Future of Defence Report | April 2025

Defence ETF Key Takeaways

SIPRI releases annual defence spending report with NATO 55% of global spend – The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its annual report revealing global military expenditure increased to $2.7 trillion in 2024, the 10th year of consecutive rises.  European spending drove up that total, with military spending in Europe (including Russia) rose by 17% to $693 billion and it was the main contributor to the global increase in 2024. Russia’s military expenditure reached an estimated $149 billion in 2024, a 38% increase from 2023 and double the level in 2015. All NATO members increased their military expenditure in 2024. Total military spending by NATO members amounted to $1506 billion, or 55% of global military expenditure. European NATO members spent $454 billion in total, representing 30% of total spending across the alliance. Breaking down European spending by country:

  • Germany – Military expenditures increased by 28% to reach $88.5 billion, making it the biggest spender in Central and Western Europe and the fourth biggest in the world.
  • Poland – Military spending grew by 31% to $38.0 billion in 2024, representing 4.2% of Poland’s GDP.
  • United Kingdom – The UK increased its military expenditure by 2.8% to reach $81.8 billion, making it the sixth biggest spender worldwide.
  • France – Military expenditures rose by 6.1% to reach $64.7 billion, making it the ninth biggest spender.
  • Sweden – Sweden increased its military expenditure by 34% to $12.0 billion. In its first year of NATO membership, Sweden’s military burden reached 2% of GDP.

 

NATO chief to propose 5% of GDP by 2032 – NATO chief Mark Rutte wants member countries to agree at a summit in June to reach five percent of GDP on defence-related spending by 2032. Rutte has written to NATO’s 32 member countries calling for them to reach 3.5 percent of GDP on „hard military spending“ and 1.5 percent of GDP on „related spending such as infrastructure, cybersecurity and other things“ over the next seven years. The proposal circulated by Rutte envisioned increasing direct military spending by 0.2% each year to 2032. In a bid to help European countries bolster their spending, the EU has proposed loosening budget rules and establishing a 150-billion-euro defence fund.

NATO to increase military stockpiles to 30% – NATO is asking alliance members to raise their military capability targets to 30% with a goal of full consensus of its 32 members at the NATO Summit at the Hague in June.  The capability targets refer to the pool of forces and capabilities NATO considers necessary to fulfil its missions. The US expects all other NATO countries to commit to increased defence spending. NATO asks for “capabilities, not objects” to achieve the effects requested by the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. To put these targets in perspective, if an ally’s mechanized brigade consists of 20% drones and be twice as lethal as a result, that would allow that country to achieve its capacity targets faster than by adding “soldiers with machetes and bayonets.”

Spain Pledges to Meet 2% Target in 2025 – Spain will meet NATO’s target of spending 2% of GDP on defence this year, much earlier than its previous self-imposed deadline of 2029, per Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. Spain, which spent just 1.3% on defence in 2024, was the lowest among NATO members, and other European countries and is under pressure to ramp up spending with new targets likely to rise to 5% of GDP. Spain has declared it will hit NATO’s 2% of GDP defence spending mark this year after unveiling a new military investment plan, ending decades of underfunding its armed forces and amid criticism by the Trump administration. The new Industrial and Technological Plan for Security and Defence commits Madrid to spend an additional €10.4 billion on defence, raising its total military expenditures to around €34 billion in 2025.

Data as of 30.04.2025. Sources available upon request

Company News – Earnings Analysis (NATO)

Company News – Earnings Analysis (ARMY)

Largest positive Q1 2025 earnings surprises (NATO)

 

Largest negative Q1 2025 earnings surprises (NATO)

Largest positive Q1 2025 earnings surprises (ARMY)

Largest negative Q1 2025 earnings surprises (ARMY)

Source: VettaFi as of 30.04.2025. For illustrative purposes only.

Product Comparisons

Macro Outlook – More European defence spending to come, but where and how will it be paid for?

Global military spending rose to $2.7 trillion in 2024, driven by European spending, with 55% coming from NATO members.  A big catalyst of spend is the need for spending on defence technology and the modernization of equipment.  Europe’s military supply chain is fragmented and much of its equipment is obsolete. European countries currently rely on the US and other countries for up to 60% of its defence equipment. Plans are underway for Europe to rearm and eliminate its reliance on the US and non-European allies and direct 65% of spending to Europe as part of an 800 billion euro spending and financing plan.  But this will be a monumental task that will take at least 5-10 years of increased spending to raise European capabilities to a level “where they could replace most US competences” per the FT. Bloomberg reports that five main areas being targeted in the next period are: air defence systems, deep-fire capacities, logistics, communication and information systems, and land manoeuvre capacities.

Over half of the countries in the EU, 16 in total, plan to trigger an emergency clause allowing them to make defence investments that push them over the bloc’s budgetary spending limits. The exemption gives countries room to increase their spending on defence up to 1.5% of their GDP each year for four years without breaching EU fiscal rules. Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Finland want greater flexibility to boost their own defence capacity, according to a Council statement.

Germany is the only major EU country currently planning to use this financing clause. Countries with stretched budgets, such as Italy or France, are not asking fiscal flexibility for procuring military equipment — nor are countries with much healthier public finances, such as the Netherlands or Sweden. But ultimately all this spending on defence in Europe will be a net economic positive. Goldman Sachs projects that every €100 spent on defence will boost GDP by around €50.

Source: TMXVettaFi. Additional sources available upon request.

Defence ETF Performance
As of 30/04/2025

NATO (Fund)NATONTR (Index)
1M-4.22%-4.20%
3M2.19%2.32%
6M9.28%9.51%
YTD12.64%13.00%
12M5.47%5.90%
3Y169.33%173.43%
Since Inception (03/07/2023)167.11%171.37%


Please note that all performance figures are showing net data. Source: Bloomberg / HANetf. Data as of 30.09.2026

Performance before inception is based on back-tested data. Backtesting is the process of evaluating an investment strategy by applying it to historical data to simulate what the performance of such a strategy would have been. Back-tested data does not represent actual performance and should not be interpreted as an indication of actual or future performance. Past performance for the index is in USD. Past performance is not an indicator for future results and should not be the sole factor of consideration when selecting a product. Investors should read the prospectus of the Issuer (“Prospectus”) before investing and should refer to the section of the Prospectus entitled ‘Risk Factors’ for further details of risks associated with an investment in this product. When you invest in ETFs your capital is at risk.

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