The Unsung Art of the ETF Industry

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.