. Each fund’s name links to its full profile.
| Fund | What it tracks | London tickers | Rolls-Royce's share | Rolls-Royce in every £1,000 | Yearly charge | Fund size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares Europe Defence UCITS ETF EUR (Acc) | European defence companies | DFEU | 17.35% | £174 | 0.35% | £290m |
| Amundi Stoxx Europe Defense UCITS ETF Acc | European defence companies | DEFE / DEFS | 11.07% | £111 | 0.35% | £452m |
| iShares Global Aerospace & Defence UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | Aerospace and defence companies worldwide | DFND | 8.04% | £80 | 0.35% | £1.3bn |
| iShares MSCI UK UCITS ETF (Acc) | MSCI United Kingdom (large and mid-sized UK companies) | CSUK | 5.36% | £54 | 0.33% | £116m |
| WisdomTree Europe Defence UCITS ETF EUR Unhedged Acc | European defence companies | WDEP / EUDF | 5.26% | £53 | 0.40% | £3.6bn |
| HSBC FTSE 100 UCITS ETF | FTSE 100 | HUKX | 4.99% | £50 | 0.07% | £861m |
| Xtrackers FTSE 100 Income UCITS ETF 1D | FTSE 100 | XUKX | 4.99% | £50 | 0.09% | £84m |
| iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (Dist) | FTSE 100 | ISF | 4.93% | £49 | 0.07% | £16.2bn |
| Vanguard FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (GBP) Distributing | FTSE 100 | VUKE | 4.91% | £49 | 0.09% | £4.6bn |
| SPDR FTSE UK All Share UCITS ETF (Acc) | FTSE All-Share (about 500 UK companies) | FTAL | 4.38% | £44 | 0.20% | £389m |
| State Street SPDR MSCI World Industrials UCITS ETF | Industrial companies in the MSCI World | WNDU | 1.71% | £17 | 0.30% | £188m |
| Xtrackers MSCI World Industrials UCITS ETF 1C | Industrial companies in the MSCI World | XWIS / XDWI | 1.69% | £17 | 0.25% | £1.0bn |
Holdings are as at 31 August 2026 (24 August for Amundi Stoxx Europe Defense, 27 August for WisdomTree Europe Defence and 28 August for HSBC FTSE 100). Fund sizes are in pounds. Where a fund has two London tickers, the first is priced in pounds or pence and the second in US dollars; the SPDR World Industrials fund has a dollar line only. The accumulating versions of the iShares and Vanguard FTSE 100 funds (tickers CUKX and VUKG) hold the same.
Rolls-Royce is 17% of one European defence ETF, and about 5% of a FTSE 100 ETF
Rolls-Royce's share of each fund's holdings
- Aerospace and defence funds
- UK index funds
- World industrials funds
Source: fund holdings from justETF, consulted 14 October 2026. Holdings as at 31 August 2026 (24 August for Amundi Stoxx Europe Defense, 27 August for WisdomTree Europe Defence, 28 August for HSBC FTSE 100). Weights change every day. Chart: Invest in ETFs.
Show the data
| Fund (ticker) | Rolls-Royce's share | In every £1,000 | Holdings as at |
|---|---|---|---|
| iShares Europe Defence (DFEU) | 17.35% | £174 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| Amundi Stoxx Europe Defense (DEFE) | 11.07% | £111 | 24 Aug 2026 |
| iShares Global Aerospace & Defence (DFND) | 8.04% | £80 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| iShares MSCI UK (CSUK) | 5.36% | £54 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| WisdomTree Europe Defence (WDEP) | 5.26% | £53 | 27 Aug 2026 |
| HSBC FTSE 100 (HUKX) | 4.99% | £50 | 28 Aug 2026 |
| Xtrackers FTSE 100 (XUKX) | 4.99% | £50 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| iShares Core FTSE 100 (ISF) | 4.93% | £49 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| Vanguard FTSE 100 (VUKE) | 4.91% | £49 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| SPDR FTSE UK All Share (FTAL) | 4.38% | £44 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| SPDR World Industrials (WNDU) | 1.71% | £17 | 31 Aug 2026 |
| Xtrackers World Industrials (XWIS) | 1.69% | £17 | 31 Aug 2026 |
Defence funds hold far more Rolls-Royce than broad index funds because they hold only a few dozen companies: 32 in the iShares Europe Defence ETF and 24 in the Amundi fund. That concentration cuts both ways. A world fund such as the iShares Core MSCI World holds about 0.2%, according to justETF.
How Rolls-Royce grew inside your FTSE 100 ETF
At the end of February 2022, Rolls-Royce was 0.43% of the iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF. By the end of August 2026 it was 4.93%, the fund’s fourth-largest holding after HSBC, Shell and AstraZeneca.
Rolls-Royce's share of a FTSE 100 ETF grew more than tenfold in four and a half years
Rolls-Royce's share of the iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF (ISF) at the end of each fund year, and at the end of August 2026
Source: iShares plc audited annual reports for 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026: schedule of investments of the iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF, Rolls-Royce as a percentage of the fund's net asset value. 31 August 2026 from justETF. Chart: Invest in ETFs.
Show the data
| Date | Rolls-Royce's share | Rolls-Royce shares held | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 February 2022 | 0.43% | 43,437,519 | iShares plc annual report, 2022 |
| 28 February 2023 | 0.59% | 46,748,847 | iShares plc annual report, 2023 |
| 29 February 2024 | 1.60% | 48,816,370 | iShares plc annual report, 2024 |
| 28 February 2025 | 2.88% | 46,912,757 | iShares plc annual report, 2025 |
| 28 February 2026 | 4.25% | 49,450,007 | iShares plc annual report, 2026 |
| 31 August 2026 | 4.93% | Not published | justETF |
The fund didn’t buy its way there. At each year end it held between 43 million and 49 million Rolls-Royce shares, a fairly steady number. What changed was the price: Rolls-Royce’s 2025 annual report says its shares returned over 1,100% between the start of 2023 and the end of 2025.
That’s how an index fund works. It holds each company in proportion to its stock market value, so a company whose shares rise grows inside the fund automatically, and one whose shares fall shrinks. The fund doesn’t judge whether Rolls-Royce is a good investment: the market’s valuation decides how much it holds. A rise like this is unusual, and it says nothing about what happens next.
Rolls-Royce's dividend
Rolls-Royce went more than five years without paying a dividend before it reinstated regular dividends in 2025. For 2025 it declared 9.5p a share in total, including a final dividend of 5.0p, which it said was 32% of its underlying profit after tax. It also announced a plan to buy back £7 billion to £9 billion of its own shares across 2026 to 2028.
A gap like that shows why a single company’s dividend isn’t guaranteed. A FTSE 100 ETF collects dividends from about 100 companies, so one company stopping its payments has a much smaller effect on the fund’s income.
Why defence funds hold so much more
Under GICS, the sector system MSCI and S&P use, Rolls-Royce is in the Industrials sector, in the Aerospace & Defense industry. It’s one of the 10 largest companies in the MSCI World Industrials Index, and the largest holding in the iShares Global Aerospace & Defence ETF on iShares’ own figures for 30 September 2026.
So the funds that hold the most Rolls-Royce are aerospace and defence funds. It was the largest holding in the iShares Europe Defence ETF, at 17.35%, and in the Amundi Stoxx Europe Defense ETF, at 11.07%. In a world industrials fund, which holds about 250 companies, it was about 1.7%.
A narrow fund like a defence ETF is far more concentrated than a FTSE 100 or world fund. It depends on one industry, and a few companies make up a large part of it, so it can rise and fall much further than a broad index fund.
Rolls-Royce and the Industrials sector
Industrials covers makers and distributors of capital goods such as aircraft engines, defence equipment, machinery and electrical equipment; construction and engineering firms; business services such as consulting and staffing; and transport companies. It was 13.5% of a FTSE 100 ETF, 10.6% of a world ETF and 8.0% of an S&P 500 ETF on 13 October 2026, using GICS sectors.
Rolls-Royce is one company in our series picking one share from each of the 11 stock market sectors. See all 11 sectors and what each one covers.
Rolls-Royce shares or an ETF that holds Rolls-Royce?
You can own Rolls-Royce directly, by buying its shares, or indirectly, through a fund. Here’s how the two compare for a UK investor, using a FTSE 100 ETF as the example.
| Rolls-Royce shares | A FTSE 100 ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| What you own | Part of one company | Part of about 100 UK companies, with Rolls-Royce about 5% |
| If Rolls-Royce's shares fell by a fifth | Your holding falls by a fifth | Rolls-Royce's fall alone takes about 1% off the fund |
| Where it trades | London Stock Exchange, in pence | London Stock Exchange, in pounds or pence |
| Stamp duty | 0.5% stamp duty reserve tax when you buy UK shares electronically | None on ETFs (what an ETF costs) |
| Dividends | Rolls-Royce's own dividend, which it paid none of for more than five years before 2025 | Dividends from about 100 companies, paid out or reinvested |
| In a stocks and shares ISA | Yes | Yes |
| Yearly cost of holding | No fund charge; platform fees may apply | From 0.07% a year, plus platform fees |
A defence ETF sits in between: far more concentrated than a FTSE 100 ETF, with Rolls-Royce up to 17%, but still spread across a few dozen companies.
Common questions
- Why has Rolls-Royce become a bigger part of my FTSE 100 ETF?
- Because its share price rose. Index funds hold companies in proportion to their stock market value. The iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF held a similar number of Rolls-Royce shares in February 2022 and February 2026, while Rolls-Royce’s share of the fund rose from 0.43% to 4.25%.
- Does Rolls-Royce pay a dividend?
- It restarted dividends in 2025 after more than five years without one, and declared 9.5p a share for 2025. Future dividends aren’t guaranteed.
- What is Rolls-Royce’s ticker?
- RR., with a full stop, on the London Stock Exchange. The shares are priced in pence.
- Which ETFs hold the most Rolls-Royce?
- Of the funds above, European defence funds: 17.35% of the iShares Europe Defence ETF and 11.07% of the Amundi Stoxx Europe Defense ETF. UK index funds hold about 4.4% to 5.4%, world industrials funds about 1.7%, and a world fund about 0.2%.
- Can Rolls-Royce shares go in an ISA?
- Yes. Shares count for a stocks and shares ISA if they’re officially listed on a recognised stock exchange, and the London Stock Exchange is one. The ETFs in the table can go in an ISA too.
Before you rely on this page
Sources
- justETF fund profiles for the 12 funds in the table, linked from each fund's name, and justETF's Rolls-Royce Holdings page (world fund weights). Consulted 14 October 2026; holdings as at the dates given.
- iShares plc audited annual reports, 2022 to 2026: schedule of investments of the iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (links under the chart)
- Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, Annual Report 2025 (share price return) and full-year results 2025 (dividend and buyback)
- FTSE Russell, FTSE 100 Index factsheet, data as at 30 September 2026; MSCI, MSCI World Industrials Index factsheet, 30 September 2026; iShares, Global Aerospace & Defence UCITS ETF factsheet, 30 September 2026
- Sector weights of the iShares Core S&P 500, Core MSCI World and Core FTSE 100 ETFs, BlackRock, as of 13 October 2026
- HM Revenue & Customs, stocks and shares investments for ISA managers; GOV.UK, tax when you buy shares
Sources checked 14 October 2026. Live prices from TradingView.