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”...

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...

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 i...

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 f...

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 ,...

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 an...

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 product...

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 We...

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 ha...

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...

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 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...

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 Psarofagi...

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 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...

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 “nati...

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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...

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...

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 confe...

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 an...

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 a...

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...

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 fo...

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 an...