The Nato ETF arrives in Piazza Affari to invest in defense spending – Corriere.it

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, the tensions that are increasing in the Asia-Pacific area, in particular in China, Taiwan and the South China Sea, but also a highly unstable picture for the Middle East and the African region of the Sahel. Against this backdrop, global military spending is steadily increasing. So much so that over 2,200 billion dollars were spent in 2022 alone, a record never recorded before. It is on these bases that Hanetf has decided to list first on the London and German stock exchanges, and now also on Piazza Affari (the debut scheduled for Friday 14 July 2023), the Nato ETF, a replicator that follows the Eqm Future of Defense and will invest in global companies that generate revenues from NATO and NATO Plus allies’ cybersecurity and defense spending (also includes Israel, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).

Cybersecurity

Whether the war in Ukraine continues or the risk of conflict over Taiwan or the South China Sea grows, it is clear that the world is becoming an increasingly warlike place,” said Hector McNeil, founder and co-CEO of Hanetf. The post-Cold War reality is over and all governments are recognizing it. After years of investment cuts, NATO members in Europe are seriously considering their share of defense spending. Poland, for example, aims to invest 4% of its GDP in defense and potentially build the largest European army. It’s not just about spending on tanks and missiles, McNeil points out. National security is not just about borders and military strength. Governments today must also safeguard cyberspace, which has become a new battleground.

Costs

And the NATO ETF will invest in companies that will be able to benefit from the increase in spending also on IT defense, as well as on military hardware – MacNeil continues -. More than 50% of the turnover of these companies will be represented by the production and development of military aircraft and defense equipment, or will derive from operations in the field of information security entered into with a NATO Plus member country. Funds related to defense already exist, but they tend to be heavy industrialists and not focused on NATO and its allies which, by definition, are a defensive alliance and not an aggressor. On this basis, Nato a unique ETF. Classified as article 6 of the Sfdr regulation (Sustainable finance disclosure regulation), the new Hanetf-branded replicant has an annual Ter (Total expense ratio, i.e. the total cost) of 0.49% and provides for a quarterly portfolio rebalancing.