Trillions

Latest Episodes:

AI Mania Is Coming for ETFs Jun 08, 2023

Show notes

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve likely heard about how Artificial Intelligence is going to be a big deal. The exchange-traded fund industry is as excited as any other, and has launched a slew of funds dedicated to either using AI or investing in AI companies. But will this shiny new object be the monumental shift some predict it will be?

On this episode, we chat with Dave Mazza, chief strategy officer for Roundhill, and Rebecca Sin, an ETF analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence who covers Asia. We discuss how much of this trend is hype versus reality, and what investors should know.

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The FOMO Drought May 25, 2023

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The S&P 500 Index is up 9%, the Nasdaq 100 has jumped 25% and Bitcoin-mining stocks are up more than 100%—and yet no one seems to care. At least that’s the case among exchange-traded fund investors who have put virtually no money into US equities. It’s what we’re calling the FOMO drought. What’s behind this odd phenomenon, and what can end it?

Joel and Eric sit down with Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Athanasios Psarofagis to discuss several spots in the flows, such as international, thematic, leveraged ETFs and money market funds, that can help offer some clues as to why we are seeing such a flow-less rally in US stocks.

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The $30 Trillion ETF Market Is Coming May 11, 2023

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Exchange-traded funds could go from $9 trillion in global assets today to $30 trillion in the next decade as investors far and wide continue to migrate from mutual funds. This is the prediction that Brown Brothers Harriman reached in their 10th Annual ETF Survey last month.

On this episode, Joel and Eric speak with Shawn McNinch, Global ETF Head at BBH, to pore over the survey, including questions on how ETFs are selected, what areas investors want to see more products covering and the differences between the US and other regions.

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The Hottest New Trade Is the Most Boring Apr 27, 2023

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The hottest new trade is the most boring asset class: money market mutual funds. Once regarded as a no-yield option investors would only use to park cash in a crisis, they now yield more than 4.5%. In the first quarter alone, investors flocked to them to the tune of half a trillion dollars. But how do they work? What do they invest in? And why do investors use them instead of similar-yielding, cheaper Treasury exchange-traded funds?

We answer all these questions and more on the latest episode of Trillions, which features Nafis Smith, principal and head of Vanguard’s taxable money markets, as well as Bloomberg Senior Editor Mike Regan and reporter Katie Greifeld.

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The Lowdown on Increasing Your ‘ETF IQ’ Apr 13, 2023

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The first exchange-traded fund television show ever created, Bloomberg’s ETF IQ, just finished its first year on the air. On this episode, we talk to its anchors, Matt Miller and Katie Greifeld, about what goes into making the program, some of its highlights and recurring themes. These include the resurgence of active management, ESG’s struggles, investing amid rising interest rates and the wild world of indie issuers.

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The Aftermath of Another Banking Mess, This Time in Europe Mar 30, 2023

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UBS recently acquired its troubled neighbor, Credit Suisse, creating a Swiss megabank. How it all went down led to an avalanche of headlines, with a few interesting angles for investors in things such as exchange-traded notes and CoCo bonds.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber discuss some of the takeaways with Alison Williams, a senior analyst who covers investment banks and the asset management industry for Bloomberg Intelligence, as well as ETF analyst Athanasios Psarofagis.

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The Situation With Midsize Banks Mar 16, 2023

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In barely a week, three banks a lot of people had never heard of—Silvergate, Silicon Valley and Signature—suddenly became toast. The US government found itself playing backstop to prevent an escalation as whipsawed investors hoped the worst was over.

But is it? And in what kind of funds can these banks stocks be found? How will they affect performance? Hint: It would have been a good week to short some of Jim Cramer’s top picks.

On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with reporter Katie Greifeld and Athanasios Psarofagis and James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence. They discuss which exchange-traded funds saw the most action and why, the impact on returns and volume, and some of the less obvious ripple effects.

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This ETF Is Betting Against Jim Cramer’s Picks Mar 02, 2023

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Jim Cramer—the host of Mad Money on CNBC—makes a lot of investing calls. It’s part of his shtick. And as you can easily divine from social media, not all of them pan out. The new Inverse Cramer Tracker ETF (SJIM), which might be one of the most entertaining exchange-traded funds ever imagined, is aiming to turn Cramer’s “Midas touch” into big returns by shorting stocks he’s bullish on. It also goes long on Cramer’s bearish bets. For good measure, there’s also a Long Cramer Tracker ETF (LJIM).

On this episode of Trillions, Eric, Joel and reporter Katie Greifeld speak with the man behind the ETF, Matt Tuttle of Tuttle Capital Management. We learn how the products work, what’s in the portfolios how much cable television Tuttle has to watch.

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Exchanging Exchanges at Exchange Feb 16, 2023

Show notes

The Exchange ETF Conference was recently held in Miami Beach with more than 1,000 people in attendance. While the gathering was as popular as ever and networking in full bloom, the vibe was a little more subdued—likely a reflection the recent bear market.

On this episode of Trillions, we run through snippets of several interviews with attendees, covering topics including how the conference has evolved, international investing, the rise of active, industry growth projections, crypto, gold—and even advice on how to break a full-court press from a legendary NCAA basketball coach.

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Are ETFs Killing Future Stock Market Returns? Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

The rise of index funds, exchange-traded funds and passive investing in recent years has been nothing short of momentous, as investors across the US and around the world learn to rely on slow-and-steady returns. But there’s been rising concern over the potential side effects of this sea change in the way stocks are bought and sold. The new worry is that, because index funds (and ETFs) are so cheap and easy to access, more people will use them—and this will push down future expected returns for everyone.

On this week’s episode of Trillions, we talk to Martin Schmalz, professor of finance and economics at the University of Oxford, about his latest paper on the topic, “Index Funds, Asset Prices, and the Welfare of Investors.” We discuss and debate his paper as well as some other concerns, such as common ownership, and whether any public policy is needed.

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