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ETF Trends •

New IVES ETF Uses Dan Ives’ Research Framework | ETF Trends

On Wednesday, Wedbush Fund Advisors unveiled the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF (IVES).
IVES looks to offer long-term returns through a concentrated portfolio of AI companies. The fund has a net expense ratio of 75 basis points. 
As the fund’s name and ticker implies, IVES is designed to tap into the research strategies of Dan Ives, Wedbush Securities Managing Director and Global Head of Technology Research. Ives has built a storied career as a Wall Street analyst, especially when it comes t...
ETF Trends •

Target Earnings Troubles Call for a Diversified Approach

Given the headwinds Target has faced this year, many advisors were not expecting to hear good news at the retailer’s latest earnings call. 
Hesitation over the retail giant’s quarterly performance seems to have been well-founded. Target released its first quarter earnings on Wednesday, which revealed lower-than-expected sales and more concerns over its 2025 outlook. 
First quarter sales dropped by about 2.8% to $23.85 billion, which was even lower than what Wall Street was expecting. These re...
ETF Trends •

Use ETFs to Play Both Sides in the U.S.-China AI Race

When ChatGPT picked up steam in 2023, many advisors began to focus on investing in U.S.-based companies to gain exposure to the growing AI sector. 
That narrative saw a significant shift in early 2025, when China’s AI startup DeepSeek released its R1 model. This innovative AI model challenged the valuations of U.S. companies and kickstarted an AI growth race between the United States and China. Ever since, advisors have been debating whether it’s more important to stay invested in key U.S. AI pl...
ETF Trends •

Joe Gotelli Discusses Advantages of Active Municipal Bond Strategies

With advisor enthusiasm mounting towards fixed income strategies, many portfolios are looking to build municipal bond exposure. Joe Gotelli, vice president and senior portfolio manager for American Century Investments®, recently sat down with VettaFi to break down the advantages of municipal bonds, American Century’s fund library, and more. 
Nicholas Wodeshick: Broadly speaking, all this uncertainty from the U.S. equity market is causing many investors and advisors to pivot to more fixed income...
ETF Trends •

Rate Uncertainty Creates Advantages for Active Fixed Income

Uncertainty over the direction of the U.S. economy isn’t just exclusive to advisors and investors. 
After the latest policy meeting from the Federal Reserve, it’s increasingly becoming clear that the Fed isn’t certain about the state of play for the U.S. economy either. The committee has opted to hold rates steady and continue its “wait and see” approach.
In a press conference following the meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell observed that federal actions in trade, immigration, regulation, and fisc...
ETF Trends •

Hashdex's Kerbage Breaks Down Crypto Investing & NCIQ at Exchange

During VettaFi’s Exchange conference in March, market experts from around the globe gathered to discuss the latest strategies and portfolio approaches. One such expert was Samir Kerbage, CIO of Hashdex. He sat down with the VettaFi team to discuss the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index U.S. ETF (NCIQ), use cases for crypto exposure, and more. 
Nicholas Wodeshick: So far, this year has proven to be a relatively difficult one for the cryptomarket. That said, do you still think there’s a good use case for...
ETF Trends •

Matt Kaufman Discusses Calamos' Bitcoin Suite at Exchange

With crypto price performances staying in the spotlight, advisors and investors are looking to chart the best course for building exposure. At the 2025 Exchange conference, the VettaFi team sat down with Matt Kaufman, SVP & head of ETFs at Calamos. They discussed how the Calamos suite of Protected Bitcoin ETFs may be able to meet the moment.
Nicholas Wodeshick: It’s likely safe to say bitcoin’s price has been more volatile this year than some investors may have expected. Do you still think there...
ETF Trends •

Douglas Yones on Direxion's Lineup & ETF Education at Exchange

At VettaFi’s annual Exchange conference, experts and industry leaders across a wide swath of market sectors gather to discuss the best solutions to navigate the U.S. market. Douglas Yones, CEO of Direxion, sat down with the VettaFi team to discuss opportunities in the leveraged and inverse investment space, investment education, and more.
Nick Wodehsick: This U.S. market sell-off has proven to be difficult for many traditional equity strategies out there, but all this volatility could very well...
ETF Trends •

Nick Elward Discusses Active ETFs, Value Opportunities at Exchange

VettaFi’s ongoing Exchange conference has brought advisors and financial experts together to discuss some of the best strategies to navigate the market. At the start of the conference, Staff Writer Nick Wodeshick sat down with Nick Elward, senior vice president and head of institutional product and ETFs at Natixis, to discuss international investing, active management, and more. 
Nick Wodeshick: Let’s start by looking at where the U.S. market currently sits. You know, all the inflation worries a...
ETF Trends •

JP Morgan Debuts New Research-Driven Large-Cap ETF

On Friday, J.P. Morgan Asset Management closed out the week with the launch of the JPMorgan U.S. Research Enhanced Large Cap ETF (JUSA).
JUSA is built to offer competitive capital appreciation prospects for its investors. This fund is actively managed and has a net expense ratio of 20 basis points. 
“JUSA exemplifies the core principles of J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s leadership in active ETFs,” said John Harrington, global head of ETF product at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “By combining dec...
ETF Trends •

Vanguard Slashes Fees on Over 80 Funds

February may very well be an opportune month for investors that are interested in Vanguard’s funds. Today, Vanguard announced that it has lowered the fees for 168 share classes. This includes 87 funds, giving investors a lower barrier of entry for a variety of different Vanguard strategies. 
According to Vanguard, this event marks the largest fee cut in the firm’s history. In total, Vanguard asserts that the fee cuts amount to over $350 million in savings for 2025. 
“Jack Bogle founded Vangua...
ETF Trends •

Tech Sell-Off Highlights Use Case for Hedged Equity ETFs |

It’s certainly no understatement to say that this week was a tumultuous one for many U.S. tech companies. January 20, China startup DeepSeek showed off its newest AI models to the world. Notably, this included an AI model known as R1, which has similar aptitudes as ChatGPT. 
Despite the similar capabilities of ChatGPT, R1 reportedly offers a distinct advantage over OpenAI’s product. According to DeepSeek, the company spent less than $6 million to build the computing power of R1. This stands in s...
ETF Trends •

Bull vs. Bear: Using Sector ETFs to Make Bets on the New Regime

Bull vs. Bear is a weekly feature where the VettaFi writers’ room takes opposite sides to debate controversial stocks, strategies, or market ideas — with plenty of discussion of ETF ideas to play either angle. For this edition of Bull vs. Bear, Nick Wodeshick and Elle Caruso debate the case for using sector ETFs to make bets on the new market regime.  
Nick Wodeshick: Hello, Elle! Since the new year has just begun, it’s an opportune moment to take a look at whether sector ETFs may be the right p...
ETF Trends •

Gold Investments May Still Shine This Year | ETF Trends

Gold investments certainly had a great year in 2024, breaking into new all-time highs due to macro factors and investor demand. 
Before 2024 closed out, UBS released an insight piece on how gold may perform in 2025. In the article, the UBS team highlighted a variety of factors that could work in gold’s favor. 
To start, UBS highlighted how central banks around the globe are continuing to build up their gold reserves. Going further, UBS anticipated that central banks could even buy more than 900m...
ETF Trends •

Could Equal Weight Strategies Make a Comeback This Year? |

Many investors would likely not be shocked to learn that market-cap-weighted strategies saw strong results in 2024. Given the relative dominance of mega cap tech stocks, this does not come as a particular surprise. A recent report from S&P Dow Jones Indices broke down where the biggest discrepancies between equal weight and cap-weighted strategies come from. 
According to the report, the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index unfortunately underperformed the S&P 500 by 12% last year. These results follow a...
ETF Trends •

Will 2025 Mark the Mid Cap Comeback? | ETF Trends

It certainly doesn’t take a market expert to tell you where equity investors largely saw the best results in 2024. For many investors, mega cap tech stocks within the Magnificent 7 paved the way for returns this year. Many of the companies within the Mag 7 remain key players in the world of artificial intelligence and cloud computing. 
Some experts are betting that the Mag 7 will continue to usher in tremendous growth next year. These predictions are buoyed by expectations that the next presiden...
ETF Trends •

Muni Bond ETFs Can Capitalize on Infrastructure Spending Gaps

Fixed income investors may wish to consider opting for amplified municipal bond exposure in their portfolios through muni bond ETFs. 
A recent article from members of the Eaton Vance team breaks down some of the upcoming opportunities for muni bond ETFs. In the article, Craig R. Brandon, CFA, Co-Head of Municipal Investments, and Marc Savaria, Co-Director of Municipal Credit Research, discuss how upcoming infrastructure spending can bode very well for muni bonds. 
This Eaton Vance article breaks...
ETF Trends •

What Investors Could Expect From the 2025 Equity Markets

It’s certainly no secret that 2024 provided strong opportunities for equity investors. This was especially true for traders that drilled down on the mega-cap tech names. However, with a new administration taking over U.S. leadership, investors may need to remain vigilant for new opportunities in equities. Vigilance may be difficult for investors, however, given the murkiness of the 2025 outlook. 
Jeff Weniger, CFA, Head of Equity Strategy at WisdomTree, recently participated in a panel during th...
ETF Trends •

Time to Build Up Retirement Savings | ETF Trends

Lately, investors have been focusing mostly on what to expect from the market heading into 2025. Given the relative uncertainty of the upcoming U.S. economic policy, this fixation has made a lot of sense. However, ensuring one’s portfolio is prepared for a far longer time horizon is still important. This is doubly true when it comes to planning for retirement. Now more than ever, investors should look closely at their portfolio and see how it’s helping to build up their long-term savings. 
A rec...
ETF Trends •

Avoid These 2 Pitfalls In Fixed Income Investing

With the Federal Reserve slated to continue tackling interest rates, fixed income strategies remain an ever-important lynchpin in an investor’s portfolios. 
Fixed income mutual funds and ETFs can help investors build on yield, put their cash to work, and diversify their assets. However, traders may not recognize several risks associated with fixed income strategies. 
Mark J. Cintolo, CFA, CAIA, Vice President and Portfolio Consultant at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions, discussed positionin...
ETF Trends •

Capitalize on Apple & Amazon Earnings With These ETFs

With uncertainty swirling around overconcentration in mega-cap tech companies, investors are closely monitoring quarterly earnings. 
Yesterday, both Apple and Amazon released their quarterly earnings. These results highlighted a growing divergence in strength among the world’s largest tech giants. 
Apple reported quarterly revenue of over $94 billion, showcasing a jump of 6% over last year’s numbers. However, this good news was paired with slower revenue in China and a more modest outlook for sa...
ETF Trends •

For Your Consideration: Homebuilding ETFs | ETF Trends

Is the housing market finally starting to show some signs of life?
Recently released data certainly seems to point to that. Last week’s report from Freddie Mac noted that the housing market has seen a bit of a lift. This has been driven by lower mortgage rates, along with strong activity from first-time homebuyers. 
However, Freddie Mac conceded that some housing market headwinds have remained persistent. One particular factor that’s still slowing down the market is the lack of supply. Even if h...
ETF Trends •

SPY Becomes First ETF to Reach $600 Billion in AUM |

It’s a great day to be an investor in SPY, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust. 
As of market close on Oct. 15, 2024, SPY became the world’s first ETF to surpass $600 billion in assets under management. Now, the fund’s AUM sits at about $603 billion, as of Oct. 17, 2024. SPY attained its latest threshold after the fund saw over $7 billion in inflows this week. 
“This is just one of many of firsts that are part of SPY’s legacy as the first US ETF,” noted Matthew Bartolini, managing director and head of SP...
ETF Trends •

Mutual Funds Are Out & ETFs Are In. Here’s Why | ETF Trends

Seeking lower-cost options, investors are increasingly opting for ETFs in lieu of mutual funds.
That’s according to Deloitte, who recently published its 2025 Investment Management Outlook. The Deloitte report broke down just how much cash is moving into the ETF wrapper, along with why investors are continuing to pivot to ETFs. 
According to Deloitte, active mutual funds have seen cumulative net flows of -$2.6 trillion over the last five years. Meanwhile, mutual funds with an indexing approach ha...
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