The last two years have been so remarkable in terms of economic, financial, political, and now geopolitics. We have the highest inflation since the 70s, the highest levels of deficit spending since World War II, a boom for the stock market and then a bust in some of the stocks that are mostly owned by retail investors, and finally the biggest war in Europe since WW2 with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

While Ukraine is digging in and fighting back against Russia and doing better than expected, most experts believe that eventually, Russia will be able to take the smaller country due to its much larger and better-equipped military. Western countries have been indirectly aiding Ukraine through crippling sanctions on Russia and weapons procurement. However, there's no indication of direct involvement which could raise the stakes and lead to a larger confrontation.

The two obvious beneficiaries of these developments are the defense industry and cybersecurity.

Weapon sales are likely to increase given that countries surrounding Russia are likely to increase defense spending with the biggest news being that Germany is looking to spend 2% of GDP on defense and possibly even more. The US is also likely to keep increasing defense spending as the world enters a more dangerous era.

One ETF to take advantage of this trend is the iShares U.S. Aerospace and Defense ETF (ITA  ) which is up 18% from its December lows. Defense stocks are also good for this environment due to having stable revenues, above-average pricing power, and a history of steady and increasing dividends.

Another ETF to consider is the Pure Funds Cyber Security ETF (HACK  ) which is up 17% since Thursday's open. So much of this war is being fought online, on social media, and through financial channels. Therefore, it makes sense that demand for cybersecurity services will increase in addition to defense spending.