This week J.P. Morgan Asset Management launched two actively managed municipal bond ETFs focused on California and New York debt, offering investors a way to earn tax-free income inside a more flexible and transparent fund structure.
J.P. Morgan converted two mutual funds into active muni ETFs for California and New York investors seeking tax-free income.
Advisors searching for diversification from a concentrated S&P 500 Index often reach for equal-weight strategies. However, a new report argues that all equal-weight approaches are not interchangeable.
Goldman Sachs and Innovator panelists say buffer ETFs can help advisors move cash-shy clients into stocks with built-in downside limits.
The first-ever autism ETF and the continued rise of quantum computing were both in the spotlight on this week’s ETF Prime. Host Nate Geraci welcomed Sylvia Jablonski, chief investment officer of Defiance ETFs, to discuss the firm’s latest launch and one of the market’s top-performing funds. Defiance has grown from roughly $1 billion in total assets in late 2022 to over $13 billion today.
The top ETF launches of the past decade were the focus on this week’s ETF Prime. Host Nate Geraci and Cynthia Murphy, director of research at VettaFi, counted down the 10 most successful debuts by current assets. Murphy noted that the S&P 500’s roughly 13% annualized gain over that span helped shape many of the performance stories on the list.
Fast-tracking mega IPOs into major indexes and the case for active preferred ETFs were both on the agenda for this week’s ETF Prime. Host Nate Geraci welcomed Rich Lee, head of program trading and execution strategy at Baird, and Douglas Baker, portfolio manager and head of preferred securities at Nuveen.
New AdvizorPro data shows RIAs broadened their ETF lineups in Q1 2026, leaning into real assets, active managers, and defense strategies.
Exchange traded fund inflows have topped $750 billion in 2026. This puts the industry on pace to challenge the $1.5 trillion annual record set last year, Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, told host Nate Geraci on this week’s ETF Prime. Both suggested the industry could approach or surpass $2 trillion by year-end.
As inflation lingers and market dynamics shift, advisors are rethinking the 60/40 portfolio with managed futures and options income ETFs.
Semiconductors and software have largely overshadowed the electrification ETF trade. Paul Baiocchi, head of fund sales and strategy at SS&C ALPS Advisors, says most investors are missing the sectors that actually power the AI buildout.
Top RIA executives said Tuesday the industry's growth is still early, with breakaway clients and a talent shortage as key forces.
Andrew Chanin, CEO of ProcureAM, and Paul Baiocchi, head of fund sales and strategy at SS&C ALPS Advisors, joined Nate Geraci on this week’s ETF Prime to discuss specialized thematic opportunities. The Procure Space ETF (UFO) has grown from $50 million to over $800 million in assets over the past year while gaining nearly 150% in the same period, according to Chanin.
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS) executives detailed their artificial intelligence strategy for operational efficiency as new data showed the top 100 registered investment advisor firms now manage more than $1.6 trillion in client assets, double what they controlled just two years ago, according to Padi Raphael, global co-head of third party wealth at the firm.
TCW's concentrated strategy targets power grid constraints over clean tech, riding demand from AI and manufacturing reshoring.
Kirsten Chang, senior industry analyst at VettaFi, joined Nate Geraci on this week’s ETF Prime to discuss the relentless pace of new ETF launches in 2026. The industry has launched nearly 370 new ETFs in just over four months. It is tracking toward 1,100 to 1,200 launches for the year, matching the record set in 2025, according to Chang.
The performance reflects a shift toward gaming infrastructure over content, with the technology sector contributing 10.39% to the index’s return while consumer discretionary holdings subtracted 0.80%, according to VettaFi index data for April.
Lance Humphrey, head of portfolio management at Victory Capital, and Dom Rizzo, portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, joined Nate Geraci on this week’s ETF Prime to discuss quality investing and active technology strategies. Victory Capital now ranks as a top 30 ETF issuer with 23 ETFs and over $21 billion in assets, having attracted $1.7 billion in inflows year-to-date.
Active ETFs are punching well above their weight in 2026. Despite representing just 12% of total ETF assets, actively managed funds have captured 40% of year-to-date flows, Todd Mathias, head of North America ETF product strategy at Franklin Templeton, told attendees at an April 27 roundtable discussion at the firm’s Manhattan office.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) announced Monday that Tim Cook will transition to executive chairman, while John Ternus will become CEO effective September 1. Ternus has served as senior vice president of hardware engineering since 2021. He will lead the company after 25 years focused on product development across iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods and Apple Watch.
Stacey Morris, head of energy research at VettaFi, joined Nate Geraci on this week’s ETF Prime to discuss energy ETFs amid the Iran conflict. Geopolitics currently dominates oil prices and energy stocks, though the sector posted strong gains before the war began, according to Morris.
Exchange-traded fund flows surpassed $500 billion in the first three and a half months of 2026 as the industry continues its rapid expansion with more than 300 new launches and record trading volumes.
Active management is gaining traction as investors navigate a market paradox where high valuations meet geopolitical uncertainty, according to Chris Davis, chairman and portfolio manager at Davis Advisors.
New ETF launches address concentration and liquidity risks exposed by volatile markets through active and passive strategies.
Cinthia Murphy, investment strategist at VettaFi, joined Nate Geraci on this week’s ETF Prime to discuss record ETF flows in the first quarter despite challenging market conditions. The industry exceeded $460 billion in total flows, a 50% year-over-year increase from Q1 2025, according to Murphy.
An Exchange conference panel explored bitcoin's evolving role, allocation tactics, and ETF structures for advisors building crypto portfolios.
Nate Geraci explored defense ETFs and a historic money market launch on this week’s ETF Prime, featuring VettaFi’s Roxana Islam and ProShares’ Simeon Hyman.
The actively managed fund charges a 0.65% expense ratio and uses an options overlay designed to generate income while managing volatility. Energy makes up 45.87% of the fund’s sector allocation, followed by information technology at 25.83%, industrials at 16.43% and utilities at 11.87%, according to the factsheet.
Artificial intelligence will reshape how asset management firms operate, but the biggest obstacle isn’t technology, it’s getting people to change how they work, according to VanEck CEO Jan van Eck.
Nate Geraci explored active ETFs and sector investing on this week’s ETF Prime, featuring Baron Capital’s Matt Camuso and VanEck’s Michael Cohick.
T. Rowe Price is leveraging three decades of private equity experience to give active ETF investors access to companies at the core of artificial intelligence, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Databricks, according to Christopher Murphy, head of ETF specialists at the firm.
Industry experts at Exchange 2026 explored why only a quarter of advisors have formal succession planning in place and what it takes to execute well.
The Securities and Exchange Commission should focus on enabling retail investor access to innovation rather than limiting products through merit-based judgments, according to Commissioner Hester Peirce. In a discussion with Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at TMX VettaFi, during the Exchange conference in Las Vegas, Peirce shared insight from her term at the SEC and examined the agency’s role moving forward.
Nate Geraci hosted a live ETF Prime episode from the Exchange conference in Las Vegas. The panel featured discussions on active ETFs and industry trends with Dimensional’s Wes Krill, and a roundtable of experts.
As artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure debt floods bond markets, investors face a new risk landscape shaped by complex financing structures and potential overbuilding across the data center ecosystem.
Chris Tessin, Founder and Portfolio Manager at Acuitas Investments, discusses the firm’s multi-manager approach to global small- and micro-cap investing, as well as the launch of its first ETF, the Acuitas Small Cap Active ETF (AIMS). Bill Mann, Chief Investment Strategist at Motley Fool Asset Management, breaks down three recently launched factor-based ETFs and how they bring The Motley Fool’s “Foolish” investment philosophy to life through systematic stock selection.
Data center developers plan to reduce their reliance on utility grids by investing in onsite power for rapidly scaling facilities. The shift creates opportunities for electrification infrastructure providers as energy independence takes on new urgency.
Thematic exchange traded fund assets in the U.S. have surged from $22 billion in 2015 to over $193 billion today, but not all thematic funds deliver on their promises, according to a new FactSet analysis.
February data shows investors abandoning growth strategies for cyclical sectors as value funds attract $15 billion in new assets.
Kirsten Chang, Senior Industry Analyst at VettaFi, unpacks controversial filings for prediction market ETFs and examines the increasingly blurred line between gambling and investing. Chris Marangi, Co-Chief Investment Officer of Value at Gabelli Funds, highlights the recently launched Gabelli Opportunities in Live and Sports ETF (GOLS) and explores the broader investment opportunities across live media, entertainment, and sports.
Last year’s market surge wasn’t built on hype. New research from Alger shows that AI spending and the accompanying infrastructure buildout drove corporate earnings higher, with fundamentals doing the heavy lifting rather than investor sentiment alone.
Matt Markiewicz, Head of Product and Capital Markets at Tradr ETFs, highlights the company’s leveraged single-stock ETF lineup and innovative monthly and quarterly reset products, while offering insight into the growing sophistication of retail investors navigating leveraged and inverse ETFs. Christian Magoon, Founder and CEO of Amplify ETFs, discusses Amplify’s rapid ascent past $20 billion in assets, driven by strong demand for its YieldSmart ETFs and thematic offerings.
Wealth management tech helps RIAs scale, but integration challenges and learning curves remain barriers to maximizing effectiveness.
Roundhill Financial, GraniteShares, and Bitwise have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for prediction market ETFs. These funds would let investors bet directly on election outcomes. That would be a departure from traditional political theme funds that hold baskets of stocks expected to benefit from certain party victories.
Craig Ebeling, Head of ETF Strategists at Fidelity Investments, delivers an ETF “State of the Union,” outlining the key trends and themes shaping the industry today. Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector & Industry Research at VettaFi, examines the record surge in international equity ETF inflows, analyzes the drivers behind the category’s performance, and highlights standout funds beyond the ETF leaderboard’s biggest names.
The ALPS Clean Energy ETF (ACES) jumped 9.26% in January as investors turned their attention to the massive power requirements of AI data centers and the infrastructure needed to support them, according to recent ALPS Advisors insights.
The fund’s outperformance comes as investors debate whether market leadership will broaden beyond mega-cap technology names. While passive index funds must hold all constituents regardless of fundamentals, CNEQ’s structure enables its portfolio manager to concentrate capital in companies they believe are showing accelerating growth.
Investors seeking protection from geopolitical volatility and stubborn inflation in 2026 may find opportunity in short-term bonds, where active management has historically delivered returns 25% higher than passive strategies, according to Vontobel Asset Management.
Todd Rosenbluth, Head of Research at VettaFi, and host Nate Geraci walk through five of the most noteworthy ETF flow stories so far this year. Chris Getter, Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at Simplify Asset Management, unpacks private credit and the Simplify VettaFi Private Credit Strategy ETF (PCR).
Concentration risk is the #1 controllable risk in your portfolio. If one stock goes to zero and it’s your whole bag, you're in trouble. But selling usually means a giant tax bill—until now.
