Today we are not going to look at a single share, but take a look in a completely different direction. Into the defense sector.

Of course, the most well-known Etf in this sector, the VanEck Defense UCITS Etf, has caught my eye. Its annual performance is around 50%, and it has already posted a return of around 15% this year.

So today we want to take a closer look at what it really contains and whether an investment would be worthwhile, purely on the basis of the fundamental data.

$DFEN (+0,3%)

The fund volume currently amounts to €7.278 billion with annual costs of 0.55%. The Etf is an accumulating fund.

Company distribution:

Palantir Technologies 8% $PLTR (+1,17%)

RTX Corporation 8% $RTX (+0,92%)

Thales 7% $HO (+0,99%)

Leonardo- Finmeccania 7% $LDO (+0,93%)

Hanwha Aerospace Co Ltd ORD 6% $012450

Elbit Systems 6% $ESLT (+0,23%)

Saab 6% $SAAB B (+1,07%)

Curtiss Wright 5% $CW (+0,4%)

Leidos 4% $LDOS (+1,16%)

=57%

The remaining 43% is distributed in smaller shares among other companies, such as Planet Labs $PL (+3,39%) (approx. 2%) or Ondas $ONDS (+0,83%) (1%).

Country distribution:

USA 49%

South Korea 11%

Europe 30%

Israel 7%

Singapore 3%

1 Palantir Technologies (USA)

Conclusion: Palantir is not a normal stock

Palantir has developed impressively from a speculative bet to a fundamental force in the S&P 500. The company is more profitable than ever before: massive profit and sales growth meets software margins that are unparalleled in the industry.

But quality has its price on the stock market: this success has already been fully recognized and priced in by the market. With a current P/E ratio of almost 300, the share is extremely expensive and leaves little room for disappointment. Palantir is therefore a highly profitable, exceptional company, but its valuation already anticipates the perfection of the coming years.

This can also be clearly seen in the analysts' estimates: some say there is still plenty of room for improvement with a price target that is almost twice as high, while others say the fair value is half the current price.

That's why I personally can't really get on board with Palantir. The share as a whole is not a buy for me at the moment.

2. RTX corporation(USA)

Conclusion: RTX - The operational bulwark

RTX (formerly Raytheon) is the definition of stability and predictability in April 2026. With a gigantic order backlog of USD 268 billion, the business is secured for years to come. The company has solved the technical problems of the past and is now converting its dominant position in aerospace and defense into record-breaking cash flows.

While Palantir thrives on the AI fantasy, RTX delivers the physical reality: a moderate P/E ratio of around 36 compared to Palantir, rising dividends and a fundamental safety that is rare in the current market environment. It is not a speculative high-flyer, but a highly profitable basic investment for the security age.

However, perfection is priced in here with very high valuation premiums, so I am also skeptical.

3. thales (France)

Conclusion: Thales - the European "all-rounder"

Thales established itself as the technological backbone of European defense and digital infrastructure in April 2026. With a record order backlog of over EUR 53 billion, the company offers "visibility" for production that extends well beyond 2028.

- Financial performance: 2025 closed with sales of EUR 22.1 billion (+9% organic) and record cash flow. The target for 2026 is clearly defined: A jump in sales to up to EUR 23.6 billion with an improved EBIT margin of around 12.7 %.

- Strategic breadth: Unlike pure defense companies, Thales benefits from three engines simultaneously:

Defense: massive growth through the modernization of European armies.

Aerospace: The recovery in civil aviation is driving demand for avionics.

Cyber & Digital: Through the integration of Imperva, Thales is now one of the world's largest players in the field of data security - a market that is growing completely independently of military budgets.

With a Kgv of 29, we find the most favorably valued company to date.

4 Leonardo Finmenncania (Italy)

Conclusion: Leonardo - the efficiency champion

Leonardo is the "value tip" among the large defense stocks in April 2026. While competitors such as Rheinmetall or Palantir often struggle with extremely high valuations, Leonardo has done its homework in terms of profitability and is now benefiting massively from the European arms race.

- Financial turnaround: Leonardo has beaten all expectations with its figures for 2025. Sales rose to EUR 19.5 billion (+11%), while operating profit (EBITA) increased by a strong 18%. Particularly impressive: net debt was almost halved, giving the Group massive scope for new investments.

- Strategic focus: Under the new industrial plan (2026-2030), Leonardo is fully committed to digitalization and cyber security. With the "Michelangelo" project (an AI-supported air defense system), Leonardo occupies a lucrative niche in the NATO security architecture.

- Valuation as a trump card: Despite a share price rally of almost 190% since 2024, the share is still "reasonably" valued compared to the sector with a forward P/E ratio of around 27. It is significantly cheaper than many US rivals, although Leonardo has similar growth rates for incoming orders (+15%).

We have now briefly analyzed the 4 largest companies in this ETF, which account for around 30%.

How do you rate these companies? Please take a look at the other companies that have not been presented here.

And of course, are you invested in the etf or do you intend to be?

Would it be an investment case for you or do you think the defense sector is largely overvalued?

@Raketentoni
@Tenbagger2024
@Get_Rich_or_Die_Tryin
@Multibagger etc. ....

Hello dear Getquinners,

I started investing in securities at the beginning of the year.

For many years, we parked our assets in call money accounts, which meant that we lost money for years due to high inflation with (negative) compound interest effects. I now want to change this and have therefore decided to invest some of our assets in the capital market.

We are a family with two small children (aged 1 and 4). We parents are in our mid-30s and in the middle of our working lives.

My goals/hopes are:

• long-term investment >10 years and more
• Inflation protection and (real) asset accumulation beyond overnight interest rates
• If necessary, partial transfer of assets to help the children get started when they come of age

As I don't want to gamble, it should be as "simple" as possible to handle and I am not a daredevil, I have created a "boring" ACWI-IMI portfolio.

We have invested around 60%, the rest is free liquidity, which would last for around 12-14 months without income given our current cost of living. A little conservative perhaps, but that's a start. I also don't want to get scared if the markets take a nosedive.

This is how it looks:

75% core:

• 55% MSCI World $IWDA (+0,83%)
• 10% MSCI World Small Cap $WSML (+1,39%)
• 10% MSCI Emerging Markets IMI $EIMI (+1,56%)

8.5% Precious metals

• Physical gold $IGLN (+0,88%)

15% Satellites with approx. 2% each

• $IB1T (+1,57%) Bitcoin share with high opportunity and high risk. Personally, I am not yet completely convinced of this position, I see the "intrinsic" value of a (this) digital currency as being confronted with major environmental problems and am therefore critical. On the other hand, it is supposed to be "digital gold". We will see in the future what is true and what is not...

• $SEMI (+3,52%) and $XDWT (+1,16%) I believe in the AI boom and growing markets in digitalization, and see growth opportunities there, but also risks. Naturally increases the USA share in the portfolio...

• $$DFEN (+0,3%) : Anti-cyclical position in the current increasingly global conflicts. Defense spending is rising worldwide...

• $WMIN (+1,88%) and $RARE (+1,44%) as a commodity mix in basic materials. See this as an opportunity with risk, but perhaps this also reacts anti-cyclically to weak markets

• $GERD (+1,11%) as a personal experiment, as I have read and heard a lot from Gerd Kommer. Can be seen as a core holding, perhaps as a benchmark to the core. I wanted to give it a try.

I also toyed with $WNUC (+0,81%) but I have to think about whether I really want to invest in nuclear technology (personally subjective thing...). I also read and follow 3XGTAA with interest, but that's too risky for me (for now), for now I'll stay in the World fairway...

Monthly savings installments go equally into the core. I plan to rebalance once a year during the Christmas vacations.

I read a lot in the community and regularly follow the posts. Time and again I also read negative statements about sector and industry bets.

I would be interested to know what you think of my portfolio and why some of you think that sector and sector bets are bad.

Thank you for your feedback and for your consistently excellent contributions to the community!

I came across an Etf. The $DFEN (+0,3%)

Do you think this makes sense for portfolio diversification, so far I have only heard of defense stocks or similar. $ONDS (+0,83%)

I mean the return is technically top.

Do you think the train has already started?

And how do you think the ETF would react if, for example, the AI bubble bursts?

Thanks for all answers

Hello everyone,

I have been following this forum for some time now and have decided to present my experiments and current strategies.

On the one hand, because I want to avoid losing track of things, and on the other hand, to prepare my thoughts for myself and also to get other perspectives and opinions.

Briefly about myself

I am 22 years old and graduated last year with a Bachelor of Engineering in Energy Technology.

I am currently working in a medium-sized company in the energy industry in Germany.

I have been rather frugal with money since I was a child. As I got older, my interest in increasing money wisely grew.

I was also lucky that my uncle opened a junior custody account for me when I was born. As a result, at the age of 18 I already had a small starting portfolio worth around 3,000 euros.

At the beginning, I focused intensively on precious metals and also invested in them. I don't plan to touch these holdings in the long term. If I don't need them, I see them more as a legacy for the next generation. I will buy more from time to time.

Basic start

As a first step, and I am aware that this will be assessed differently, I have taken out a unit-linked pension plan with the savings bank, which I save 150 euros per month.

I also took out a building society savings plan, as I basically want to buy my own home in the long term. I am currently renting.

The building society saver is also 150 euros per month per month.

At the same time, I have been working with neobrokers, from which my current portfolio has gradually developed.

Yes, there are still quite a few stocks in it at the moment. I will probably clean that up in the long term.

1st approach, accumulating ETFs

My first approach was to invest in classic accumulating ETFs.

• World, $XDWD (+0,91%)
• Emerging markets, $EIMI (+1,56%)
• AI and big data, $XAIX (+1,29%)

Smaller side bets were added later.

• Armaments, $DFEN (+0,3%)
• uranium, $U3O8 (+1,45%)
• batteries, $BATG (+1,44%)

I also bought my first individual shares to gain experience. Among other things, I had success with $RHM (+0,26%) . At the same time, I learned how quickly losses can occur if you are not sufficiently diversified, for example with $ABR (+13,29%) ,$1SXP (+1,06%) and other stocks.

This ultimately led me to my second approach.

2nd approach, dividend strategy

As I already have a pension plan through LBS and don't want to be the richest man in the cemetery, I focused more on a dividend strategy.

The first attempt consisted of the following combination

• $ISPA (+1,01%)
• $VHYL (+0,91%)
• $ZPRG (+0,24%)

The idea came from a business magazine and was aimed at making monthly distributions as even as possible. I also added $QYLE (+1,07%) to gain initial experience with option strategies.

However, as this combination is only diversified to a limited extent and I deliberately wanted to move away from the USA, I adapted my strategy further.

Current strategy

Fixed savings rates

• LBS, retirement provision, 150 euros per month
• Building society, residual debt for future home ownership, 150 euros per month

Dividend strategy with 115.24 euros per month

• $XDWL (+0,85%) , 34 percent
• $IEEM (+1,5%) , 26 percent
• $XAIX (+1,29%) , 13 percent
• $EXSH (+1,4%) , 26 percent

Side bets with 81 euros per month

• $DFEN (+0,3%) , 62 percent
• $BATG (+1,44%) , 10 percent
• $QYLE (+1,07%) , 25 percent

Trading 212 experiment with 100 euros per month

Here I am pursuing the goal of bundling individual shares in a common pot, partially saving them and automatically reinvesting distributions in order to benefit from the compound interest effect in the long term.

I welcome tips and constructive criticism so that I can continue to improve my strategy.

Best regards

Mister Kimo

Thank you for your input, feedback is the only way to develop further. The result is an adjustment to my future portfolio structure, including savings plans.

Core: (68,31 %)

• 46.45 % Vanguard FTSE All-World $VWRL (+0,92%)
• 11.61 % SPDR MSCI World Small Cap $ZPRS (+1%)
• 10.25 % Amundi Stoxx Europe 600 $MEUD (+1,15%)

Satellite: (31,69 %)

• 10.25 % ASML $ASML (+1,13%)
• 5.46 % FTSE India $FLXI (+0,5%)
• 5.05 % Euwax II $EWG2 (+0,76%)
• 4.10 % WisdomTree Coffee $COFF (-0,63%)
• 3.28 % Bitcoin $BTC (+1,63%)
• 2.19 % Ethereum $ETH (+1,97%)
• 1.37 % VanEck Defense $DFEN (+0,3%)

I have recently started using a broad core-satellite strategy with ETFs, individual stocks, themes and crypto.

My portfolio is currently still being restructured. I want to have completed this by the end of Q4 2025.

#getquin #getquincommunity #depotupdate #coresatellite #savings plan #etf #etfinvesting #stockportfolio #crypto #restructuring #investment strategy