Amundi, Europe’s leading asset manager^[1], and STOXX Ltd., part of the ISS STOXX group of companies, announce a new collaboration to provide investors with an Amundi ETF solution – co-designed by two major European players – focused on European strategic autonomy in the field of defense.

The ETF has received regulatory approval and will be listed in the coming weeks on the main European stock exchanges, making it accessible to a wide audience of professional and private investors. It will track the STOXX® Europe Total Market Defense Capped index which selects European companies^[2] from ICB’s Aerospace and Defense Sector, with a focused strategy on those involved in the military re-equipment theme of European Union. The launch comes amid surging interest from investors in European equities^[3], and as the continent undertakes a historic upgrade of its military capabilities.

The fund will leverage the combined strengths of Amundi ETF, a leading European ETF provider offering ETFs referencing European equity indices, and STOXX, a leading provider of benchmark and custom index solutions, recognized for its transparent methodological approach, and the high liquidity of derivatives linked to its benchmarks.

In addition to this future ETF launch, STOXX Ltd. has licensed the index as an underlying for listed futures on Eurex. The leading European derivatives exchange has announced it will launch its Futures on STOXX® Europe TM Defense Capped Index on 12 May.

"As the leading European asset manager, Amundi has a responsibility to develop strategies that allow investors to finance European strategic initiatives. Clients are currently showing a significant interest in participating in efforts to enhance Europe’s defense capabilities and our upcoming Europe Defense UCITS ETF will give them a timely opportunity to invest in this essential project.” said Fannie Wurtz, Head of Distribution & Wealth Division, ETF & Passive Business Line at Amundi.

“The STOXX Europe Total Market Defense Capped index offers a systematic strategy to track those European companies that may benefit from a massive re-deployment of investments into defense,” said Axel Lomholt, General Manager at STOXX. “That means having a targeted approach towards defined defense business lines and not diluting that exposure with broader aerospace activities.”

Matthias Graulich, Chief Commercial Officer at Eurex, said: “Rising demand for defense-related investments or hedging opportunities makes our new Futures on the STOXX® Europe TM Defense Capped Index a natural next step. We're pleased to expand our successful STOXX-based offering in European index derivatives, enhancing the financial ecosystem around the European defense industry. Contract specifications are aligned with existing STOXX products for seamless adoption."

The offering showcases STOXX’s innovative customization capabilities with regard to index construction, where different thematic and sector selection approaches can be utilized to meet investor demand.

Footnotes

1. ^{^} [1] Source: IPE “Top 500 Asset Managers” published in June 2024, based on assets under management as at 31/12/2023
2. ^{^} [2] The starting universe is the STOXX® Europe Total Market index.
3. ^{^} [3] EUR 22 billion were invested in EMEA-focused ETFs in the first two months of 2025, according to STOXX data, nearly three-quarters of the entire net flows for all of 2024.