In February 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14196, mandating the creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund—a move that signaled a potentially profound shift in American economic policy. Long viewed with skepticism as a form of central planning, industrial policy is reemerging as a legitimate and necessary tool for national development. This resurgence reflects a broader bipartisan recognition that the U.S. government must play a more active role in shaping the economy in the face of global competition, technological disruption, and systemic vulnerabilities exposed by recent crises. The decision to establish a national sovereign wealth fund marks a pivotal moment in this transformation, raising urgent questions about how best to design and deploy public investment institutions.

This Article argues that institutional design is central to the success of any industrial strategy. It offers a taxonomy of three principal institutional models for deploying state capital—sovereign wealth funds, national development banks, and state holding companies— and analyzes representative case studies from Norway, Germany, and Singapore to illustrate each model’s strengths and limitations. It then maps the fragmented landscape of public investment entities in the United States, highlighting both their potential and their constraints. Building on this analysis, the Article outlines a proposal for the creation of a National Investment Authority, a more versatile and multi-functional federal institution that would integrate and amplify the best features of existing models.

The Article’s insights have significant public policy implications. By framing public investment as a technical design challenge rather than an ideological battleground, it opens the door to pragmatic solutions for revitalizing American industrial capacity. The proposed NIA offers a flexible, scalable framework for deploying sovereign capital in support of strategic national priorities—from infrastructure and innovation to economic resilience and geopolitical competitiveness. As the U.S. redefines its approach to industrial policy, this Article provides a blueprint for building institutions capable of channeling public capital toward long-term national prosperity.