Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showed that the post-Cold War era is over. Countries are now waking up to their potential security vulnerabilities, be it in terms of military hardware or cyber defences.
In 2022, only seven of NATO's then-30 members met the 2% of GDP military spending target set by NATO. But with war breaking out in Europe and tensions ratcheting up elsewhere, NATO members are now taking their defence spending seriously. The 2% target is now spoken of as “a floor not a ceiling.”
At the same time, investors that have previously avoided investing in the defence sector due to ESG concerns are reassessing. For a growing number of investors, companies involved in developing and producing the means for countries to defend themselves against aggressor states should not face automatic exclusion.
The new EQM Future of Defence Index captures both the hardware and digital components of this growth in defence spending. Uniquely, the index’s methodology ensures that constituents have contracts with NATO or NATO-allied states.
Join our webinar to find out more about the investment opportunity in the ‘Future of Defence’.
Speakers:
• Jane Edmondson, Co Founder and CEO at EQM Indexes
• Tom Bailey, Head of Research at HANetf