De Nederlandsche Bank statistics show Dutch households’ defence-sector holdings rising to EUR 832 million as Rheinmetall enters top 25 investments

De Nederlandsche Bank published new statistics showing Dutch households have sharply increased their direct investments in defence companies, with the aggregate value rising from EUR 87 million in January 2023 to EUR 832 million by end-Q2 2025. Germany’s Rheinmetall became the first defence contractor to enter the top 25 companies in which households invest directly, ranking 22nd in Q2 2025. Share price gains accounted for around 56% of the increase in defence-sector holdings, with the remaining 44% driven by net share purchases. Rheinmetall represents 63% of households’ defence-company exposure, with holdings rising to EUR 521 million at end-June 2025 from EUR 15 million at the start of 2023; overall, direct investments in the largest defence companies equated to about 1.3% of households’ direct listed equity portfolio (EUR 65.3 billion). The analysis covers direct household holdings of shares and bonds in 62 major defence companies identified from 2023 Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data, limited to firms where arms sales and military services exceeded one-third of total revenues, and excludes indirect exposure via investment funds. In broader portfolio data, Dutch households’ total securities holdings rose to EUR 193.9 billion in Q2 2025, up about 2.8% quarter-on-quarter, with the increase almost entirely attributed to share price gains (96%) and limited net purchases of EUR 316 million. A fall in the US dollar against the euro resulted in a foreign exchange loss of EUR 2.4 billion.