Rockport’s Wager on Gears and Gold

Now, it appears a firm called Rockport Wealth – a name that conjures images of sturdy shoes and, one hopes, even sturdier investments – has laid down a considerable sum on a curious little basket of holdings known as the First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF. That’s AIRR, for those of us who prefer brevity, and a good deal less tongue-twisting. They plunked down nigh onto $9.57 million, which, as any sensible fellow can reckon, is a heap of coin. This transpired, mind you, on the fifth of February, in the year of our Lord 2026 – a date which, if my calculations serve, is not quite yet upon us, but soon enough will be.

A New Fancy

According to the official reckonings – those tedious documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission – Rockport acquired 97,377 shares of this AIRR contraption. It’s a fund, you see, devoted to the notion that American industry – the gears and the grit of it all – is poised for a bit of a renaissance. A renaissance, mind you, built not on poetry and painting, but on the manufacture of…well, things. And banks to finance the making of those things. A sensible enough proposition, though one must always ask: is it a new idea, or merely an old one dressed up in a fancy name?

Loading widget...

What Else to Note

  • This AIRR venture represents a sliver – a mere 1.9% – of Rockport’s total hoard of reportable investments. A modest wager, perhaps, but one that speaks volumes about where they believe the wind is blowing.
  • As for their larger holdings, they seem to favor a mixed bag. NYSEMKT: FDL, at $71.4 million, leads the parade, followed by NASDAQ: ISRG at $32.3 million, then IMCG, GOOGL, and BUXX all vying for a piece of the pie. A diversified approach, they call it. I call it spreading the risk, which is a far more honest description.
  • The price of AIRR, as of that fateful February date, stood at $113.49. A respectable figure, and a good 42.6% higher than it was a year prior. Outperforming the S&P 500 by a good 29 percentage points, they boast. Though, as any seasoned gambler knows, past performance is no guarantee of future results.

A Peek Under the Hood

Metric Value
Net Assets $8.7 billion
Dividend Yield 0.16%
Price (as of 2/5/26) $113.49
1-Year Total Return 42.6%

The Fund Itself

  • AIRR, as they call it, focuses on those smaller and mid-sized American companies that are busy building things – factories, roads, whatever a nation needs to keep chugging along.
  • The vast majority of its investments – at least 90% – are in these companies. A focused approach, if nothing else.
  • It’s an exchange-traded fund, which means it’s transparent and follows a set of rules. A welcome change from some of the more opaque financial instruments one encounters these days.

In short, AIRR aims to give investors a piece of the American industrial and community banking sectors. A sensible enough idea, though whether it will actually work remains to be seen.

The fund’s strategy is to measure the performance of small and mid-cap U.S. companies in the industrial and community banking sectors.

AIRR offers investors access to a specialized segment of the U.S. equity market composed of small and mid-cap industrial and community banking companies.

What This All Means for the Common Investor

Rockport Wealth, it seems, has a fondness for both growth stocks and those more reliable income-producing investments. They’ve trimmed their holdings in Intuitive Surgical and Alphabet, while adding AIRR to the mix. A bit of a shift in strategy, perhaps, or merely a rebalancing of the portfolio. Who can say?

Investing in a large, diversified ETF like AIRR is a relatively low-risk way to bet on a recovery in manufacturing and industry. It avoids the perils of putting all your eggs in one basket. The fund focuses on those smaller companies that supply the materials and components needed to build infrastructure. It also invests in financials, which, as any sensible fellow knows, are essential for keeping the wheels of commerce turning. The fund had a strong year, but whether it can maintain that momentum remains to be seen.

The closely watched U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI – a mouthful, to be sure – has just crept back above 50, after a spell in the doldrums. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, which is good news for industrial companies. The purchase of AIRR appears to be a calculated bet on this trend. A classic case of following the wind, as any seasoned trader will tell you.

Read More

2026-02-26 17:02