The actively managed fund available to institutional and retail investors mimics the firm’s successful 2024 global defence strategy.
Swiss asset manager Decalia has launched a UCITS version of its defence-focused equity strategy, offering investors liquid exposure to a concentrated portfolio of global defence and security companies.
The fund, Decalia Aegis Defense, will hold 30 to 40 listed stocks with direct exposure to military spending and national security demand. Structured as a daily-liquid UCITS vehicle, it is accessible to European institutional and retail investors.
The strategy is led by Roberto Magnatantini, a former officer in the Swiss Armed Forces with more than two decades of experience investing in defence companies.
Decalia describes the approach as actively managed, with portfolio positioning adjusted in response to procurement trends, political decisions and technological developments, rather than tracking a defence index.
The UCITS launch expands a strategy the firm has run since 2024. Decalia says the underlying approach has outperformed broader equity markets and comparable defence strategies over the past two years, though it has not published detailed performance figures.
According to fund materials, holdings include large listed defence contractors and suppliers positioned to benefit from rising military budgets in Europe and North America. These include companies such as Lockheed Martin, Rheinmetall and BAE Systems, among others.
Publicly traded defence equities and thematic exchange-traded funds have attracted strong investor flows since 2022, as governments commit to multi-year increases in defence spending and industrial capacity expansion. While the Decalia fund does not provide private capital in the manner of venture or private equity vehicles, it directs public market investment toward listed defence groups exposed to sustained rearmament programmes.
The launch comes amid a broader shift in asset management toward defence as a long-term allocation theme, underpinned by NATO spending commitments, EU industrial policy initiatives and sustained geopolitical tensions.
Decalia manages around CHF 6 billion (€6.5 billion) in assets across public and private market strategies.