ETF Trades: What Has and Hasn’t Worked in 2025

Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, offers a tour through the ever-evolving world of ETFs - covering crypto funds, the rise of exotic products, industry flows, the coming multi-share class structure, and more.

Aniket Ullal, Head of ETF Research & Analytics at CFRA, highlights the ETF trades that have and haven’t worked in 2025.  Cinthia Murphy, Investment Strategist at VettaFi, explores recent ETF launches, including the Roundhill Meme Stock ETF (MEME), Defiance Trillion Dollar Club Index ETF (TRIL), and ARK DIET Q4 Buffer ETF (ARKT).

David Mann, Head of ETF Product & Capital Markets at Franklin Templeton, discusses the impressive growth of the firm’s ETF lineup and offers insights into their approach to product innovation, the multi-share class structure, and the evolving role of crypto in the ETF landscape. Matt Kaufman, Head of ETFs at Calamos, delivers a masterclass on autocallables and introduces the Calamos Autocallable Income ETF (CAIE) - the first of its kind in the industry.

Aakash Doshi, Global Head of Gold Strategy at State Street Investment Management, delves into the key drivers behind record-high gold prices and unprecedented inflows into gold ETFs.  Todd Rosenbluth, Head of Research at VettaFi, discusses the firm’s rapidly expanding indexing business and shares his perspective on the role of thematic ETFs in today’s portfolios.

Amrita Nandakumar, President of Vident Asset Management, explains the role of an ETF subadvisor and shares her unique perspective on ETF product development, the forthcoming multi-share class structure, and the potential impact of a “lighter touch” regulatory environment.  Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector & Industry Research at VettaFi, also weighs in on the multi-share class structure, and discusses the latest developments in crypto ETFs and the stellar performance of gold and silver miner ETFs.

Will Rhind, Founder & CEO of GraniteShares, dives into their YieldBOOST lineup of ETFs and offers perspective on the growing demand for options-based ETF strategies overall.  Zeno Mercer, Senior Research Analyst at VettaFi, breaks down one of the hottest segments in the market: artificial intelligence ETFs.  He covers fund flows, performance trends, and the key drivers behind investor interest.

Cullen Rogers, Chief Investment Officer at Wedbush Fund Advisers, highlights the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF (IVES) and explores the broader investment thesis fueling interest in artificial intelligence. Craig Ebeling, Head of ETF Strategists at Fidelity Investments, outlines key factors to consider when evaluating income-generating ETF strategies and offers timely guidance on tax-loss harvesting ahead of year-end.

Cinthia Murphy, Investment Strategist at VettaFi, recaps the ETF landscape so far in 2025 and shares her outlook for the rest of the year.  Daniel Noonan, Executive V.P. and Head of the Wealth Management Consulting Group at Cohen & Steers, discusses the firm’s entry into the ETF space, the growing momentum behind active management, and ETF strategies focused on real assets and alternative income.

Ben Fulton, CEO of WEBs Investments, highlights the firm’s suite of Defined Volatility ETFs, which dynamically adjust equity market exposure based on real-time market volatility.  Arthur Nowak, Client Portfolio Manager at Alger, discusses the firm’s high-conviction approach to investing in innovation and growth - including the Alger AI Enablers & Adopters ETF (ALAI).

Alex Morris, CEO of F/m Investments, highlights the firm’s newly launched Compoundr Series ETFs - the first income ETFs specifically designed to tackle dividend tax drag. He also discusses F/m’s efforts to add a mutual fund share class to its existing ETFs. Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector & Industry Research at VettaFi, explores the “ETFs going Hollywood” phenomenon and sheds light on the latest trends in ETF closures.