Trillions

As with humans, death is a part of life in the exchange-traded fund industry. There have been about 150 closures this year, which may be a bit surprising given how almost everything is up in the markets. So what’s behind this year’s class of liquidated ETFs? And what does it mean for investors? 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber dig into the stories and answer the “why” behind some of the closures in 2024. On hand to assist is Vildana Hajric, a cross-asset reporter for Bloomberg, and Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi.

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Derivatives-enhanced exchange-traded funds have become a hit with retail investors. There’s been more than 160 such launches so far this year, with monikers such as “laddered buffer” and “covered call,” and they’ve attracted $50 billion and counting. While many of the products were designed to protect from downturns, some include options that can generate cash, which comes back to investors in the form of dividends. (Did someone say “yields”?)

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Denitsa Tsekova and Vildana Hajric, Bloomberg cross-asset reporters who wrote a recent feature story about this new retail boom. The group is also joined by Todd Akin, a retail trader behind the Unconventional Wealth Ideas YouTube channel and one of the characters in their story. They discuss why these ETFs have become so popular, how they work—and what the risks are.

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A new competition has begun to see who can successfully solve an investing paradox: how to package illiquid, private assets into liquid, public exchange-traded funds. State Street, in partnership with Apollo, officially kicked off this race with a recent filing. If approved, their offering would make one of Wall Street's fastest-growing corners—private credit—open to a much wider world than just institutional investors.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Vildana Hajric, a cross-asset reporter at Bloomberg News, about the details of the filing, why more filings are expected, what to know about Apollo’s “liquidity backstop” and why all of this is such a potential game-changer. 

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For every stock that enters an index like the S&P 500 or Russell 1000, another must exit. One might assume these “deletions” are a sorrowful bunch whose demotion to the B-team means they’re no longer worthy of your portfolio. Yet Rob Arnott, founder of Research Affiliates and a longtime champion of “smart beta,” discovered that many of these rejects tend to perform better after being dropped from the indexes.

On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with Arnott about his new exchange-traded fund, $NIXT, which holds dozens of such stocks with equal-weighting. They discuss how the ETF—Arnott’s first launch—may complement your portfolio, what’s behind the performance, how the portfolio rebalances and why smart beta has endured.

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The idea of using leverage to layer one investment return, say equities, on top of another, say a managed futures strategy, is something institutional investors have been doing for decades under the term “portable alpha.” Now a suite of young, fast-growing exchange-traded funds have come along—they’re called “return stacking” ETFs—and they’re offering such layering to the masses.

On this episode, Joel and Eric speak with Corey Hoffstein, chief executive and chief information officer of Newfound Research and one of the masterminds behind the Return Stacked ETF suite. They discuss how these ETFs work, where they fit in a portfolio and why this is a more responsible use of leverage than the kind that blew up the market in 2008. 

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While exchange-traded funds have become increasingly popular and people are more familiar with them, there are still aspects of ETFs that—for some—remain shrouded in mystery. So we recently asked our followers on social media to send us any ETF questions they may have or topics they were curious about. We received a ton of responses. 

On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas answer about 20 of these questions—ranging from whether ETFs will be in 401(k) plans someday to how overnight trading works to our thoughts on some of the new iterations of ETFs, like buffers, return stacking and crypto. 

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Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which were finally introduced earlier this year after intense regulatory scrutiny, have already become some of the most successful ETF launches ever. For months it seemed that spot ETFs for Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, might linger in a similar purgatory — and then, after some back and forth with issuers, regulators finally blessed them. About 10 products began trading in mid-July; they've seen healthy inflows, though Bitcoin ETFs were in a different league.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber welcome stacy-marie ishmael, an executive editor at Bloomberg News who oversees crypto, digital payments and cross-asset coverage, to the podcast. They discuss the differences between Bitcoin and Ether, what happened during the approval process, how the various Ether ETFs compare, what we've learned since their launch, and what this might mean for future crypto ETFs.

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Nvidia's ascent into one of the world's biggest companies was as fast as it was dramatic. The company's startling rise has sparked new ETFs to launch and propelled others to record heights. Nvidia's dominance is also changing indexes and weightings, which can have a dramatic impact on investors—especially when a rebalance gets a little wild.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence and Emily Graffeo of Bloomberg News about the myriad ways Nvidia is impacting the ETF universe. They also reveal which ETFs have outperformed without a boost from Nvidia.

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Single-stock ETFs seem like an oxymoron: An investing vehicle that usually contains an entire portfolio reduced to just a single company? But whatever skepticism existed when this type of ETF — which are either leveraged or inverse — first launched two years agoCHTK has abated. Traders are hooked on this type of ETF "hot sauce," even if it sounds a lot like gambling. Assets in single-stock ETFs have doubled in assets this year, to more than $5 billion. The most popular such ETF, GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF ($NVDL), takes Nvidia's performance — an incredible upward trajectory of late — and doubles it. (Its daily volume usually exceeds most blue-chip stocks.) You can also go short with the GraniteShares 2x NVDA Daily ETF ($NVD). 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber explore single-stock ETFs with Will Rhind, the founder and CEO of GraniteShares, which currently has about a dozen such offerings. They discuss how the ETFs work, who uses them, what the risks are, why enthusiasm for a given stock is so important, and where this interesting new category — and the "Vanguard-free zone" — could go from here. 

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So far, this has been a banner year for exchange-traded funds. The S&P 500 is at record highs, inflows keep soaring and investors are taking more risk. BlackRock’s Bitcoin offering even became the most successful ETF launch ever.

On this episode, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber discuss the most noteworthy themes and trends of the past six months with Todd Rosenbluth and Cinthia Murphy of VettaFi. They review what the inflows reveal, how various sectors are performing and which products and issuers have been the biggest winners and losers. They also talk about what to watch for in the second half of the year.

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For the first time in its 49-year history, Vanguard has chosen a chief executive from outside the company. His name is Salim Ramji, who previously served as head of BlackRock’s global exchange-traded fund business. The move comes as Vanguard continues to lead the industry in flows, but the giant has other challenges—such as customer service.

How much should we expect Ramji to change, or leave the the same, in the House that Bogle Built?

On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas are joined by reporter Silla Brush to answer all of these questions and look at the broader topics surrounding the constantly changing landscape of asset management. 

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The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was the most successful ETF launch in history by nearly all metrics. For most ETFs it takes years to hit $10 billion in assets. IBIT did it in less than two months. It's now closing in on $20 billion. How much bigger will it get? Who exactly is buying it? And how did BlackRock end up being one of the firms leading the charge on ETF-izing crypto?

On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric speak with Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets for BlackRock, about the huge bitcoin ETF launch, the market for these funds, the potential ether ETF launch as well as his career at BlackRock and how he helped the firm evolve on this new frontier.

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While most of the money flowing into exchange-traded funds goes into the cheaper ones, investors are willing to pay up for certain things. And after all, ETF issuers have to pay the bills somehow. Figuring out how to price an ETF so it’s both appealing to investors and generates revenue is one of the more unsung arts of the industry.  

On this episode, Joel and Eric speak with Athanasios Psarofagis, an ETF analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, and Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld about BI’s recent ETF revenue study, which includes a breakdown of fee income generated by issuers and individual products. The conversation also touches on whether the rise of passive investing has impacted markets in the way some observers say. 

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The issuer of an exchange-traded fund has one main goal, and that’s to get assets—but being recognized is nice, too. Just like the Oscars, the ETF industry has its own awards show, held by ETF.com every April in New York City. Categories include ETF of the Year, Issuer of the Year, Best New Fixed Income ETF and even a Lifetime Achievement Award. Now that the tenth annual ETF awards ceremony is in the history books, we can tell you that—just like the Academy Awards—there were some notable winners as well as a few surprises. 

Om this episode, Joel and Eric look through a number of winners with ETF.com's editor-in-chief Kristin Myers and finance reporter Lucy Brewster. 

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The music industry took a huge revenue hit when the MP3 came out about twenty years ago but has since found ways to make money. And now there’s an ETF for that too. 

On this episode of Trillions, we speak with David Schulhof, founder and CEO of the MUSQ Global Music Industry ETF, about the stocks in the ETFs as well as the growth of the music industry which includes songs, platforms, concerts and the Taylor Swift economy. We also discuss his career in the music industry and whether music has gotten better or worse.

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After 17 years, the Bank of Japan finally scrapped the world’s last negative interest policy. The central bank also announced it will cease buying exchange-traded funds, an effort originally intended to revitalize the corporate sector and pump cash into the economy. So what becomes of its $475 billion ETF hoard? That’s to be determined, but just as Japan is changing course, China’s so-called “national team” has begun purchasing a handful of key Chinese ETFs.

On this episode, Eric and Joel are joined by Bloomberg Intelligence’s Rebecca Sin, a Hong Kong-based ETF analyst and host of the forthcoming podcast Tiger Money. They discuss what might come next for Japan, why China is following a similar playbook and what it all means for investors and the global economy. 

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Worry? What worries? As the market hits new all-time highs, investors are “comfortably bullish,” according to research by Bloomberg Intelligence. They’re also bullish on exchange-traded funds, according to BI’s first-ever ETF survey. What if anything could derail this state of optimism? And how is the current enthusiasm different from the meme-stock euphoria and previous all-time highs of 2021?

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Athanasios Psarofagis about his new greed/fear index, which uses several ETF metrics. They also comb through the survey’s findings, which show a growing interest in ETFs and active management.

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The Deal, hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, features intimate conversations with business titans, sports champions and game-changing entrepreneurs who reveal their investment philosophies, pivotal career moves and the ones that got away. From Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals, The Deal is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Bloomberg Carplay, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch The Deal on Bloomberg Television, and Bloomberg Originals on YouTube.

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Exchange, the biggest ETF conference of the year just concluded at the Fontainebleau in Miami. Issuers, advisors, service providers and just people who just love ETFs gathered to network and discuss all the latest trends in the industry and market. 

On this week’s episode, Joel and Eric recap this big annual event and listen to clips from a dozen interviews that Eric took while he was at the conference. Topics include the bitcoin boom, active’s increasing presence, how ETF share classes are next big thing, passive fears and the indie spirit of thematic ETF issuers.

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Launching an exchange-traded fund is easy. Finding success is a different story entirely. About a quarter of all ETFs that have been launched have ended up having to liquidate. These stories can sometimes be forgotten given how much the successful ones are celebrated—but they can also provide a lesson about the marketplace and the importance of timing. 

On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas speak with Jack Forehand and Justin Carbonneau, respectively the president and vice president of of Validea. They launched the value-focused Validea Market Legends ETF (VALX) back in 2014, right around the same time Cathie Wood launched ARKK. But they ended up closing it in 2020 due to a lack of assets. We speak to them about their journey, why timing is so important and the state of value investing today. 

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The launch of the first-ever spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds has dominated the ETF conversation over the last few months. Issuers are jockeying for position in what’s fast-becoming a successful and ultra-competitive category. But who’s the target market for these products? What do advisers think of them? And how are they talking to their clients about them?

On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric speak with Douglas Boneparth, founder and president of Bone Fide Wealth. They discuss how he’s speaking with clients about Bitcoin, how he views the new ETFs, how much exposure to really consider and what they might displace in a portfolio. And then there’s how he thinks crypto compares with gold.

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After years and years of drama, the US Securities and Exchange Commission finally let 10 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds begin trading last week. The launches have been wildly successful. But now that these funds are in the wild, you probably have a few questions. And you're not alone! 

On this episode, Eric and Joel along with James Seyffart, ETF analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence—open up the mailbag to answer all your most pressing questions. 

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Exchange-traded funds tracking areas that lagged megacap US stocks—such as small caps, international, value and cannabis—are among the 24 ETFs that Bloomberg Intelligence says represent themes that could drive the market in 2024. Other big themes include the mini-boom in active and the race for the first spot Bitcoin ETF. 

On this episode, Eric and Joel take a tour of BI’s list of ETFs to watch for the year ahead. They’re joined by BI’s James Seyffart and Athanasios Psarofagis to go through the 15 US ETFs on the list.  

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission is busier than Santa’s elves these days as it scrambles to work with exchange-traded fund issuers to fine-tune offering documents ahead of the likely approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. While this ten year-long saga seems to be nearing an end, approving them will create a whole new world of products—and regulation.

On this episode, Joel Weber, Eric Balchunas and Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld speak with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in front of an audience at Bloomberg’s 8th Annual ETFs in Depth conference. Topics discussed include Bitcoin and crypto ETFs, as well as other topics on the SEC’s radar, such as ETF share classes, the growing size of big passive fund companies as well as a steady stream of more complex products. 

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After more than a decade-long wait, it’s looking likely that the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETFs will soon arrive in the US. But despite the heated race just to get off the start line, SEC approval is actually just when the story begins. Who among the dozen issuers who have filed so far will even make it off the blocks? How will the ETFs differentiate themselves? Who exactly are the prospective investors?

On this episod, Eric and Joel speak with ARK founder Cathie Wood and 21 Shares’ co-founder Ophelia Snyder about their spot Bitcoin ETF, their plethora of crypto futures ETFs, bitcoin price predictions, institutional adoption and ARK’s third act as an ETF issuer. 

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When it comes to evaluating companies for different exchange-traded fund strategies, some things can be easily measured—such as dividends and price-to-earnings ratios. Others are harder to gauge. This so-called dark matter of the stock market universe includes thinks like a company's brand power, human capital and intellectual property.

The latter is something called “intangible value.” And now there’s an ETF for that, too.

On this episode, Joel and Eric speak with Kai Wu, founder and chief investment officer of Sparkline Capital, the issuer behind the Sparkline Intangible Value ETF (or ITAN), as well as Chis Cain, a quant analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Topics discussed include defining intangible value, how it explains the relentless returns of the Super 7 stocks and how much of it is being captures by popular ETFs. 

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At Bloomberg, we’re always talking about the biggest business stories, and no one is bigger than Elon Musk.

In this new chat weekly show, host David Papadopoulos and a panel of guests including Businessweek’s Max Chafkin, Tesla reporter Dana Hull, Big Tech editor Sarah Frier, and more, will break down the most important stories on Musk and his empire. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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ESG seems to have went from all the rage to yesterday's news as ETFs tracking these strategies have been hit with big stretches of underperformance and outflows while media interest has waned. What happened? And where does it go from here? 

On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric discuss and debate this with Rob Du Boff and Shaheen Contractor, ESG analysts for Bloomberg Intelligence as well as hosts of a new ESG podcast called ESG Currents.

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More than 1,000 ETFs have been liquidated and sent to the proverbial ETF graveyard. But a select few have been resurrected by issuers who think that either the time is right for the idea or they have the ways and means to make it work. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence about his "Lazarus List"—ETFs that have failed, sometimes at inopportune moments, only to later get another chance. The list includes target-date ETFs as well thematic ETFs—which track airlines, shipping and luxury goods—and two exotic offerings. 

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How much does the average person know about ETFs? What about an ETF analyst? On this episode of Trillions we put the experts knowledge to the test in our first ever ETF trivia game featuring two competitive teams made up of Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF research at VettaFi, Lara Crigger, Editor-in-Chief of VettaFi, Katie Greifeld of Bloomberg News and Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence. Questions range across asset classes and historical periods and the winning team gets a free sushi lunch with Joel and Eric. 

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Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest recently purchased European exchange-traded fund issuer Rize. The move shows yet another US-based issuer bringing their talents to Europe, a market that while only a fraction the size of the US is growing quickly. 

On this episode of Trillions we talk to Hector McNeil, Co-Chief Executive Officer of HANetf and a veteran of the European ETF market. We discuss how Europe remains behind the US in some ways, but ahead in others. We also analyze how portfolios are changing and what McNeil advises issuers to think about when launching new funds. 

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India just hosted the G-20. Some of Apple’s latest iPhones are now being made there. The country’s demographics are compelling. And yet, as Hindenberg Research’s short of the Adani Group showed earlier this year, this emerging market is perhaps not without significant risk.

On this episode, Eric and Joel, along with Rebecca Sin of Bloomberg Intelligence, speak with Kevin Carter of EMQQ Global, whose India Internet and e-commerce ETF ($INQQ) is attempting to capture the country’s boom. They discuss India’s similarities and differences with China, its unique approaches to technology, what distinguishes the country’s startups and what global investors take into account.

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The death of mutual funds has been greatly exaggerated. With $24 trillion in assets, they outmatch exchange-traded funds two to one. And there’s good reason to keep tabs on them as well—especially because of what they reveal about active management. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with new Bloomberg Intelligence mutual fund analyst David Cohne. He’s already made some fascinating discoveries deep inside the world of mutual funds—including who beat QQQ, one fund's unusual top holding and the importance of fees.

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Invesco’s QQQ Trust Series 1, aka QQQ, is synonymous with tech investing—and performance, given that it’s nearly doubled the S&P 500 over the last decade. But because the almost $200 billion exchange-traded fund was created as a unit investment trust, it hasn’t made any money for Invesco, which acquired it in the 2006 acquisition of PowerShares. What’s Invesco doing about that? Launching money-making spinoffs, of course.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber discuss QQQ’s history as well as Invesco’s success with its Q-themed family, including QQQM, QQQJ and QQQS. Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence and reporter Katie Greifeld, who wrote about the Qs in a newBloomberg Businessweek article, join to discuss. 

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It sounds too good to be true. An exchange-traded fund that is 100% protected from any losses but still gets to participate in stock market gains? While there is a catch and a trade-off involved, that is pretty much what the Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF—2 Yr to July 2025 (TJUL) sets out to do in a strategy using options.

On this episode of Trillions we speak to the masterminds behind this new ETF, Innovator Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Bond and Chief Investment Officer Graham Day. We talk about how the ETF works, what the trade-offs are, who it’s targeted at and the coming competition in the “buffer” ETF category.

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It’s the third quarter and exchange-traded fund investors have finally gotten their FOMO bug back. While they’re currently plowing money into equities, how long can the good times last? This is just one of many trends to watch in the second half. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Athanasios Psarofagis, a Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst, about five big stories to watch in the third and fourth quarters of 2023. These include the Bitcoin ETF race, the dethroning of cash, the new “share class” to know about and how active’s rise is upended ETF issuers. 

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Over the past decade, about 30 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund applications have been swatted aside by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The outlook appeared dire. And then a surprise filing by BlackRock Inc. in mid-June seemed to change the mood. A rush of new applications and amendments to existing proposals soon followed. And Ophelia Snyder—co-founder and president of 21Shares, who had re-filed a spot Bitcoin ETF application with ARK Invest in April—was in the mix again.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber dive into the never-ending race for a Bitcoin ETF, joined by Snyder and James Seyffart, an ETF analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. The group discusses the new attention on market surveillance, what Coinbase’s involvement means, the odds of any of these applications actually getting approved—and the size of the potential market. 

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Dalia Blass has a rare perspective on the exchange-traded fund industry. Now a lawyer at Sullivan & Cromwell, she recently left BlackRock, where she was head of external affairs. Before that, Blass did multiple tours of duty with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, most recently as the director of investment management. 

On this episode of Trillions, Blass joins Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber to discuss the regulator’s role in innovation, funds and regulation; the politicization of environmental, social and governance investing; and what’s next for crypto, artificial intelligence and more.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard about how Artificial Intelligence is going to be a big deal. The exchange-traded fund industry is as excited as any other, and has launched a slew of funds dedicated to either using AI or investing in AI companies. But will this shiny new object be the monumental shift some predict it will be? 

On this episode, we chat with Dave Mazza, chief strategy officer for Roundhill, and Rebecca Sin, an ETF analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence who covers Asia. We discuss how much of this trend is hype versus reality, and what investors should know. 

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The S&P 500 Index is up 9%, the Nasdaq 100 has jumped 25% and Bitcoin-mining stocks are up more than 100%—and yet no one seems to care. At least that’s the case among exchange-traded fund investors who have put virtually no money into US equities. It’s what we’re calling the FOMO drought. What’s behind this odd phenomenon, and what can end it?

Joel and Eric sit down with Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Athanasios Psarofagis to discuss several spots in the flows, such as international, thematic, leveraged ETFs and money market funds, that can help offer some clues as to why we are seeing such a flow-less rally in US stocks. 

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Exchange-traded funds could go from $9 trillion in global assets today to $30 trillion in the next decade as investors far and wide continue to migrate from mutual funds. This is the prediction that Brown Brothers Harriman reached in their 10th Annual ETF Survey last month.  

On this episode, Joel and Eric speak with Shawn McNinch, Global ETF Head at BBH, to pore over the survey, including questions on how ETFs are selected, what areas investors want to see more products covering and the differences between the US and other regions.  

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UBS recently acquired its troubled neighbor, Credit Suisse, creating a Swiss megabank. How it all went down led to an avalanche of headlines, with a few interesting angles for investors in things such as exchange-traded notes and CoCo bonds. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber discuss some of the takeaways with Alison Williams, a senior analyst who covers investment banks and the asset management industry for Bloomberg Intelligence, as well as ETF analyst Athanasios Psarofagis.

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The hottest new trade is the most boring asset class: money market mutual funds. Once regarded as a no-yield option investors would only use to park cash in a crisis, they now yield more than 4.5%. In the first quarter alone, investors flocked to them to the tune of half a trillion dollars. But how do they work? What do they invest in? And why do investors use them instead of similar-yielding, cheaper Treasury exchange-traded funds?

We answer all these questions and more on the latest episode of Trillions, which features Nafis Smith, principal and head of Vanguard’s taxable money markets, as well as Bloomberg Senior Editor Mike Regan and reporter Katie Greifeld. 

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The first exchange-traded fund television show ever created, Bloomberg’s ETF IQ, just finished its first year on the air. On this episode, we talk to its anchors, Matt Miller and Katie Greifeld, about what goes into making the program, some of its highlights and recurring themes. These include the resurgence of active management, ESG’s struggles, investing amid rising interest rates and the wild world of indie issuers. 

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In barely a week, three banks a lot of people had never heard of—Silvergate, Silicon Valley and Signature—suddenly became toast. The US government found itself playing backstop to prevent an escalation as whipsawed investors hoped the worst was over.

But is it? And in what kind of funds can these banks stocks be found? How will they affect performance? Hint: It would have been a good week to short some of Jim Cramer’s top picks. 

On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with reporter Katie Greifeld and Athanasios Psarofagis and James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence. They discuss which exchange-traded funds saw the most action and why, the impact on returns and volume, and some of the less obvious ripple effects.

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Jim Cramer—the host of Mad Money on CNBC—makes a lot of investing calls. It’s part of his shtick. And as you can easily divine from social media, not all of them pan out. The new Inverse Cramer Tracker ETF (SJIM), which might be one of the most entertaining exchange-traded funds ever imagined, is aiming to turn Cramer’s “Midas touch” into big returns by shorting stocks he’s bullish on. It also goes long on Cramer’s bearish bets. For good measure, there’s also a Long Cramer Tracker ETF (LJIM).

On this episode of Trillions, Eric, Joel and reporter Katie Greifeld speak with the man behind the ETF, Matt Tuttle of Tuttle Capital Management. We learn how the products work, what’s in the portfolios how much cable television Tuttle has to watch.

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The Exchange ETF Conference was recently held in Miami Beach with more than 1,000 people in attendance. While the gathering was as popular as ever and networking in full bloom, the vibe was a little more subdued—likely a reflection the recent bear market. 

On this episode of Trillions, we run through snippets of several interviews with attendees, covering topics including how the conference has evolved, international investing, the rise of active, industry growth projections, crypto, gold—and even advice on how to break a full-court press from a legendary NCAA basketball coach.

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The rise of index funds, exchange-traded funds and passive investing in recent years has been nothing short of momentous, as investors across the US and around the world learn to rely on slow-and-steady returns. But there’s been rising concern over the potential side effects of this sea change in the way stocks are bought and sold. The new worry is that, because index funds (and ETFs) are so cheap and easy to access, more people will use them—and this will push down future expected returns for everyone. 

On this week’s episode of Trillions, we talk to Martin Schmalz, professor of finance and economics at the University of Oxford, about his latest paper on the topic, “Index Funds, Asset Prices, and the Welfare of Investors.” We discuss and debate his paper as well as some other concerns, such as common ownership, and whether any public policy is needed. 

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SPY wasn’t just a hit product, it was an inspiration for an entire industry to take off. But it didn’t happen overnight. It took about 10 years for the ETF structure to be utilized for other asset classes and strategies, which today seem normal but at the time were revolutionary.

On this installment we look at many of the game changing products that followed, including the first bond ETF, the first gold ETF, Vanguard’s entry and the rise of smart-beta, which was active management’s way to get into the action. 

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SPDR S&P 500, or SPY, is the world’s largest ETF today with about $240 billion in assets, but it wasn’t much to look at when it debuted in 1993. Some days it was on “volume life support,” trading as little as 18,000 shares; there was even talk of pulling the plug. Yet true believers, guerrilla marketing, and a booming 1990s stock market helped the product gain favor. And once SPY took off, the markets were forever changed. This episode also explores how SPY soon inspired a host of other ETFs, from international and sectors to fixed income and gold.

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Just as Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak weren’t the only two geeks in a garage working on a computer in the 1970s, the AMEX wasn’t the only exchange looking to get a market basket instrument listed. The late 1980s saw multiple attempts to create something like an ETF, including SuperShares, Equity Index Participation Shares, Cash Index Participation Shares and the Toronto 35 Index Participation Units. 

Ultimately, SPY gets – and deserves – the lion’s share of the credit as the first ETF. But by no means was AMEX alone in the race; they were just the winners. This episode looks at the race, the players involved and why their products became historical footnotes. 

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When the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (SPY) was submitted to the SEC in 1988, George Michael’s "Faith" was the No. 1 song and Magic Johnson led the Lakers to another NBA Championship. By the time SPY finally launched in 1993, Nirvana had ushered in the grunge era and Michael Jordan had taken over the NBA. While the SEC wrestled with this unique product -- which was almost like a foreign object that had landed on their desks -- the whole culture had changed.

In those four long years, there was much back and forth between the SEC and the SPY teams over logistics, structure, and the creation-redemption process, which was inspired by commodities warehouses. The patience and labor paid off for the ETF's creators, who figured out how to keep fees low and also earn some unintended windfalls, such as the products’ tax efficiency.

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Government reports are known more for curing insomnia than providing inspiration for revolutionary products. The October 1987 Market Break Report might be an exception. A paragraph deep in the SEC's 800-page white paper happened to outline a “product” for trading baskets of stocks. On this episode of “The ETF Story,” you'll learn how those words gave Nate Most and Steve Bloom the idea for what would become the exchange-traded fund. You'll also hear from Vanguard founder John Bogle, who passed on Most's pitch -- and who may have shaped the ETF in the process. 

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Thirty years ago today, the very first exchange-traded fund started trading on the American Stock Exchange. At the time, Bill Clinton had just moved into the White House and America was trying on a new role as the world's lone superpower. On Wall Street, an entire industry soon realized that the ETF was a revolution all its own. Today, there are more than 3,000 ETFs listed in the US,  plus another 6,000 international ones, and together they hold $6.8 trillion in assets.

In “The ETF Story,” a special six-episode series originally published five years ago, Eric and Joel explore the origins of the first ETF and how it’s come to dominate investing. Among those interviewed are Jack Bogle, Kathleen Moriarty, Bob Toll, Howard Kramer, Rob Arnott, Dave Ritter, Reggie Browne, Dave Nadig, John O’Brien, Bruce Bond and more. 

Here's episode 1. On Monday Oct. 19, 1987, the stock market fell 23 percent, the worst day ever for stocks two times over. It was in the aftermath of that crash that the idea for exchange-traded funds was born. And it came from a very unlikely place: the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 

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This month marks the 30th birthday of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), the granddaddy ETF that started it all and is still the largest and most-traded ETF in the world. But getting this ETF launched was no small task; neither was getting assets into it. Though once people saw its value-add, the financial world changed forever.

This week, we speak with Jay Baker, who — as vice president of options marketing at the American Stock Exchange — worked with Nate Most and Steve Bloom to drum up interest for SPY in the early ‘90s. We discuss where the idea for SPY came from, who the early investors were and what caused the tipping point, as well as the unique dynamic between Most and Bloom. We also look at whether SPY can hold onto its biggest-in-world status for much longer. 

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From inflation and the Federal Reserve, China and Russia, fundamentals and Bitcoin, there’s no shortage of themes for investors to think about in 2023. And while we can’t give you investing advice, we can give you a few tickers to watch.

On this episode, Eric and Joel take a tour of Bloomberg Intelligence’s listicle of ETFs for the year ahead. They’re joined by James Seyffart and Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence as well as Scarlet Fu of Bloomberg News. Among the ETFs discussed are $UTEN, $COWZ, $AVUV, $DHUP, $RSX, $KCE, $VXU,S $TSLQ, $VTV, $GBTC, $MCH, $TGN, $XCCC, $STRV, $UDVD, $INFL, $RMAU and $JREU

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Hosted by Bloomberg Opinion senior executive editor Tim O'Brien, Crash Course will bring listeners directly into the arenas where epic business and social upheavals occur. Every week, Crash Course will explore the lessons to be learned when creativity and ambition collide with competition and power -- on Wall Street and Main Street, and in Hollywood and Washington.

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Got an idea for an exchange-traded fund but don’t want to deal with the logistics? A group of “white label” ETF issuers are in the business of helping people launch their own fund—and business is booming. These issuers have minted more than 100 ETFs this way—for both big asset managers and entrepreneurial individuals simply passionate about an idea. 

On this week’s episode of Trillions, we speak to the “big three” of ETF white labels: Garrett Stevens, chief executive of Exchange Traded Concepts, Mike Venuto, chief information officer and co-founder of Tidal, and Wes Gray, president of Alpha Architect. Topics include how they got started, how they vet new ideas, the launch of which they’re most proud and what next year holds. The last includes Goldman Sachs Group’s entry into the business and a potential wave of mutual fund to ETF conversions.

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  The future is very bright for ETFs, which in 2022 saw record volume and the second most flows and new launches—all astounding numbers considering the stock and bond markets were in the gutter return-wise. So what can we expect next year? What areas should people be watching? 

On this episode of Trillions, Bloomberg Intelligence’s exchange-traded fund team go over their just-published 2023 Outlookwhich covers topics such as active, alternatives, crypto, China and thematic investing—and just how big ETFs could get. Our analysts include Athanasios Psarofagis, Rebecca Sin, Henry Jim and James Seyffart. 

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The crypto market may not be dead, but it’s arguably in a temporary coma thanks to the spectacular implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX. The bankrupt crypto exchange, with billions of dollars of customer funds allegedly missing, has spooked all but the hardcore believers and potentially set the digital asset class back by years. 

On this episode of Trillions, we sit down with James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence and reporter Katie Greifeld to discuss what this means for exchange-traded fund investors and the likelihood a spot Bitcoin ETF will get approved. We also take a look at what’s going on with Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

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Every year there's far more ETF launches than closures. But market headwinds are starting to accelerate the number of liquidations. So far this year the Grim Reaper has already come for about 100 ETFs. 

On this episode of Trillions—just in time for Halloween—Eric and Joel take a tour of this year's ETF graveyard with Katie Greifeld of Bloomberg News, Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence and Todd Rosenbluth of VettaFi.  Each guest shares a few noteworthy headstones, $NIFE, $CTRU, $TRYP, $DDG, $DIVA, $BUDX, $SUNY and more.

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It took 15 years for an ideal environment to arrive for alternative exchange-traded funds—which employ or mimic hedge fund strategies—but their moment has finally come. They’ve grown assets by 25% this year as investors look for something to help offset the decline of 60/40 portfolios.

To truly understand how they work and what they track, however, requires a lot of due diligence.

On this episode of Trillions, we speak with senior reporter Katherine Burton, Andrew Beer, managing partner and portfolio manager at Dynamic Beta, and Bob Elliott, co-founder and chief executive of Unlimited. We discuss why hedge fund ETFs could be the next big thing, how they work and how to use them in a portfolio. 

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South Korea is having a moment. Between the stellar rise of K-pop and worldwide film hits such as Parasite and Squid Game, the country has established itself as a power to be reckoned with when it comes to global entertainment. This level of success is exactly why a young man by the name of Jangwon Lee decided to launch—you guessed it—The KPOP and Korean Entertainment exchange-traded fund. 

We speak with Lee, chief executive of CT Investments and Content Technologies, and reporter Isabelle Lee about the size and scope of K-pop’s reach and the broader Korean entertainment market, how the ETF works and the challenges with launching a theme ETF in today’s especially rough-and-tumble market. 

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Boring is beautiful this year as investors rush to the relative safety (and higher yields) of exchange-traded funds that hold short-term treasuries. But what exactly is inside them? And what are the risk-rewards of the most popular ones?

On this episode of Trillions, we look at cash-like ETFs with reporter Katie Greifeld and James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence. We also dig into inflation and the world of currency ETFs.

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Active managers have, historically, had a tough time beating their benchmarks. Yet this year may prove to be an exception; nearly half of large-cap managers are outperforming. Can they keep it up? And can anything really reverse the massive migration to passive investing at this point?

On this episode, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Tim Edwards of S&P Dow Jones Indices, who oversees the SPIVA report, aka the ultimate active vs. passive scorecard. With his just-published latest installment in hand, Edwards talks through where active is doing well (and not so well), the role of fees in returns, and why bond funds tend to better than stock funds.

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In investing, a black swan event is something almost nobody sees coming—and to make a bet on the outcome of that unforeseen event has always been expensive and complicated. Inflation upending the market over the past year, and the Federal Reserve’s pivot to higher interest rates, has sparked interest among investors looking to hedge this particular type of “tail risk.”

On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with Meb Faber, founder of Cambria and host of podcast “The Meb Faber Show.” Faber has designed two exchange-traded funds in this space, $TAIL and $FAIL. They also speak with reporter Denitsa Tsekova, as the group discusses how tail-risk ETFs work, where they fit in a portfolio and whether you even need them. 

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A new approach to investing called direct or custom indexing effectively lets investors own stocks but with some special enhancements, such as capturing tax alpha. In other words, you get some of an ETF's charm without the ETF. For investors interested in potentially taking a portfolio to the next level, this is a new tool for the toolbox.  

On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with Patrick O'Shaughnessy, CEO of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management and host of the podcast Invest Like the Best, about the pros and cons of custom indexing, how it differs from direct indexing and ETFs, and also how the tax alpha is achieved. They also discuss O'Shaughnessy's career, favorite philosophers, and, well, podcasting. 

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Inflation. Unemployment. Consumer demand. All important economic data—but more important is how the Federal Reserve interprets it all and reacts. The central bank wields an especially powerful influence over markets, so understanding how its members think, what they are doing and why is important for any engaged investor.

We speak with Ira Jersey, Bloomberg’s Chief US Interest Rate Strategist, about how to read the latest inflation data through the Fed’s eyes. We also talk about how exactly the Fed impacts the real economy as well as what’s on its balance sheet. Finally, Jersey gives his opinion on different types of bond exchange-traded funds, such as TIPS, junk bonds and single-bond ETFs. 

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A single-stock ETF might sound like an oxymoron, but it's about to become a massive new category. These ETFs, which aim to serve up inverse and leveraged exposure to single stocks, are already a thing in Europe—and now they've come to the US, with the SEC approving the first batch earlier this month. One of them, the AXS Tesla Bear Daily ETF ($TSLQ), shows early signs of being a big hit. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Matt Tuttle, Chief Investment Officer of AXS Investments, and Katie Greifeld of Bloomberg News. They discuss Tuttle's new products, how the products work, and where things might go from here. 

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Just when you think the world of exchange-traded funds has run out of new ideas, along comes something truly novel. Instead of slicing the market up into themes, geographies or strategies, these are dividing by time. The new ETFs are only exposed to US stocks overnight, which studies have shown beats holding them during the day. 

On this episode we speak with NightShares Chief Executive Officer Bruce Lavine and Chief Investment Officer Max Gokhman about why this phenomenon exists, why it hasn’t been used before and the challenges to implementing it.

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When markets plummet like they have this year, investors want to grab onto something—anything—that isn’t in free-fall. High-dividend exchange-traded funds, with their exposures to the energy and utilities sectors, have emerged as a rare bright spot, or at least a less-dim one. They’ve seen $25 billion in inflows already, which is a record—one that could double by the end of the year. 

On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, and reporter Suzanne Woolley about a category of ETFs punching above their weight. They discuss some of the noteworthy ETFs, including $VYM, $DVY, $HDV, $DHS; analyze holdings and performances, and share how investors can dabble with these made-for-the-moment products.

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Investing in stock and bond markets during a boring, decade-long bull market is easy enough. It’s a little more difficult when everything is trending downward, inflation is at record highs and even Cardi B is tweeting about recession jitters. And yet, strong flows into exchange-traded funds and index funds show investors are very much willing to follow this wealth-creation strategy.

Eric and Joel speak with Nick Maggiulli, chief operating officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management, about his new book, “Just Keep Buying.” They discuss saving versus investing, the importance of income-producing assets, international exposure, index investing and more.

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Unlike most declines, stocks and bonds have been sinking together so far this year. Rising inflation and a hawkish U.S. Federal Reserve are providing little comfort to investors. And yet ETFs continue to see massive flows.

Eric and Joel speak with Gina Martin Adams, chief equity analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, as well as Jon Maier, chief investment officer of Global X ETFs, about the search for the bottom, the odds of a recession, Fed policy, trending ETFs, Twitter’s love of the word “capitulation” and more.

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BlackRock and Vanguard collectively own about 15% of every US company, but are they voting their shares in a way that aligns with investors in their funds? One new exchange-traded fund company, Strive Asset Management, says they aren’t, claiming they’ve gone against their fiduciary duty by becoming too “woke” and forming an “ideological cartel.” Now it has plans to offer alternatives.

We talk to Vivek Ramaswamy and Anson Frericks, co-founders of Strive. They plan to launch ETFs similar to those of BlackRock and Vanguard, but promise to keep politics and ESG concerns out of their voting. They discuss criticisms of ESG investing, stakeholder vs. shareholder capitalism and what Ramaswamy calls “excellence capitalism.” They also talk about how Strive will compete against the two biggest asset managers on the planet, and its noteworthy backers—including Peter Theil and Bill Ackman.

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Three years ago, Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber went to Jack Bogle’s office in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and recorded an episode of Trillions. That chat helped inspire Balchunas’s new book, “The Bogle Effect,” about the Vanguard founder’s influence on investing and the financial industry. 

On this episode of the podcast, Balchunas and Weber are joined by reporter Annie Massa to go over some of the bigger points Balchunas makes in his book. They go over why Vanguard’s ownership structure was the real innovation, and how the rise of passive investing is pushing active managers to get way more active. They also discuss the writing process and Balchunas’s motivation for publishing his second book. 

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This past year has reminded everyone why they’re called “emerging” markets. But it’s gone further this time, with investors questioning whether they even want to own anything in countries ruled by authoritarian governments, such as those in Russia and China. The conversation, in other words, has evolved. 

On this week’s episode of Trillions, we recorded live from the Exchange conference in Miami with Perth Tolle, founder of Life + Liberty Indexes, Jeremy Schwartz, chief information officer of WisdomTree and Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld. Tolle and Schwartz have a friendly debate about whether China and Russia deserve a spot in a portfolio. We also discuss currency-hedged exchange-traded funds and life as a small ETF issuer.

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Nobody deserves the nickname Mr. ETF as much as Reggie Browne, principal of GTS and a renowned market maker. He's had an amazing behind-the-scenes vantage these past few decades because almost everyone launching a new ETF comes to ask for his blessing—and seek his seed capital. 

This special episode of Trillions was recorded in front of a live audience as a Bloomberg New Voices event. Eric and his guest co-host, Scarlet Fu of Bloomberg Quicktake, interview Reggie about how ETFs are born, whether they need a rating system, the prospects of a bitcoin ETF, and why theme ETFs such as ARK have staying power. Started in 2018, Bloomberg New Voices began as an effort to increase female representation on Bloomberg TV and in Bloomberg News coverage; it's since expanded to include Black and Latinx executives. For more information, or to participate in the Bloomberg New Voices media training program, please visit www.bloomberg.com/newvoices.

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If ETFs were living creatures, they might be cockroaches—they can survive almost anything. And yet Russia's invasion of Ukraine has presented a rare test. The VanEck Russia ETF, or $RSX, has seen its trading halted; the product holds shares of Russian companies, many of them in the energy and financial sectors. Investors may end up recovering only a fraction of their exposures; retail traders who used options to short the ETF ahead of its mid-February nosedive may not be able to collect their winnings, either. Elsewhere in the world, the exchange-traded product $VXX went haywire recently, with Barclays temporarily suspending share issuance. What's happening here?

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel discuss these recent events with Dave Nadig of ETF Trends, and Katie Greifeld, ETF reporter with Bloomberg News and the co-host of ETF IQ on Bloomberg TV. They go over the unprecedented nature of RSX's circumstances and what it all means, and they explore why the best days of exchange-traded notes might be behind them. Eric also adds audio from his native habitat: the Philadelphia train station.

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One of the best-performing categories since the beginning of last year has been commodities. Everything from oil to wheat to palladium to gold is up, due in large part to inflation worries. But how much room is there left to run? And how big a portion should commodities make up of a portfolio? 

We discuss these questions and more with Mike McGlone, commodities strategist for Bloomberg Intelligence. McGlone explains why higher prices in general tend to cure higher prices in commodities, the outlook for energy and the increasingly competitive relationship between gold and Bitcoin. 

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Everybody has a friend (or three) who's gone "full crypto." So Joel’s ears perked up when a friend from high school and college, Char Boger, told him about her interest not in Bitcoin — the more common refrain — so much as publicly traded Bitcoin-mining companies.

On this episode, Eric and Joel venture into Bitcoin mining by welcoming Boger, a DIY investor and soccer mom, to the podcast as well as Ethan Vera, who’s the co-founder of both Luxor Mining and Viridi Funds, which launched the first Bitcoin mining ETF ($RIGZ) in 2021. The group discusses Bitcoin mining and Vera's ETF, with Boger providing the perspective of a passionate retail investor.

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It looks like the "easy money" days of the last two years may soon end as the Federal Reserve readies to raise interest rates and fight inflation. Markets are already off to a rocky start; monitoring ETF flows shows how assets are being repriced and how investors are repositioning their portfolios. But is this temporary or the beginning of a new regime? What's the 40,000-foot view for ETF investors? And how scary will this rollercoaster ride get?

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with Carl Riccadonna, Bloomberg Intelligence's Chief Industry Economist, and Gina Martin Adams, Bloomberg Intelligence's Chief Equity Strategist, about the Fed's plans as well as what it means for the economy and the stock market. Plus, Eric reveals which ETF could be the next ARKK. 

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Everybody loves the 60/40 portfolio. And why not? It's worked really well for a long time, especially the past decade when both stocks (the 60) and bonds (the 40) went up. Yet investors fear the current inflationary environment could push both down. Enter “return stacking,” which attempts to solve this conundrum. Investors get the standard 60/40 allocation, only it’s leveraged in a way to add diversification and protection. (Oh, and by the way, that frees up a chunk of your portfolio for other exposures so you can have your cake and eat it, too….or at least that's what the backtest shows.) 

On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with Corey Hoffstein, chief investment officer of Newfound Research, and Rodrigo Gordillo, president and portfolio manager of ReSolve Asset Management. Together, the two pioneered the concept with a widely-circulated research paper (which you can find at returnstacking.com) and an open-source model portfolio that allows anyone to implement the concept. The approach means higher fees than most ETF-based portfolios, but as the group discusses, inflation and rising rates mean investors might want to consider reconsidering their toolbox.

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What do copper miners, the metaverse and carbon credits all have in common? Absolutely nothing, except they are all tracked by ETFs that made Bloomberg Intelligence's 22 ETFs to Watch in '22 annual report. The report, which is published each December, features ETFs that the ETF research team is thinking about, obsessed with or taps into a big trend or theme. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel are joined by all of the analysts who contributed to the list, including Athanasios Psarafagis, James Seyffart, and Rebecca Sin. They debate and discuss the full list: BITO, VOTE, IGHG, GBTC, FRDM, CTRU, COPX, BITS, FOVL, SARK, BKLC, SPSB, C02, ARKK, META, DRIV, KWEB, TLT, VTI, USMV, MVPS and AVDV.

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It will be tough to beat this year for ETFs, which saw record flows of nearly one trillion dollars as well as 450 new launches. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 returned an absurd 26%. Can this all this carry on and be repeated in 2022? Or should we brace for a much tougher landscape? 

Eric and Joel speak with Katie Greifeld of Bloomberg News and Todd Rosenbluth of CFRA about 2022 including flows, crypto, themes, mutual fund-to-ETF conversions—and yet another steak-dinner bet between Eric and Todd. 

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While the media — us included! — bestows a lot of attention on “shiny objects” in the investment world, almost all the real money goes to the massive firms such as BlackRock. The world’s largest asset manager is fast approaching $10 trillion assets under management, almost a third of which is in ETFs — many of them low-cost veterans.

Eric and Joel speak with Salim Ramji, the head of BlackRock's global ETF business, about areas of growth for ETFs, the widening investor base, potential threats such as direct indexing, mutual fund-to-ETF conversions, and when a iShares crypto ETF is coming out (probably not soon).  

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The day that Mark Zuckerberg announced he was changing the name of Facebook to Meta Platforms, the Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF ($META) found a new trajectory. Since then, the ETF—which holds companies such as Nvidia, Roblox, Unity, Microsoft, and, well, Meta—has seen assets grow 6-fold and volume jump 50-fold. Much like $HACK, which also benefited from being the right idea at the right time, META is fast on its way to becoming a billion-dollar ETF—mostly because of a big news event.

Eric and Joel explore the metaverse—and the investing opportunities it could bring—with Matthew Ball, managing partner of EphyllionCo and the brain behind the ETF; Matt Kanterman, who covers gaming as a senior analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence; and Rebecca Sin, an ETF analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. The group discusses how to think about the metaverse, what's at stake for companies, why investors are so excited, AR and VR applications, the size of the virtual economy, Robux vs crypto, and more.

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A new batch of ETFs seeks to appeal to right-leaning investors who want an alternative to "woke" Corporate America and ESG activism. While political-themed ETFs aren't a new idea, they've never really managed to attract meaningful assets. With Americans more polarized than ever before, could this be the moment that these ETFs actually find an audience?

Eric and Joel speak with Bloomberg Businessweek national correspondent Joshua Green about his magazine story on 2ndVote Advisers, which will soon introduce a new fund to complement their existing offerings ($EGIS and $LYFE). They also discuss the infighting with the $MAGA ETF, the practical considerations of putting these funds into a portfolio, and why this version of conservative investing is so challenged. 

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The quest for a bitcoin ETF has lasted more than eight years. Countless filings have ended in rejection. Then, finally, it happened—the SEC allowed a bitcoin ETF to come to market, albeit one that tracks futures as opposed to holding bitcoin. The unlikely winner of this race? ProShares, whose ETF $BITO broke all kinds of records for a new launch. Valkyrie's version, $BTF, was also approved. 

On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with ETF lawyer Jeremy Senderowicz of Vedder Price, Katie Greifeld of Bloomberg News, and James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence about these developments. Their discussion includes how Greifeld's reporting moved the price of bitcoin, why the SEC allowed futures-backed products, who benefits from these investments, and what comes next.

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ETF strategists are professional investors who create model portfolios that financial advisers can bring to their retail clients. You can think of them almost like chefs — experts who know how to combine the right ingredients into recipes that, if everything goes as planned, can achieve a desired outcome.

On this episode — a special episode that coincides with the debut of their new Bloomberg Quicktake show, “Trillions Presents: ETF Master Chefs” — Eric and Joel host ETF strategists Shana Sissel, CIO of Spotlight Asset Group, John Davi, founder of Astoria Portfolio Advisors, Tushar Yadava, Investment Strategist at BlackRock and Ben Lavine, CIO of 3D Asset Management Group. The group discusses the investing process, portfolio construction, and, of course, everybody’s favorite tickers.

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Exchange-traded funds have a special super power: tax efficiency. Investors pay taxes when they sell, but not when others in the fund sell. Yet that super power is suddenly in jeopardy. A recent bill proposed by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore) would repeal a tiny section in the tax code that allows for ETF's in-kind creations and redemptions to be non-taxable events. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel invite Professor Jeffrey Colon of Fordham University, a tax expert who's critiqued ETFs before and influenced Wyden's bill, and Dave Nadig, director of research for ETF Trends, to discuss the proposal. Some chaos ensues. 

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Uranium ETFs are the among the best performers the last two years. Prior to that, they’d been in a decade-long bear market after the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011. But between growing acceptance of nuclear power for a carbon-free future and spiking prices with a supply shortage, you have the makings of a breakout ETF category. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with the two people behind $URNM: Tim Rotolo, founder and CEO of North Shore Indices, and Michael Alkin, CIO of Sachem Cove Partners. Joining the group is also John Ciampaglia, CEO of Canada-based Sprott Asset Management, which offers the only physically backed Uranium fund. They discuss the current surge in prices, how the market works and the long-term prospects of nuclear power. 

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Just as Steve Jobs didn't invent the computer, Jack Bogle didn't invent the index fund. The first index fund was actually launched back in 1971, about five years before Bogle and Vanguard brought it to the masses. 

On this week's Trillions, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the index fund with a conversation with John "Mac" McQuown, who worked with the head of Wells Fargo and a dozen academics (many of whom have Nobel prizes now) to develop the first, albeit short-lived index fund. We discuss the roots of the idea, the trials and tribulations of putting it into practice as well as his relationship with Bogle. 

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has all but made clear it will probably approve Bitcoin exchange-traded funds that hold Bitcoin futures, versus ones that hold the cryptocurrency itself. This has sparked a wave of new filings which, if approved, could hit the market by November. But how do they work, and how will investors respond to them?

On this week's Trillions, we get insight into this from two people who currently offer Bitcoin futures funds, Simeon Hyman of ProShares, who runs a Bitcoin futures mutual fund, and Steve Hawkins of Horizons, who runs a Bitcoin futures ETF in Canada. They discuss how the futures market works, how performance differs from Bitcoin, roll costs and what a wave of these hitting the market just might look like. 

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ETFs have already broken their annual inflow record—and summer isn't even over yet. The pace of flows has jumped from $2 billion a day to more than $4 billion a day. Some 1,800 ETFs are taking in cash. So what's behind all the action?

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with Invesco's John Hoffman, who heads the company's ETF and index business in the Americas. They discuss why the issuer is quietly having a great year, what's behind the flows, the rise of the DIY retail investor, and the strategic outlook in the ETF business. You'll also hear about Invesco's equal-weighted S&P 500 ETF ($RSP), a commodities future ETF ($PDBC), a low volatility fund ($SPLV), and more.

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Everything in the market is at or around all-time highs, yet the market feels fragile at the same time. Whether it's the delta variant or inflation, there's always something to worry about. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with Bloomberg Intelligence's chief equity strategist (and Eric's boss!), Gina Martin Adams. They talk about her macro views, inflation, value vs growth, the Federal Reserve, the bond market, which ETFs investors should watch in the second half of the year, and more. They also discuss where Eric has room for improvement.  

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In late May, Engine No. 1 shook Corporate America. Despite owning just .02% of Exxon Mobil — not long ago the world’s most valuable company — the little-known activist investor was able to install three new directors on the company’s board, an advance that could finally make the energy giant confront the challenges of climate change. Hot off that win, Engine No. 1 issued an ETF that allows all investors to join their cause. The new ETF, which is called the Engine No. 1 Transform 500 ETF ($VOTE), is a fresh take on the concept of ESG ETFs by seeking real systemic change. 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with Charlie Penner, who led the Exxon campaign and is in charge of Engine No. 1's active engagement practice, as well as Yasmin Dahya Bilger, head of ETFs at Engine No. 1. Rob Du Boff, ESG Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, and Saijel Kishan, ESG reporter for Bloomberg News, also join the conversation, which explores the company’s background, activism strategy, and the kinds of campaigns that investors should expect to see from them in the future.

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One of the more colorful aspects of the exchange-traded industry are the tickers. The best are stuff of legend; others are totally forgettable. But who's in charge of these three- and four-letter identifiers? How are they reserved? Do you own them or rent them? Can you sell them? 

Joining Eric and Joel on this episode are a squad of experts assembled to nail down the facts once and for all: Mike Venuto of Toroso, Phil Bak of Signal Advisors, and Laura Morrison of CBOE. Also joining is Claire Ballentine, ETF reporter with Bloomberg News. Eric, Joel, and Claire also see if a few of their own ticker ideas are available. Can Joel's Loony Tunes-inspired pipe dream possibly come true? Listen to find out. 

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