5 ETFs To Buy For 2018 If Infrastructure Reform Kicks In

After tax reform, the Trump administration is now eyeing infrastructure reform. A senior administration official says the administration plans to issue its long-promised infrastructure plan in early January, according to Bloomberg.

In his campaign days, Donald Trump said that he is in favor of beefing up public spending by hundreds of billions of dollars on infrastructure. In fact, he proposed $1 trillion infrastructure spending financed by new tax credits to goad private equity investors. In a nutshell, he would deploy $200 billion in federal money over the next decade to “incentivize another $800 billion in spending from state and local authorities and private entities.”

Increased outlays will be aimed at improving roads, bridges and telecommunications. He also promised ease in regulations. Since these measures are expected to balloon federal deficit, Trump also sought to put an embargo on Federal Government employment in his campaign days to keep a check on payrolls (read: Welcome Trump Era with These ETFs).

However, opponents of the Trump administration are of the view that the passing of an infrastructure bill is unlikely after the White House failed to link it directly to the tax-reform bill and that funding will be a problem.

Still, a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, indicated on Thursday that lawmakers are "kicking around" a new funding strategy. If such a policy materializes, the following ETFs will be undoubtedly benefited.

DJ Brookfield Global Infrastructure ETF TOLZ

The underlying index of the fund — The Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure Composite Index — takes into account companies domiciled globally that qualify as pureplay infrastructure companies. The fund has about half of its exposure in the United States. There are 140 companies in the fund charges 46 bps in fees. The fund yields about 3.16% annually (as of Dec 7, 2017) (read: 5 Top-Ranked Sector ETFs Thankful to Trump).

Municipal Infrastructure Revenue Bond ETF RVNU

If Trump’s proposed infrastructure spending happens, munis will be forced to issue more bonds, offering higher yields amid diminishing demand. This will result in gains in a fund like RVNU. The underlying index of the fund — the Solactive Municipal Infrastructure Revenue Bond Index — tracks the returns of the segment of the U.S. long term tax-exempt bond market, consisting of infrastructure revenue bonds (read: Muni ETFs: Value Trap or Value Play in 2018?).

Republican Policies Fund (V:GOP)

Given chances of back-to-back legislative successes in the coming days, this Republican policy fund appears intriguing. This new fund targets market segments that are likely to be moved (deemed by the issuer) by the enactment of Republican Policies. The fund charges 75 bps in fees (read: GOP Nears Tax Reform: Buy These ETFs).

iShares Transportation Average IYT

Hopes of improvement in the transportation infrastructure should help boost this fund. After all, the President intends to unveil a detailed document of principles, instead of a drafted bill, for “upgrading roads, bridges, airports and other public works before the Jan 30 State of the Union address, said the administration official” (read: ETFs & Stocks to Gain on Record Thanksgiving Travel).

Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLI) XLI

Needless to say, such an expected jump in infrastructure activity would be a positive for industrial stocks and ETFs. There will be spike in activity in the manufacturing and industrial sector. So, gains are highly-possible for funds like XLI (read: Industrial ETFs at All-Time Highs: Any Value Left for 2018?)

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