Someone asked me the other day, "What are the hot themes for the new year?” To start the year, we have seen some pretty impressive outsized performance from several key investment themes. And these trends seem poised to continue.
Uranium Going Nuclear
Uranium Mining ETFs have been among the top-performing themes so far this year. Of course, uranium is a key input for nuclear power, with demand driven by AI data centers and new reactors. Quite simply, there is more demand than supply, which is driving up prices. ETFs benefiting from this trend include the Sprott Junior Uranium Miners ETF (URNJ ), up 38.81% YTD; the Sprott Uranium Miners ETF (URNM ), up 35.47%; and the Global X Uranium ETF (URA ), up 28.69%. And for investors looking for higher-octane leveraged exposure, there is the Direxion Daily Uranium Bull 2X ETF (URAA ), designed to deliver 200% of the daily performance of URA’s underlying index. URAA is up 56.19% YTD.
Critical Materials Remain Critical
The Trump Administration intends to create a strategic critical-minerals stockpile with $12 billion in funding. The effort’s goal is to help protect domestic manufacturers from supply shocks as the U.S. works to reduce its reliance on Chinese rare earths and metals identified as critical to national security.
The joint public-private venture, coined Project Vault, will combine $1.67 billion in private capital with a $10 billion loan from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to procure and store the minerals for automakers, tech firms and other manufacturers. There are now 60 such minerals on the 2025 list maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey.
While ex-China critical material stocks rallied the most on this news, critical materials in general remain a top-performing theme YTD. The Sprott Critical Materials ETF (SETM ), an ETF to consider, is up 19.97% for the year. The ETF has grown to $487 million in assets and seems well-positioned, with only a 1.88% exposure to China (as of 1/30/26). Another ETF in this category to take a look at is the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX ), up 15.84% YTD. That said, it has an ample 27.5% exposure to China.
Space Stocks in Orbit
One defense-adjacent theme that is outperforming this year is Space. There has been significant investor interest spurred by the prospect of a SpaceX IPO in 2026. But other factors include the White House Executive Order on Space issued last December to ensure American space superiority. Add to that the concept of orbital computing, i.e., “data centers in space,” which is also capturing investor attention.
These catalysts have sent space stocks into orbit, benefiting ETFs like the Procure Space ETF (UFO ), which has risen to $360 million in assets, having delivered a YTD return of 17.57%, and the ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX ), with $815 million in AUM and a return this year of 10.39%.
One big catalyst for these stocks in the coming year is the rising anticipation associated with the prospect of a SpaceX IPO. ARK also highlights “reusable rockets” on their "Big Ideas for 2026”:https://www.ark-invest.com/big-ideas-2026 list. They argue “reusable rockets have pushed space into an exponential cost curve, dramatically lowering the price of orbit and accelerating satellite deployment.”
Soon, space launches will become routine, lending to the creation of space-based infrastructure that will support the global economy. Orbiting data centers, nuclear plants on the moon, space-based mining, space tourism, Mars colonization — these could all become disruptive ETF themes to consider in the future!
VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for URNM and UFO for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, URNM and UFO are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of URNM or UFO.
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