Pentagon spokesman calls claim ‘false’ as FT alleges Morgan Stanley broker sought millions in major defence companies
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth holds a briefing amid the US-Israeli attack on Iran at the Pentagon in Washington, DC on March 2, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
A broker for United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to make a significant investment in major defence companies in the days before the Iran war, according to the Financial Times (FT). The Pentagon, however, has dismissed the report.
According to CNBC, FT reported Tuesday that Hegseth’s broker at banking giant Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its iShares Defense Industrials Active ETF.
The ETF, which has about $3.1 billion in assets, counts companies such as RTX Corp, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, among its largest holdings, BlackRock data showed.
The CNBC report states that according to the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) data, the ETF has lost 12.4% in the past month, around the time when the Iran war started.
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FT also said that the investment discussed by Hegseth’s broker did not move forward as the fund was not yet available for Morgan Stanley clients to buy at the time. It was also not known if the broker had found another defence-related investment, as per CNBC.
Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell dismissed FT’s report in a post on X, calling it “entirely false and fabricated,” and demanding the British newspaper retract the article.
This allegation is entirely false and fabricated. Neither Secretary Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment. This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public.
We demand an immediate retraction.… https://t.co/Su8hGlBOhL
— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) March 30, 2026
Parnell said that neither Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment. “This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public,” he added.
