Target Reshoring and U.S. Resilience With DRES

Behind the Ticker offers investors a chance to get under the hood of newer or more niche ETFs. Brad Roth, Managing Partner and CIO of Thor Financial Technologies, talks strategy and the human side of investing and ETFs with the individuals bringing these funds to market. 

In this episode, Roth sits down with Sam Klar, Portfolio Manager at GMO, to talk the fund he manages, the GMO Domestic Resilience ETF (DRES).  The discussion digs into the quality and value focus that underpins GMO's strategies and how that manifests in DRES, as well as a deep dive on the strategy itself and how its bipartisan approach works across different administrations. 

You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred streaming platform. Prefer to watch this conversation instead? Go here. 

Top Takeaways 

• The Strategic Case for Resilience: Sam Klar discusses how the shift toward a multipolar world and deglobalization has transformed resilience from a policy buzzword into a tangible investment framework. The DRES strategy targets companies that benefit from the repatriation of supply chains and the strengthening of domestic industrial capacity.
• The Revenue Reality Gap: Many investors believe their U.S. benchmarks provide domestic safety, but Klar points out that these broad indices are often dominated by multinationals with heavy global exposure. DRES solves this by specifically selecting companies with high domestic revenue dependence to ensure the portfolio is truly linked to U.S. economic strength.
• A Multi-Pillar Framework: The fund’s construction avoids traditional, broad sector labels in favor of four specific resilience buckets: manufacturing and automation, transportation and logistics, energy and materials, and defense. This picks and shovels approach focuses on the underlying businesses that enable reindustrialization rather than trying to predict individual winners.
• Valuation Discipline over Narrative: Despite being a thematic product, Klar emphasizes that GMO’s DNA of quality and value still governs every trade and position size. He highlights that the team often waits for attractive entry points rather than forcing exposure, ensuring the fund isn't just chasing a popular macro story.

Disclaimer: The market insights, projections, and investment strategies expressed in this podcast are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of ETF.com This content is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. 

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