US Defense Secretary Hegseth's broker looked to buy defense fund before Iran attack, FT reports [View all]

Source: Reuters

A broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to make ​a big investment in major defense companies in ‌the weeks leading up to the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing three people familiar with the ​matter.

Hegseth's broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in ​February, about making a multimillion-dollar investment in the ⁠asset manager's Defense Industrials Active ETF, shortly before ​the U.S. launched military action against Tehran, the report added.

According ​to the FT report, the investment discussed by Hegseth’s broker did not ultimately go ahead as the fund, which launched in May ​last year, was not yet available for Morgan ​Stanley clients to buy.

The FT report did not say how much discretion ‌the ⁠broker had to make investments on Hegseth's behalf, or whether Hegseth knew what the broker was doing.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-defense-secretary-hegseths-broker-looked-buy-defense-fund-before-iran-attack-2026-03-30/