Trump's War on Red Tape―Now There's An ETF Betting On It

In a move that combines political prescience with business acumen, three money managers have introduced a new ETF wagering on one thing: less regulation under the Donald Trump regime will boost some segments of the U.S. economy.

The Free Markets ETF FMKT started trading on Tuesday and is meant to follow firms that its developers think will benefit most from regulatory restraints. The fund carries an expense ratio of 0.75%.

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From uranium miners to online brokerages, the portfolio spreads its net wide over the companies that might gain from what the managers call a “structural shift” in the policy landscape.

Michael Gayed, portfolio manager at Tactical Rotation Management, one of the fund's co-creators, said in a press release this week, "Federal regulation costs an estimated $2.1 trillion annually—approximately $15,000 per U.S. household—creating an enormous drag on business productivity and profitability."

First ETF Focusing On Deregulation

Per a Reuters report, the concept for FMKT was born in 2024 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of the Chevron doctrine—a 1984 judicial precedent that had accorded federal agencies sweeping interpretive power. The ruling, which legal experts have deemed a watershed in administrative law, curbed regulatory authority in all respects.

Hal Lambert, portfolio manager, Point Bridge Capital founder (another FMKT partner) said that the event provided an avenue for unwinding the bureaucratic stranglehold on businesses. With Trump back in the White House, that deregulatory process is going to pick up even more pace.

Lambert also said that there's no other ETF yet that makes deregulation the central investment thesis.

Lambert partnered with Gayed and Todd Stankiewicz of SYKON Asset Management after the election, and the trio launched the ETF with Tidal Investments, a white-label solution for ETF launches.

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