Trillions

For the first time in its 49-year history, Vanguard has chosen a chief executive from outside the company. His name is Salim Ramji, who previously served as head of BlackRock’s global exchange-traded fund business. The move comes as Vanguard continues to lead the industry in flows, but the giant has other challenges—such as customer service. How much should we expect Ramji to change, or leave the the same, in the House that Bogle Built? On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas are joined by reporter Silla Brush to answer all of these questions and look at the broader topics surrounding the constantly changing landscape of asset management. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was the most successful ETF launch in history by nearly all metrics. For most ETFs it takes years to hit $10 billion in assets. IBIT did it in less than two months. It's now closing in on $20 billion. How much bigger will it get? Who exactly is buying it? And how did BlackRock end up being one of the firms leading the charge on ETF-izing crypto? On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric speak with Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets for BlackRock, about the huge bitcoin ETF launch, the market for these funds, the potential ether ETF launch as well as his career at BlackRock and how he helped the firm evolve on this new frontier.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

The Big Take from Bloomberg News brings you inside what’s shaping the world's economies with the smartest and most informed business reporters around the world. The context you need on the stories that can move markets. Every afternoon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

After years and years of drama, the US Securities and Exchange Commission finally let 10 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds begin trading last week. The launches have been wildly successful. But now that these funds are in the wild, you probably have a few questions. And you're not alone!  On this episode, Eric and Joel along with James Seyffart, ETF analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence—open up the mailbag to answer all your most pressing questions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Exchange-traded funds tracking areas that lagged megacap US stocks—such as small caps, international, value and cannabis—are among the 24 ETFs that Bloomberg Intelligence says represent themes that could drive the market in 2024. Other big themes include the mini-boom in active and the race for the first spot Bitcoin ETF.  On this episode, Eric and Joel take a tour of BI’s list of ETFs to watch for the year ahead. They’re joined by BI’s James Seyffart and Athanasios Psarofagis to go through the 15 US ETFs on the list.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is busier than Santa’s elves these days as it scrambles to work with exchange-traded fund issuers to fine-tune offering documents ahead of the likely approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. While this ten year-long saga seems to be nearing an end, approving them will create a whole new world of products—and regulation. On this episode, Joel Weber, Eric Balchunas and Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld speak with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in front of an audience at Bloomberg’s 8th Annual ETFs in Depth conference. Topics discussed include Bitcoin and crypto ETFs, as well as other topics on the SEC’s radar, such as ETF share classes, the growing size of big passive fund companies as well as a steady stream of more complex products. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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After more than a decade-long wait, it’s looking likely that the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETFs will soon arrive in the US. But despite the heated race just to get off the start line, SEC approval is actually just when the story begins. Who among the dozen issuers who have filed so far will even make it off the blocks? How will the ETFs differentiate themselves? Who exactly are the prospective investors? On this episod, Eric and Joel speak with ARK founder Cathie Wood and 21 Shares’ co-founder Ophelia Snyder about their spot Bitcoin ETF, their plethora of crypto futures ETFs, bitcoin price predictions, institutional adoption and ARK’s third act as an ETF issuer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to evaluating companies for different exchange-traded fund strategies, some things can be easily measured—such as dividends and price-to-earnings ratios. Others are harder to gauge. This so-called dark matter of the stock market universe includes thinks like a company's brand power, human capital and intellectual property. The latter is something called “intangible value.” And now there’s an ETF for that, too. On this episode, Joel and Eric speak with Kai Wu, founder and chief investment officer of Sparkline Capital, the issuer behind the Sparkline Intangible Value ETF (or ITAN), as well as Chis Cain, a quant analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Topics discussed include defining intangible value, how it explains the relentless returns of the Super 7 stocks and how much of it is being captures by popular ETFs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At Bloomberg, we’re always talking about the biggest business stories, and no one is bigger than Elon Musk. In this new chat weekly show, host David Papadopoulos and a panel of guests including Businessweek’s Max Chafkin, Tesla reporter Dana Hull, Big Tech editor Sarah Frier, and more, will break down the most important stories on Musk and his empire. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ESG seems to have went from all the rage to yesterday's news as ETFs tracking these strategies have been hit with big stretches of underperformance and outflows while media interest has waned. What happened? And where does it go from here?  On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric discuss and debate this with Rob Du Boff and Shaheen Contractor, ESG analysts for Bloomberg Intelligence as well as hosts of a new ESG podcast called ESG Currents.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.