Power plays & international intrigue 8/25/25

High-income ETFs are all the rage right now. To help itself stand out, one company is playing off some of the biggest names in investing. But will the sequel do as well as the original? Plus, find out the what’s resonating with the youngest of individual investors.  

September is already volatile and we haven’t even had a Fed meeting yet! Now might be the right time to look into the “value” promise of AI… and add some under-valued sectors as cheap insurance.   

Amid geo-political waves, smart money is diving below the surface of two markets sectors to find calmer, potentially more productive waters.   

Amid geopolitical and domestic uncertainty, gold is trending higher again after backtracking. History suggests there is yet more room to run. Plus, a covid-period-like warning sign to take note of.  

Sam Altman joined CNBC and discussed his path to IPO and OpenAI's new enterprise push. We look at why Silicon Valley startups have been staying private for longer and why OpenAI needs to catch up in enterprise. Plus, this weekend is the tenth anniversary of Google's reorganization under parent company Alphabet. Analysts say a break-up could unlock new value. 

Investors continue to favor market cap weighted indices, but it might be time to consider diversifying after July’s fund inflows. Plus, getting tax efficient with ETFs. We examine Astoria’s approach with its US Enhanced Core Equity ETF. Todd Rosenbluth, VettaFi director of research, and Bruce Lavine, Astoria Portfolio Advisors head of ETFS and COO, discuss all.

From cryptocurrencies to competition with mutual funds… recent and upcoming policy out of Washington is changing the landscape for big portions of the ETF industry.  

Now solidly starting off the third quarter, we’re asking how Q2’s top-performing fund managers are planning for the near – and distant – future. 

Hedge fund strategies are the latest to make their way into the ETF wrapper and it could be good timing as investors search for new ways to diversify their portfolio. Plus, positioning for earnings season and top plays for the next six months.

With markets seeing unusually high levels of volatility across the board this summer, the “active management” corner of the ETF industry has had to continuously increase specialization. But does that focus carry a risk of becoming too narrow too soon?