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The Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF (NYSEARCA:UTES) is one of the only actively managed funds in the utilities category, and its 0.49% expense ratio sits near the top end of what utility investors will pay.
Utility stocks returned to focus in 2026 as artificial intelligence data center demand strained the power grid.
HALO stocks are gaining favor as investors rotate toward tangible assets and AI-resistant businesses. Here are ETFs to play the trend.
If you're interested in broad exposure to the Utilities - Broad segment of the equity market, look no further than the Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF Shares (VPU), a passively managed exchange traded fund launched on January 26, 2004.
Electricity is becoming a stronger economic growth engine, powering AI data centres, EVs, heat pumps and industrial decarbonisation. But grids aren't keeping up.
The AI data-center power crunch has turned utilities from bond proxies into growth stocks, and two funds sit at the center of that trade: the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLU) and the Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:VPU).
Vanguard Utilities Index Fund ETF is positioned to capitalize on surging U.S. electricity demand driven by data centers, electrification, and commercial growth. VPU offers broad utilities sector exposure, a low 0.09% expense ratio, and trades at a forward PE of 17x, below the S&P 500's 21x. Top VPU holdings like NEE, SO, and DUK project robust 5%–9% annual EPS growth and aggressive capital investments through 2030.
US electricity demand grew roughly flat for a decade. That ended once hyperscalers began signing twenty-year power purchase agreements to feed AI training clusters.