Defence spending supports these funds

Article Excerpt

Global military spending reached a multi-year high in 2022 as the Russian-Ukrainian war and other regional conflicts prompted governments to beef up their defence capabilities. That spending might slow in the coming years as governments are forced to re-examine their military budgets in the wake of massive stimulus spending to deal with COVID-19. Still, rising military tensions should keep spending at high levels. Here are two ETFs that provide exposure to companies that benefit from military spending (see also the supplement on page 109). SPDR S&P AEROSPACE & DEFENSE ETF $117.28 (New York symbol XAR; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $1.45 billion) invests in U.S. companies that are involved in the aerospace and defence industries. This ETF tracks the S&P Aerospace & Defense Index. Qualifying stocks are equal-weighted, with some modifications for liquidity, at every quarterly rebalancing point. The largest segment allocations are to industrials (96%), and technology (4%). The ETF holds a portfolio of 31 stocks; the top 10 contribute 47% of the assets…