Defence Exposure May Already Exist Within Your Portfolio

AI firms, cybersecurity companies, communications providers and other dual-use technologies are increasingly linked to national security and defence capabilities.
Join leading global investors and governance experts to explore the fiduciary, stewardship and portfolio implications.

Upcoming APAC Defence Investor Briefing:

Beyond Defence: The Stewardship Implications of AI, Dual-Use Technologies and Geopolitics for Asia-Pacific Investors.

26 August 2026, 7:00 a.m. London time. Co-hosted with Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).

Please register in advance, even if you are unable to attend live. Everyone who registers will receive a recording of the session afterwards. Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ZUdUX9blRiK3NexABMRnKQ

Watch the Replay: How Institutional Investors in North America Are Approaching Defence Investment

Hear Directly from Leading Practitioners

+ Maggie Childe - Director, Responsible Investing, UBC Investment Management
+ Lauren Compere, Head of Stewardship and Engagement and a Partner at Boston Common Asset Management
+ Maria LettiniCEO, US Sustainable Investment Forum
+ Sam Jones, President of Heartland Initiative, member of the GRID Steering Group
+ Anna-Stina Wiklund - Defence and Stewardship expert, Global Advisory Alliance member and former senior sustainability leader within Nordic pension funds.
Moderator + Dominic WebbSenior Reporter at Responsible Investor

institutional investors Roundtable

Following the investor briefing, we will convene an invitation-only roundtable for institutional investors to continue the discussion under the Chatham House Rule.

The roundtable will provide a confidential forum for peer-to-peer discussion, allowing participants to explore practical challenges, exchange experiences and discuss how defence-related investment issues are being addressed across the industry.

To participate, please contact Karel Krticka at karel@globaladvisoryalliance.com

Watch the Replay: How European Investors Are Approaching Defence

Hear Directly from Leading Practitioners

+ How investors are reassessing defence exposure
+ Where fiduciary duty is changing
+ Engagement vs exclusion in practice
+ How the GRID framework is being applied

Our panellists:

Aleksandra Palinska - Executive Director, Eurosif.
Anna-Stina Wiklund - Sustainable Investment Advisor, Global Advisory Alliance. Former senior sustainability leader within Nordic pension funds. Author of From Exclusion to Engagement.
Linda Sundberg - Head of Sustainable Investing, Church of Sweden.
Camille Bisconte De Saint Julien - Human Rights and Social Lead, La Banque Postale Asset Management (LBPAM).
Daniel Neale FICRS - Responsible Investment and Social Lead, Church Commissioners for England.

Moderator: Dominic Webb - Senior Reporter, Responsible Investor.

Library of Key resources shaping the discussion

A growing body of work is supporting investors as they navigate this shift. The following resources provide useful perspectives on how defence investments are being assessed within responsible investment frameworks.

Guidance for Responsible Investment in Defence-related Companies (GRID)

The first structured framework for applying responsible investment principles to defence sector companies. GRID builds on the 2025 concept note Principles for Responsible Defence Investment and marks the beginning of a broader consultation process with the institutional investor community. Developed for asset owners and asset managers seeking a principled, systematic approach to assessing defence-related holdings.

Download GRID → Guidance for Responsible Investment in Defence-related Companies (GRID)

From Exclusion to Engagement: A Stewardship Lens on Europe's Evolving Defence Investments

Anna-Stina Wiklund's analysis of how the European institutional investor community is rethinking its approach to defence-related investments - examining the stewardship arguments, the regulatory context, and the practical implications for pension funds and asset managers operating across different European markets.

Read the article → From Exclusion to Engagement

RIAA Investor Toolkit on Human Rights and Armed Conflict

Publised by Responsible Investment Association Australasia in 2023 - this toolkit offers essential frameworks and insights for companies and investors to support human rights in conflict-affected regions like Ukraine and Myanmar, and what they can do before, during and after conflict.

Download → RIAA Investor Toolkit on Human Rights and Armed Conflict

2026 Edition of the International Defence Companies Notebook

An annual reference publication produced by France's Defence Industry Directorate (DID), which is part of the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA). It compiles standardised company fact-sheets — drawn from publicly available sources — for a curated selection of major international defence companies across aerospace, naval, land systems, electronics, and related sectors. The 2026 edition features over 60 companies, including seven new entrants such as Anduril, Delair, Hemeria, and UkrOboronProm, alongside re-introduced companies like Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries.

Download → 2026 Edition of the International Defence Companies Notebook

Morningstar Sustainalytics Resources with Graphs and Reference Lists

Defence section of Responsible Investor, a publication focused on ESG and sustainable finance.

The page lists recent news articles covering the intersection of defence investment and responsible investing, including topics such as weapons exclusion policies, nuclear acceptability in portfolios, and ESG concerns around arms companies.

Read more here → Defence section of Responsible Investor

Eurosif Discussion Paper: Sustainable investment and defence.

Eurosif's research and policy perspective on how European sustainable investment frameworks are evolving in response to changing geopolitical realities.

Download → Eurosif discussion paper: Sustainable investment and defence.pdf

Investor Statement on Autonomous Weapons

Stop Killer Robots and Etica Funds Responsible Investments call on government leaders around the world to launch negotiations for a new international treaty on autonomous weapons systems to ensure human control in the use of force and to prohibit machines that target people, reducing us to objects, stereotypes, and data points. Machines should not make life and death decisions.

Download lnvestor statement here

LBP AM Group’s Defence Industry Policy

LBP AM Group’s Defence industry policy defines and sets out the operational principles of the Group’s responsible investment approach with regard to investment in the Defence industry.

Download here → LBPAM Policy on responsibleinvestment in the Defence industry

Investor Alliance for Human Rights - Article AI in the Kill Chain: The Risk of AI-Enabled Warfare and What Investors Need to Know

Article by Camille Bisconte De Saint Julien of LBP AM examines the human rights risks of AI in military applications, and provides a robust set of recommendations and resources for investors looking to deepen their engagements with portfolio companies on this issue.

Read here → AI in the Kill Chain

Travers Smith (Law Firm Resources) Sustainability and Security: Investing in Defence

Readers will find an analysis of the EU’s Defence Readiness Omnibus, alongside a detailed review of how defence investment fits within ESG and sustainable finance frameworks, including what Article 8 and Article 9 funds can and cannot do when allocating capital to the sector.The article also explores the complexity of dual-use technologies, particularly in areas such as AI and advanced manufacturing, and the regulatory and ethical challenges these create for investors.

Considering Social Risk Factors in Institutional Investment Portfolios, A Primer for Universities

This primer was commissioned by the University of British Columbia (UBC) and UBC Investment Management (UBCIM) as an educational tool to introduce and contextualize the breadth of social factors relevant to investment portfolios, how these issues arise within them, and the responsibilities of investors in relation to national and international standards of Responsible Business Conduct. → Read here

Social Risk (including Human Rights) Framework

Heightened Human Rights Due Diligence for Business in Conflict-Affected Contexts: A Guide

The guide offers guidance to businesses and other actors on how to meet their responsibilities to carry out a heightened version of human rights due diligence in conflict-affected areas. UNDP developed this guide with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. → Read here

The Saliency Materiality Nexus

Addressing systemic risks to peopleand portfolios in a turbulent world → Read here

Reframe Venture resources: Dual Use focusing on VC Investments

Reframe Venture develped several tools on Dual Use focusing on VC investments including a high level DDQ: → Learn more here.

Working Group on Defense Tech & Responsible Investment

Heartland Initiative—inpartnership with the Business & Human Rights Centre and the Investor Alliance for HumanRights—convened the Working Group on Defense Tech & Responsible Investment (WorkingGroup) in October 2025. The Working Group brings together leading institutionalinvestors, technical experts, and civil society leaders. Its convenings and publicationswill critically examine and respond to how the rise of defense tech is reshapingresponsible investment stewardship, specifically regarding risk analysis, companyengagement, and exclusionary screening.
→ Learn more here.

Investor collaboration on defence sector transparency Europe September 2026

Global Advisory Alliance is exploring a collaborative investor engagement initiative focused on improving transparency and disclosure across the defence sector and the ESG data ecosystem.

The objective is not to promote or oppose investment in defence companies. Rather, the initiative aims to identify the information investors need to assess, monitor and explain defence-related exposures in a manner consistent with their fiduciary duties, investment policies and client expectations.

We are currently speaking with a small group of institutional investors to help shape the scope of the engagement, determine key priorities and assess interest in launching a coordinated initiative starting in September 2026.

Investors interested in contributing to the discussion or learning more about the proposed engagement are invited to connect with: Anna-Stina Wiklund or Karel Krticka
Email: team@globaladvisoryalliance.com

‍We would be pleased to share a briefing note outlining the proposed engagement, expected time commitment and anticipated outputs.

Supporting investors navigating defence decisions

If you are exploring these topics within your organisation and would like to continue the conversation, Anna-Stina Wiklund, Defence and Stewardship Programme Lead, is available to connect and discuss how GAA advisors can support your thinking.

On this page:

Watch the replay of the North America Investor Discussion - 8th July 2026.
Download GRID framework.
Access Library of Documents
Register for the APAC Session on 26th of August.
Watch the replay - Investor Discussion - Europe Stewardship Dialogue - 25 March 2026.

GAA Stewardship Advisory

GAA advises pension funds, asset managers, family offices, and institutional investors on responsible investment frameworks, stewardship programmes, and ESG integration.

Our advisors come from inside the institutional investment process - not from audit or compliance backgrounds. We understand what fiduciary duty requires, what beneficiaries expect, and what stewardship practice looks like when it is genuinely operational.

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