WisdomTree Launches Europe Defense Fund (WDEF)

July 17, 2025 at 08:00 AM EDT

ETF designed to provide pure-play exposure to Europe’s growing defense sector

WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE: WT), a global financial innovator, today announced the launch of the WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund (WDEF or “the Fund”) on the New York Stock Exchange (or “NYSE”), with an expense ratio of 0.45%. WDEF is passively managed and seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree Europe Defense Index (or “the Index”). The Index is constructed to provide targeted exposure to European companies involved in the defense industry.

As geopolitical tensions rise and strategic autonomy becomes a central policy priority in Europe, countries across the region are significantly increasing their defense budgets to address security imperatives and fulfill North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) commitments. WDEF offers a differentiated, pure-play solution for investors seeking targeted access to this structural growth opportunity.

“Europe’s defense sector is experiencing a fundamental realignment,” said Sam Rines, Macro Strategist at WisdomTree. “WDEF is designed to harness this shift by providing exposure to the companies driving Europe’s defense resurgence, as capital is increasingly directed toward reinforcing both national security and collective regional capabilities.”

WDEF: What’s Under the Hood?

Exclusive Focus on Defense: WDEF targets companies directly involved in military equipment production, aerospace, and defense technology. The ETF is focused solely on defense, providing concentrated exposure with minimal overlap with broader benchmarks.
Captures the Underinvestment Gap: European defense markets have suffered from decades of underinvestment, leading to critical capability gaps. WDEF is positioned to benefit from renewed investment momentum driven by security imperatives and policy alignment.
Alignment with Geopolitical Trends: The Fund reflects current macro themes such as reshoring, NATO rearmament, and EU-level collaboration. These dynamics are accelerating the buildout of a modern and autonomous European defense architecture.
Targeted Exposure to Key Players: The Fund includes companies that are leaders in advanced weapon systems, aerospace, cybersecurity, and defense engineering. The portfolio is built to reflect the core growth drivers of the sector.

This launch follows the recent introduction of the WisdomTree Europe Defence UCITS ETF to the Börse Xetra, Borsa Italian, and the London Stock Exchange, which seeks to track the performance of European defense companies through the WisdomTree Europe Defence UCITS Index. Together, these funds strengthen WisdomTree’s position as a leader in thematic investment strategies grounded in deep macroeconomic insight and research expertise.

With WDEF, WisdomTree is delivering a timely and focused solution for investors seeking to align portfolios with Europe's evolving defense posture.

Read more about the WisdomTree Europe Defense Fund (WDEF) here.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund before investing. For a prospectus or, if available, the summary prospectus containing this and other important information about the fund, call 866.909.9473 or visit WisdomTree.com/investments. Read the prospectus or, if available, the summary prospectus carefully before investing.

There are risks associated with investing, including potential loss of principal. Foreign investing involves specific risks, such as risk of loss from currency fluctuation or political or economic uncertainty. Funds focusing their investments on certain sectors increase their vulnerability to any single economic or regulatory development. This may result in greater share price volatility. This Fund focuses its investments in Europe, thereby increasing the impact of events and developments in Europe that can adversely affect performance. Europe has and may continue to experience security concerns, war, threats of war, aggression and/or conflict, terrorism, economic uncertainty, sanctions or the threat of sanctions, natural and environmental disasters, the spread of infectious illness, widespread disease or other public health issues and/or systemic market dislocations that lead to increased short-term market volatility and have adverse long-term effects on European and world economies and disrupt the orderly functioning of securities markets generally, which may negatively impact the Fund’s investments. Many countries within Europe are closely connected and their economies and markets are largely interdependent. As such, economic and political events in one European country, including monetary exchange rates between European countries and armed conflicts among two or more European countries, may have adverse effects across Europe. European countries that are members of the European Union (“EU”) and the European Economic and Monetary Union (“EMU”) are subject to certain economic and monetary policies and controls and the risks associated with such coordinated economic and fiscal policies. Because the Fund invests primarily in the securities of companies in Europe, the Fund’s performance is expected to be closely tied to social, political and economic conditions within Europe and to be more volatile than the performance of more geographically diversified funds. Investments in non-U.S. securities involve political, regulatory, and economic risks that may not be present in investments in U.S. securities. The securities of small-capitalization companies generally trade in lower volumes and are subject to greater and more unpredictable price changes than larger capitalization stocks or the stock market as a whole. The Fund invests in the securities included in, or representative of, its Index. The Index may not perform as intended. Please read the Fund’s prospectus for specific details regarding the Fund’s risk profile.

WisdomTree Funds are distributed in the U.S. by Foreside Fund Services, LLC. Foreside Fund Services, LLC, is not affiliated with the other entities mentioned.

About WisdomTree

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