Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETF (QDEF) is a US dividend ETF. As of October 9, 2026, ETF Copilot scores QDEF 7.1 out of 10 — highest on Quality (9.3), lowest on Growth (5.0). It trades at 19.7 times earnings, against its own median of 19.4. Its ten largest holdings are 37% of the fund.
What stands out in QDEF's data
A focused portfolio of U.S. dividend stocks screened for quality and stability.
Earns more on its capital than most dividend peers — a sign of real business strength behind the payouts.
Return on invested capital of 30.6% sits well above the 17.8% category median and its own 26.4% historical median, with a 21% annualized three-year return.
Functions as a quality tilt within a dividend allocation, pairing income with balance-sheet discipline.
Why did QDEF move this week? It rose 1.3% in the week to October 9, 2026 — Philip Morris International and Microsoft drove it
QDEF rose 1.3% in the week to October 9, 2026. The holdings that moved it most were Philip Morris International (+7.3%), Microsoft (+3.4%) and Apple (+0.9%); Nvidia (−2.0%) pushed the other way.
How is QDEF rated? ETF Copilot scores Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETF (QDEF) 7.1 out of 10
As of October 9, 2026, ETF Copilot scores Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETF (QDEF) 7.1 out of 10 overall.
ETF Copilot scores (0–10 scale, higher is better):
- Overall: 7.1 / 10
- Growth: 5.0 / 10
- Value: 6.4 / 10
- Risk: 8.9 / 10
- Quality: 9.3 / 10
- Return: 7.0 / 10
Is QDEF expensive right now? It trades at 19.7 times earnings, against its own median of 19.4
As of October 9, 2026, QDEF is more expensive than 56% of its own 115 monthly readings since 2017 — 64 of those months were cheaper than today.
Trailing twelve-month, computed by ETF Copilot from the fund's holdings rather than quoted from a data provider, and rebuilt nightly.
What's inside QDEF? 41% Tech
What's inside QDEF: Size (Large 76%, Mid 23%, Small 1%); Geography (International 3%, US 97%); Tech 40.6%; Magnificent 7 27.2%; AI 16.1%; Semiconductors 16.4%; Memory 13.6%.
What are QDEF's top holdings? The ten largest are 37% of the fund
Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Broadcom, Johnson & Johnson, Alphabet, Philip Morris International, Jpmorgan Chase & and Eli Lilly are QDEF's largest holdings, in that order.
More concentrated than 64% of Dividend US ETFs.
Half of QDEF's weight sits in its 20 largest positions, and once those weights are taken into account it behaves like 41 equally weighted holdings.
What is QDEF's expense ratio? 0.40% a year
As of October 9, 2026, QDEF charges 0.40% a year, yields 1.57% and holds $554M in assets across 153 positions.
| Measure | QDEF |
|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.40% |
| Dividend yield | 1.57% |
| Assets under management | $554M |
| Holdings | 153 |
Expense ratio, dividend yield and assets under management are reported by the fund and refreshed daily. Every other figure on this page is computed by ETF Copilot.
Cite this
ETF Copilot, “Northern Trust Quality Dividend Defensive ETF (QDEF) scores and holdings analysis”, as of October 9, 2026.
https://etf-copilot.com/etf/qdef
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