The 2025 ETF Mailbag

Joel, Eric and Athanasios Psarofagis crack open the mailbag to answer some listener questions about ETFs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You just might be able to experience the financial future today. A recent trend in investing has exchange-traded fund issuers creating funds focused on futuristic themes like humanoid robots, alien technology and quantum computing. The hope is to attract investors looking for the next big idea. But needless to say, not all of them will pan out—remember Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse? On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas look at the recent flurry of futuristic theme ETFs, their prospects for success and how to do due diligence on them. They are joined by Bloomberg cross asset reporter Vildana Hajric.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the hottest themes of 2025 is defense companies as potential US isolationism has other countries scrambling to beef up their military. And within that it is European stocks that have really led the charge. This theme went from rags to riches overnight practically but it's been largely a winner take all category. On this episode of Trillions Joel and Eric speak with Bloomberg Intelligence's Senior ETF Analyst for Europe, Henry Jim about the wild frenzy to launch European defense ETFs around the world to catch this massive wave of returns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The narrative all year was "sell America" yet the stock market is positive on the year and flirting with all time highs after coming back from a brutal Q1. Like COVID this is a rally few predicted although this time the market didn't have the Fed's help. What happened? Why was everyone was so wrong?On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric talk about the wide gap between narrative and price and why US investors are simply not giving up on US stocks. They are joined by Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence and Isabelle Lee of Bloomberg News.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In investing, there are many “rules.” And the rules are intended to help you, dear investor, make money. But if you’ve been around money — and especially if you’ve been around a lot of money … managing other people’s money, say — you know that people make a lot of mistakes, too. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Barry Ritholtz, the co-founder, chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management and host of the Bloomberg podcast Masters in Business, about his new book, How Not to Invest. They discuss several of Ritholtz’s hot takes — all rooted in what not to do with your money.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During her time as a commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Hester Peirce has often been a dissenting voice—especially on all things crypto. Now, as she approaches the official end of her term, her legacy may include an SEC that’s more aligned with the positions she championed. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber—along with stacy-marie ishmael, head of cross-asset and crypto coverage for Bloomberg News—interview Peirce at the SEC’s offices in Washington. Peirce discusses her search for “crypto clarity,” why “merit” doesn’t matter and how the SEC will evaluate the 80-plus crypto-themed exchange-traded fund filings—including ones involving Trump. She also discusses the “terribly mismanaged” process for Bitcoin ETFs and other hot topics including private assets and share classes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s that time of the year. Exchange, the big exchange-traded fund conference, was held in Las Vegas this year and brought together many in the ETF industry to talk shop and network. This year's big theme was ETF share class and the selloff in stocks, but no stones were left unturned under the scorching Nevada sun. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber go over Balchunas’s “man on the street” interviews with several of the attendees at Exchange, including representatives from VettaFi, Franklin Templeton, Natixis, FactSet, CF Benchmarks and ETF Guide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day,” stock markets around the world plunged. Yet just 13 hours after Trump’s tariffs took effect, the president paused them for 90 days — for countries not named China, that is. Markets soared in response to Trump’s backpedaling. The S&P 500 Index climbed almost 10% while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped by the most since 2001. The Trump put, or the belief that the president uses the stock market as his scoreboard, appears to be alive and well after all. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber discuss what just happened, how ETFs fared and where cracks appeared. They also assess flows, volume and what to watch next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is not your grandfather’s exchange-traded fund industry. What started as boring, predictable and passive has morphed into strategies and packaged trades being packed into new ETFs. These include leverage, options overlays and private assets. Given all of this upheaval, some from the old school are worried investors aren’t receiving the exposure and protection from issuers they think they are. On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas talk to ETF veteran and author Dave Nadig about his buzzworthy blog post in which he borrows language from the hacker world, describing ETFs as “black hat” versus “white hat.” To figure out what these developments mean for the industry, they are joined by cross-asset reporter Vildana Hajric.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First Trust, the sixth-largest issuer of US exchange-traded funds, has managed to stay mostly under the radar in the investing world — and yet it's also perfected a lucrative, Vanguard-proof business model. The company's products are directed more at financial advisors than the retail world, and their funds, most of which are actively managed, have higher fees than typical index-tracking ETFs. Enter the First Trust sales force, which wields steak dinners, personal coaching, sports tickets and Hermès scarves to win business — practices that have attracted the attention of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Bloomberg News reporters Emily Graffeo and Max Abelson about their recent First Trust story, “An All-American Finance Empire Drew Billions—and a Regulator’s Attention,” for Bloomberg Businessweek. They discuss CEO Jim Bowen's approach, how the company has distinguished itself from competitors, and why Finra is investigating the company's sales tactics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.