A broker representing the interests of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to proceed with a multi-million dollar investment in a defense industry exchange-traded fund just days before the US and Israeli war against Iran broke out, according to a Financial Times report published Monday (30/3), which the Pentagon denies and demands to be retracted.
Read: Iran: Trump “blames” Hegseth – “Pete doesn’t want the war to end”
Financial Times: Hegseth-linked investment move under scrutiny before Iran war
According to the report, citing three unnamed sources, a broker representing Defense Secretary Hegseth’s interests at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February regarding a multi-million dollar investment in the Defense Industrials Active ETF exchange-traded fund, before the war against the Islamic Republic began.
According to the FT, the investment did not proceed because this fund, established in May 2025, was not available for purchase by Morgan Stanley clients. The newspaper does not clarify how much freedom the broker had to make investments on behalf of Secretary Hegseth, nor whether the secretary had personal knowledge of the position he sought.
Pentagon denies report
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell emphasized via the “X” platform that the report is “completely false and fabricated” and demanded its immediate retraction — though it remains a front-page story on the digital edition of the renowned British newspaper. “Neither Secretary Hegseth nor any of his representatives contacted BlackRock regarding any such investment,” Pentagon spokesperson Parnell countered.
However, neither BlackRock nor Morgan Stanley immediately responded when asked to comment on the report by Reuters news agency. This information comes to light amid scrutiny of various market positions taken before US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch the war that has set the Middle East ablaze. Some of the investments attracting attention may have simply been bets, however experts raise questions in some cases about insider information or leaks.
Source: ANA-MPA
