Tap worldwide military spending

Article Excerpt

Global military spending reached almost $2 trillion U.S. in 2020, following seven years of uninterrupted expansion. Military spending might slow in the coming years as governments are forced to re-examine their military budgets in the wake of their 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 increased military spending (see also the supplement on page 9). SPDR S&P AEROSPACE & DEFENSE ETF $115.75 (New York symbol XAR; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $1.4 billion) tracks the S&P Aerospace & Defense Index. The largest segments are in industrials (96%), and technology (4%). The ETF holds a portfolio of 32 stock, with the top 10 contributing 44% of assets; its current main holdings are Spirit Aerosystems (4.9%), Heico (4.8%), TransDigm Group (4.6%), Hexcel Corp. (4.5%), Raytheon (4.4%), Textron (4.3%), Howmet Aerospace (4.2%), Boeing (4.2%), Aerojet Rocketdyne (4.1%), and Northrop Grumman (4.1%). The ETF launched in September…