Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at A broker for Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, attempted to make a big investment in major defence companies in the weeks leading up to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. Hegseth's broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in the asset manager's Defense Industrials Active ETF, the people said, shortly before the US launched military action against Tehran.
The inquiry on behalf of the high-profile potential client was flagged internally at BlackRock, according to the people familiar with the matter. BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and the Pentagon declined to comment.