First Ukrainian stocks added to London-listed fund for reconstruction
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The first Ukrainian companies have been added to a new investment fund, which hopes to ride the wave of Ukraine's reconstruction and improve access to cash for Ukraine's companies.
Drone software provider Swarmer, telecoms giant Kyivstar, and iron ore producer Ferrexpo were added to the Ukraine Reconstruction Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) on April 29, creator of the fund HANetf said in a press release.
Launched on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in March, the creators hope that it will give investors a chance to benefit from the high returns expected from Ukraine's eventual reconstruction, as well as funnel cash to Ukrainian companies from the deep pockets of international capital markets.
The ETF includes publicly traded companies set to play a role in Ukraine's postwar recovery, already estimated to require over $500 billion.
"Meeting Ukraine’s needs will require the mobilization of both public and private capital," Hector McNeil, co-founder of HANetf said in the press release.
"The ETF now gives exposure to both the global companies positioned to assist in Ukraine’s rebuild alongside Ukrainian companies that will also participate and benefit from Ukraine’s reconstruction," he added.
Those include infrastructure and energy companies such as Caterpillar and Siemens. The fund has more lenient eligibility requirements for Ukrainian companies, including a lower market capitalization.
Ukraine's capital markets have never taken off, with many Ukrainian companies historically choosing Warsaw's stock exchange as a place to raise funds.
In August 2025, Kyivstar became the first Ukrainian company to list on the Nasdaq, the New York-based exchange and primary destination for global technology companies.
Swarmer followed in March 2026, with shares climbing 520% on its first day.
But the addition of Ferrexpo comes despite a legal quagmire for the company in Ukraine — and the threat of being suspended from the London Stock Exchange in the U.K.
Wanted oligarch owner of Ferrexpo, Kostyantyn Zhevago, is suspected of running an embezzlement scheme involving $113 million between 2007 and 2015.
Related legal and wartime challenges mean the company is operating at roughly a quarter of its prewar capacity and doesn't have enough money to complete and publish its audited 2025 financial results, the board said on April 28, adding that the company is likely to be suspended from LSE on May 1.
When a company is suspended from a stock exchange, investors can no longer buy or sell on the platform, and the value of the holdings often drops significantly.
"Inclusion of any stock is determined strictly by the index methodology," Tom Bailey, head of research at HANetf, told the Kyiv Independent when asked why Ferrexpo is included in light of the risk of suspension.
"The ETF does not make discretionary timing decisions and acts as a mechanical buyer of qualifying companies. This approach ensures disciplined, rules-based exposure as eligible Ukrainian companies emerge, with diversification helping to mitigate single-stock risk," he added.
