Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell stated on X that this information was “completely false and fabricated,” demanding an immediate retraction.
According to the FT article, Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February to make a multi-million dollar investment in the asset manager’s “Defense Industrials Active” ETF, shortly before the US launched their military action against Tehran.
As per the financial daily, the investment discussed by Hegseth’s broker ultimately did not materialize, as the fund, launched last May, was not yet accessible to Morgan Stanley clients.
The FT report does not specify the level of discretion the broker had to invest on behalf of Hegseth, nor whether Hegseth was informed of the steps taken.
<p"Neither Secretary Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock regarding such an investment," Parnell stated.
BlackRock declined to comment on this information, while Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests.
These revelations about this investment attempt come amidst increased surveillance of transactions on financial markets and predicting major political decisions of President Donald Trump.
Some of these decisions have been forecasted by timely bets, leading some experts to question potential insider information leaks.
