Europe’s institutional investors want to open their war chests to fund European defence and sovereignty, but investment in the sector is lagging, according to 9fin sources.
For once, red tape doesn’t seem to be the problem. Last year, both the European Commission and the UK’s FCA loosened regulations to encourage private market investments in defence. The update came into force on 30 June.
The problem, sources told 9fin, is that investors have a lot of unanswered questions about what exactly they’re allowed to invest in.
“Defence is definitely in vogue and not a dirty word anymore, but for us to actually invest, we need more guidance from the government,” a Swiss insurer said.
Investors want answers about where the line is when it comes to lethal investments, how to standardise ESG policies between different countries and LPs, and what a good credit in the defence sector looks like.
Some market participants are steering clear of the sector entirely to avoid angst in investment committee meetings, while others are eyeing more creative angles into defence, such as rolling-up defence startups or investing in ‘critical’ infrastructure such as railways and power grids. Some investors are also looking towards their US counterparts...






