3 ETFs to Buy as the One Big Beautiful Bill Rolls Out

Key Points

• The One Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law on July 4, 2025, and the impacts will be felt for years to come.
• Proponents of the bill suggest it could benefit industries including domestic manufacturing, energy, and defense.
• Investors expecting the bill to boost these spaces might focus on ETFs like ITA, MADE, and DRLL.

Investors expect that the Trump administration's contentious budget reconciliation law, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, may provide a boost to companies in industries ranging from domestic semiconductor manufacturing to fossil fuels. Though signed on July 4, 2025, the bill is designed to unfold gradually, with different components taking effect in the coming months and years. This means that investors should still have time to make investment decisions in response to the contents of the act.

For those not looking to make a precise bet on individual names that could benefit from the bill, there is also the option of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or similar product. The automatic diversification that ETFs provide means they may be more balanced in terms of risk and reward profile compared with individual securities. When selecting an ETF to target in response to the new reconciliation law, it's helpful to start with industries that are most likely to benefit: defense, domestic manufacturing, and U.S. energy.

$1 Trillion in Military Spending May Boost Defense ETFs

The iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF BATS: ITA is a niche fund within the broader industrials sector. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index, a group of U.S. equities in the aerospace and defense industry. This includes firms that manufacture and service both commercial and military aircraft, among other products.

ITA may appeal as a diversification play in the aerospace and defense industry because it is a multi-cap fund targeting companies of many different sizes. Still, among its roughly 40 names, ITA gives top preference to just two that, combined, make up more than a third of its holdings: GE Aerospace NYSE: GE and RTX Corp. NYSE: RTX. ITA is also among the more inexpensive defense funds available, with an expense ratio of 0.40%.

The Big Beautiful Bill increases defense spending by more than $156 billion, bringing total planned spending for fiscal 2026 to over $1 trillion. With this heavy influx of cash, it's likely many of the names in ITA's portfolio will receive new contracts or other benefits. Investors should watch to see how much further upside is possible, as ITA is already up about 47% in the last year.

Tax Incentives Favor Domestic Manufacturing 

Proponents of the bill suggest that it will jumpstart domestic manufacturing for many industries across the United States. If that comes to pass, a fund like the iShares U.S. Manufacturing ETF NYSEARCA: MADE is well-positioned to benefit. Targeting the S&P U.S. Manufacturing Select Index, MADE offers diverse exposure to U.S. manufacturers across sectors like consumer cyclicals, technology, automotive, and defense.

Besides incentives for manufacturers of some specific goods like semiconductors, the bill also includes benefits for companies building items in the United States more broadly. For example, companies may now deduct the cost of new domestic manufacturing plants.

MADE's portfolio of stocks is likely to benefit from these changes. The fund holds about 111 different names and spreads its assets fairly well across different positions—the largest holding represents under 5% of assets. While the large majority of MADE's target securities are large-cap manufacturers, about a fifth of its holdings are in mid-caps as well. MADE's expense ratio of 0.40% is reasonable, and it has returned more than 11% year-to-date (YTD). However, investors should be mindful that this fund is new—about one year old—and has a low asset base and trading volume, so liquidity may be an issue.

Broad U.S. Energy Exposure and a Corporate Governance Approach

For a broad view of the U.S. energy space, consider the Strive U.S. Energy ETF NYSEARCA: DRLL. This fund includes petroleum, natural gas, coal, and renewable energy firms of all kinds. It is skewed toward legacy energy firms like Exxon Mobil Corp. NYSE: XOM and Chevron Corp. NYSE: CVX, which account for close to half of the portfolio combined. Given the Big Beautiful Bill's focus on traditional energy sources over renewables, however, this could be a benefit of the fund.

There are a host of energy ETFs available, and DRLL is neither the least expensive nor the most liquid. It does, however, have a focus on corporate governance through voting proxy shares and engagement with management, an approach that sets it apart. Investors keen to gain targeted U.S. energy exposure while also attempting to exert some influence over the companies in an ETF's basket might find DRLL appealing.