Pete Hegseth's broker sought to buy defense fund before Iran attack: FT report
The Financial Times reported on March 30, 2026, that a broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to make a multimillion-dollar investment in BlackRock's Defence Industrials Active ETF in February 2026, weeks before the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. The investment did not proceed because the fund was not yet available to Morgan Stanley clients. The report, citing three sources, did not clarify whether Hegseth knew of the broker's actions. The Pentagon swiftly denied the allegation, calling it 'false and fabricated' and demanding a retraction. The story emerges amid broader scrutiny of financial and prediction market trades that preceded major Trump administration policy decisions, raising questions about potential information leaks.
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