The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

WisdomTree
As Germany and the EU hike defence spending, WisdomTree, a global financial innovator, has expanded its range of tactical ETPs.  Its first leveraged European defence exchange-traded product (ETP), the WisdomTree STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defence 3x Daily Leveraged ETP (3EDF) was listed on the London Stock Exchange, Börse Xetra and Borsa Italiana this week with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.80 per cent.

The new Short & Leveraged (S&L) ETP provides 3x daily leveraged exposure to the STOXX Europe Total Market Aerospace & Defense Net Total Return Index, the firm said in a statement.

The launch comes as Europe is rapidly increasing its defence spending which, in the face of geopolitical uncertainty, is forcing greater military self-reliance. European nations are safeguarding their future with plans to increase defence spending alongside a stronger, more coordinated approach to military procurement, industrial strategy, and strategic alliances.

The launch of 3EDF complements and follows the launch of the WisdomTree Europe Defence UCITS ETF (WDEF) in March 2025. WDEF is designed to provide pure-play exposure to European companies involved in the defence industry, including manufacturers of civil defence equipment, parts or products, defence electronics and space defence equipment. With the WisdomTree STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defence 3x Daily Leveraged ETP and WisdomTree Europe Defence UCITS ETF, investors can now express their short- and long-term views for this theme, the firm said.

“Short and leveraged ETPs allow investors to express high conviction market views, which, when used correctly, can help increase short-term returns or hedge the overall portfolio,” Pierre Debru, head of research, Europe at WisdomTree, said.

GAM Investments, Swiss Re
Switzerland-headquartered GAM Investments has partnered with Swiss Re, the reinsurance and insurance group, to pursue opportunities in areas such as catastrophe bonds and the insurance-linked securities (ILS) space.

Swiss Re, through its subsidiary Swiss Re Insurance-Linked Investment Advisors, will be appointed as co-investment manager of GAM's ILS fund range, including the GAM Star Cat Bond UCITS Fund, effective from 7 May 2025. Swiss Re will be responsible for investment and portfolio management decisions; GAM will retain responsibility for risk management oversight and will lead global distribution and product structuring, GAM said in a statement this week. 

The funds will be co-managed by SRILIAC, a Swiss Re wholly-owned subsidiary and a US-registered investment advisor. 

The SRILIAC unit is led by Mariagiovanna Guatteri, who has more than 20 years' experience in cat bond portfolio management and natural catastrophe modelling at Swiss Re, including managing Swiss Re's proprietary ILS investments and managing third-party capital for Swiss Re's ILS-related investment strategies.

Swiss Re has been a player in the catastrophe bonds (cat bonds) sector since the market was created in the 1990s. Cat bonds are typically used by insurance companies to share the risk of major disasters with investors wanting the gains should they not happen. The events covered could include earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and other extreme events.

"The ILS market set new records in 2024 and strong returns on cat bonds have highlighted the attractiveness and diversification value of the asset class for investors. It is an exciting time for the industry and we see considerable interest both from cat bond issuers and investors,” Guatteri said.

Advocates of cat bonds say their returns have low correlation with other financial markets asset classes.