Trillions

There’s been roughly 10 billion individual ETF trades in the past 25 years with almost no issues. This McDonald’s-esque track record of happy customers is one of the reasons ETFs have become so popular. One of the main reasons behind the stellar track record of trading is the important role played by ETF market makers, who provide liquidity for popular ETFs but also lesser traded ones— stepping in...

What if there were a rolling paper that let you put the entire marijuana industry into a tightly packed joint? There is, and it's called an exchange-traded fund . While more and more states legalize medical and recreational marijuana in the U.S., the federal government still classifies it as an illegal controlled substance. But that certainly doesn't make it illegal to invest in the industry, and...

What’s the most sure-fire way to get a flight upgrade? How can you find the best, secret local restaurants by asking just one question? What's the first thing you should do when you get into a hotel room? On Bloomberg's new podcast Travel Genius, we'll give you those answers—and plenty more—as hosts Nikki Ekstein and Mark Ellwood quiz the world’s most experienced globetrotters for their tried-and-...

Where does a medical cure come from? 100 years ago, it wasn't uncommon for scientists to test medicines by taking a dose themselves. As medical technologies get cheaper and more accessible, patients and DIY tinkerers are trying something similar—and mainstream medicine is racing to catch up. Prognosis explores the leading edge of medical advances, and asks who gets—or should get—access to them. We...

Acronyms are a popular way to shorthand especially promising emerging markets. Take the BRICs: Brazil, Russia, India and China. Or how about MIST: Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea and Turkey. And here's a new one from Bloomberg Intelligence: Africa's CUTEs, for the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia. These catchy terms tend to make buzz because investors see such vast econom...

Bloomberg’s head of economics Stephanie Flanders calls on Bloomberg's worldwide network of reporters and expert commentators to cast a fresh eye on looming challenges for the world economy which affect us all. This 6 part podcast combines on the ground reporting with expert discussion on the future of cities, finance and technology, trade, global governance and making growth more inclusive. It's t...

The creation story of the first exchange-traded fund is actually the best way to understand how they work. And it's not just educational, it's entertaining. Like the PC and the MP3, the story of the creation of SPY -- which turned 30 this year -- is full of characters, twists and turns, and subplots. In the end, the product launched an industry that's reshaping not just investing but the entire fi...

With many of the world's stock markets in turmoil, and interest rates on the rise in the U.S., it can be hard to spot investment opportunities. A popular Bloomberg article asks six experts where they would invest $10,000 right now. Some of those areas include Asian countries, tobacco stocks, companies profiting from the mobile payment trend as well as just a plain ol' broad market allocation.    O...

Neeeeeeerrrrrrddsss! The term used to be an insult but now it’s (mostly) a compliment. At least that's the case in the world of ETFs, where passions run high for these low-cost, liquid funds. Used by long-term retail investors and institutional traders, there's a wide range of opinion on which Exchange Traded Funds are best, which trends are smart and what the future may hold. On this week’s Trill...

While the rise of ETFs has been good for ETFs, it has come at the expense of many mutual fund managers -- humans who have seen about $1 trillion in outflows over the past four years. The situation has confounded many active fund companies and fueled consolidation in the industry. Now, a prominent active fund advocate and ETF critic says he’s found a better strategy: mutual funds with performance-b...

Ten years ago, the financial crisis changed everything -- and helped create the world we now inhabit. Eric and Joel push rewind to revisit 2008, examine why ETFs managed to take in money that year despite the huge loss in the market, and dissect what's changed in the decade since and what it tells us about the future. Christine Harper, the editor of Bloomberg Markets, who covered banking for Bloom...

This week on Trillions, Joel and Eric record the podcast equivalent of a double-album with Barry Ritholtz, an ETF-using financial advisor as well as a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, host of the Bloomberg podcast "Masters in Business," and overall deep thinker. In addition to ETFs, the trio discusses investing, the economy, the role of the modern financial adviser, tariffs, Trump, and even God. We're...

This week on Trillions, Joel and Eric record the podcast equivalent of a double-album with Barry Ritholtz, an ETF-using financial advisor as well as a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, host of the Bloomberg podcast "Masters in Business," and overall deep thinker. In addition to ETFs, the trio discusses investing, the economy, the role of the modern financial adviser, tariffs, Trump, and even God. We're...

Next week, we’re going long with Barry Ritholtz—a money manager, Bloomberg Opinion columnist, and fellow podcast host. Get ready: We literally couldn't stop talking. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You never go full crypto, right? Yet clearly some in the ETF industry see a massive opportunity, hence the steady talent trickle to the nascent space. To date, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has received more than 25 filings for ETFs featuring Bitcoin. They're effectively the participants in a Cannonball Run-esque race to gain the SEC's approval -- and whoever earns that blessing and...

What is the best ETF for the long-term? How important is index selection? Is there a pot ETF? Can you get private equity exposure through an ETF? These are just some of the questions that Joel and Eric attempt to answer in this episode of Trillions where they dig into the proverbial "mailbag" of questions from listeners on various platforms.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trade tensions and tariffs are a new variable for investors. How should investors differentiate between noise and reality? Should they adjust their portfolio? What ETFs can be used? Joel and Eric are joined by reporter Sarah Ponczek and advisor John Davi to discuss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No one person has had a bigger impact on the fund industry than Vanguard founder Jack Bogle, the legendary investor who invented indexing and popularized low-fee mutual funds. One of Vanguard's biggest advantages: Its mutual fund ownership structure, which is an original Bogle breakthrough. Bogle now thinks other firms will have to follow suit to survive in the future -- one of a few topics he pla...

ETF flows are one of the best ways to get inside the mind of investors. They tell you which asset classes, sectors, strategies and specific ETFs both traders and long-term investors are favoring. But interpreting flows is as much art as science. On this week’s Trillions, Joel and Eric are joined by Todd Rosenbluth of CFRA to dissect ETF inflows and outflows from the first half of what is at once b...

There are over 120 U.S. ETF issuers, but only one has more than $1 trillion in assets, over 300 products and knows what it is like to beat Vanguard: BlackRock. The asset manager made the equivalent of the Louisiana Purchase when it acquired iShares from Barclays in 2009, a move that has made them the most dominant player in the industry. Joel and Eric interview Martin Small, head of U.S. iShares,...

In this special report, Rachel Evans interviews Hal Lambert, the creator of the MAGA ETF, to learn how he turned his idea for the fund into a reality. The episode examines his strategy—buying companies that donate to the Republican Party—how this contrasts with other values-based products, and whether ads on conservative talk shows will translate into investor dollars.  See omnystudio.com/listener...

It’s a big, expensive, global mystery. Why do women still make less money—a lot less—than men? In the US, the average woman makes 80 cents to every dollar a man makes. Launching May 9, the Pay Check is an in-depth investigation into what that 20 percent difference looks like. In this miniseries we'll show you how the gender pay gap plays out in real life. We'll hear from Lily Ledbetter, Mo’Nique,...

Are ETFs turning mom and pop into maniacal day traders? Are investors using the right type of trade orders? This week, Joel and Eric speak with Matt Gouletof Fidelity, whose platform serves 9 million households, to discuss insights about retail investors’ ETF usage as well as stories about the active fund giant's foray into the ETF world and attempt to out-Vanguard Vanguard. And where is the covet...

Smart-beta is one of the hottest trends in not just ETFs but all of investment management. Assets in the category have grown from $0 to almost $1 trillion in barely a decade. But what is it, exactly?    On this week’s Trillions, Joel and Eric explore the mysteries of smart-beta. To some, it's all a mutation of passive indexing; to others, it's a better, cheaper version of active management. "Imagi...

While the very largest ETFs attract the bulk of flows, a few smaller products manage to beat the odds and emerge from obscurity each year to capture investors' imagination and assets. Over the past year, growth in robotics, the Internet and China have led to outsized investments into smaller ETFs.    On this week's Trillions, Joel and Eric highlight and analyze up-and-comer ETFs of the past, prese...