Both technology and defence are the best sectors in the UK to invest in, according to former chancellor of the exchequer Sir Jeremy Hunt.
Hunt made these comments at the Guinness global investors conference today (16 September).
He added that these two sectors will see a large amount of growth this century, with the UK holding a strong position in both.
Additionally, the UK has the biggest defence sector in Europe, Hunt said.
He also outlined that defence feeds into tech, a point he makes in his second published book ‘Can we be great again?’
At the end of July, a biannual sentiment tracker from investing and trading platform IG found that UK retail investors believe that defence will outperform all other sectors including artificial intelligence over the next six months.
This was the first time defence had taken the top spot, with AI now slipping to second place.
The top three sectors retail investors are most bullish on are defence and military (55%), AI-related industries (45%) and semiconductor equipment (29%).
IG said this was due to “a combination of heightened geopolitical instability and commitments from NATO members to increase military spending which has resulted in a spike in capital inflows into the defence industry”.
NATO’s June summit in The Hague saw members commit to raise spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
Globally, defence stocks across the world have risen in value in 2025. In the UK, BAE Systems (59%), Rolls Royce (68%) and Babcock (106%) have all seen significant returns year-to-date.
German defence company Rheinmetall AG’s share price has jumped by 192%. French multinational aerospace and defence corporation Thales Group is up 74% on the year.
Hunt added that according to a Deloitte survey of finance ministers the UK and India came joint top as the best place to invest in.
