By Sudip Kar-Gupta
LONDON (Reuters) – Fund manager VanEck’s defence-industry focused exchange traded fund (ETF) has reached more than $550 million in net assets in its first year, VanEck said on Monday, highlighting how current, global conflicts have driven investors to the defence sector.
The New York-headquartered firm launched its VanEck Defense UCITS ETF at the end of March 2023. The ETF is up around 20% in 2024, and has reached around $560 million in net assets within a year.
The war in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has also drawn in Iran, has led many governments to call for more military spending.
In April, British Foreign Minister David Cameron called for NATO allies to bolster defence spending and production to support Ukraine against Russia, while Israel has also amended its budget to add more spending on defence.
“Traditionally, the defence industry…
