Savings: how to invest in the new placement dedicated to defense financing

Announced on March 20, Bpifrance Defense will allow you to invest in SMEs and startups in the defense sector from the second half of 2025. What do we know at this stage of investment conditions and performance to expect from this new investment?

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Are you believing that funding the defense sector is a good investment? This new investment is for you. Thursday, March 20, the public investment bank (Bpifrance) announced the launch of a new product, called Bpifrance Defense. His goal? Allow the French to invest in a fund, which “Will invest himself in SMEs and defense or cybersecurity startups”said Nicolas Dufourcq, CEO of Bpifrance, during the day devoted to the financing of the industrial and technological defense base (ILOD) at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

By encouraging the launch of this type of fund – known as Private Equity, or investment in unlisted companies on the stock market – the government intends to strengthen the capacity of our very small businesses, SMEs and ETIs to absorb an increasing public order: “The military programming law already provides for an increase in order books, 3 billion this year and around 17.5 billion by 2030”detailed the Minister of Economy Eric Lombard, during his speech before professionals in the financial sector.

A product available from “of the second half of 2025»»

However, if the rearmament already seems to be triggered, it will still be necessary to wait to invest in this new product. Bpifrance indeed indicates to Capital that this new genre fund should be open to subscription “From the second half of 2025”. More specifically, it should succeed another fund to which it is still possible to subscribe until September 18, 2025: Bpifrance Entreprises 3. A press release from Bpifrance also specifies that its new product dedicated to defense will be the “Next fund in the” Bpifrance Enterprises “range”. With a few common points compared to its predecessors, and also some differences.

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Like Bpifrance companies 3, Bpifrance Defense will be accessible from a very moderate entry ticket: Euros (As a reminder, the minimum ticket was 3,000 euros on Bpifrance Enterprises 2), and without investment ceiling, up to the limit of the 450 million euros of collection referred to by the fund. Regarding the level of risk, Bpifrance companies 3 is 6 out of 7 according to his key information document (DIC), which should also be the case of Bpifrance Defense, the funds of Private Equity being generally rated Between 6 and 7 of 7.

The big gap of the performance to be hoped for

On the other hand, the newcomer should be a little more liquid than its elder, with a blocking period of five -year funds, the Minister of the Economy said yesterday morning on the TF1 set. It was more for Bpifrance companies 3, with the impossibility of getting out of the fund before seven years, except in exceptional cases mentioned in its regulations: death or disability of the shares, dismissal, etc. In the radius of differences also, the other funds in the range had a limited lifespan: up to seven years for Bpifrance companies 2, and ten years for the third version. Conversely, Nicolas Dufourcq said that the Defense Fund “Would be an” Evergreen “fund, that is to say without lifespan, in which the French will be able to invest over the water”.

Finally, what return can we hope for this new investment? Previous funds were targeting an unmarked target yield From 8% to 10%,, “Net management fees, but before tax”specifies Bpifrance. A consistent performance with what it is usually possible to hope for a “general public” private equity fund. However, a recent study by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) points to median performance included rather between -2.4% and 5% For funds also intended for individuals and matched at the end of 2023. The hopeful of Philippe Crevel, the director of the Savings Circle, remains to be hoped for, as “Given the increase in demand in military equipment, the return on this fund could be attractive and be above average over a long period.”