A new European defence fund based in Copenhagen (København, Denmark) has been launched, with the aim of investing in small and medium-sized enterprises within the defence sector, cybersecurity, and critical infrastructure. The fund, named ETNA, is backed by the Danish pension companies PensionDanmark, AP Pension, and AkademikerPension, which together contribute 1.6 billion Danish kroner.

PensionDanmark is investing 100 million euros in the fund, while AP Pension and AkademikerPension are contributing 70 and 50 million euros respectively. The fund is intended to become a leading player in Europe within its segment and, according to the initiators, has the potential to contribute both to strengthened resilience in the region and to stable returns for pension savers.

Among the founders are Frederik Busch, former partner at CataCap, Florian Funk, former partner at EQT, and Wolff van Sintern, former senior partner at McKinsey and globally responsible for the defence sector.

According to Peter Stensgaard Mørch, CEO of PensionDanmark, it is an investment that combines social responsibility with financial potential.

– The need for defence investments in Europe is both urgent and long-term. With ETNA, we can contribute to strengthening Europe's innovation capacity and security while delivering good returns to our members, he says in a statement.

The fund's advisory board includes several figures with backgrounds in defence leadership and politics, including Denmark's former Minister of Defence Jakob Ellemann-Jensen and Katrin Suder, former State Secretary at the German Ministry of Defence.

The fund will have its headquarters in Copenhagen, as well as a branch in Munich.