The ETF ecosystem is always changing and growing. Thanks to the ETF’s flexibility, transparency, and tradability, it can help investors achieve plenty of bespoke goals. That even includes investing with an eye towards philanthropic causes as with philanthropic ETFs ASD and DUTY.

The top 10 active ETFs YTD by fund flows show some intriguing trends and successful names that may pique the interest.

The ETF landscape includes plenty of exciting ETFs. Not all, however, can claim to combine high current income and outperformance. The ProShares Russell 2000 High Income ETF (ITWO) has done just that so far this year with its innovative approach to covered calls.

The international ETF landscape has become quite popular with investors over the last year. Investors flocked to ex-U.S. equity opportunities over the last 12 months, driven by high domestic valuations and persistent concentration risk. By contrast, emerging and international markets have both offered lower costs and healthy diversification.

A real, potentially lasting U.S.-Iran deal appears to be on the horizon for the first time in many weeks of on-, then off-again negotiations. Should this be the deal that does it, or another one in the near term, oil prices will respond. In fact, they’ve already dropped in response to the news that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen.

Investors have plenty of reasons to celebrate the covered call ETF boom. Covered call strategies have offered new ways to add income to portfolios. Challenges in fixed income were a catalyst for assets to flow into traditional covered call ETFs.

At a time when the cost of living is rising and market volatility appears to be rising, too, investors may be looking for current income to bolster their portfolios. Current income can especially help investors at or near retirement to adapt to retired life.

It’s no secret that investors are on the lookout for opportunities in their fixed income portfolios. This is especially true in today’s shifting landscape. Equities are hot, perhaps too hot, and many investors want strong performances out of their bonds in order to keep up.

The ETF landscape includes a wide variety of innovative, intriguing funds that look to meet investor goals. From equities to fixed income, all kinds of strategies offer intriguing spins on areas like income and dividends.

The ETF industry has exploded in popularity in recent years. Old mutual fund heavy firms have increasingly leaned into the space, while new shops have proliferated, adding all kinds of new ETFs for investors to consider. That has benefitted investors and advisors immensely.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) made a big announcement this week, touting $100 billion in total ETF AUM. The milestone comes following the firm’s recent acquisition of Innovator ETFs adding several notable funds to the firm’s overall roster.

Now, that prospect feels much farther off. Indeed, as government debt grows and macroeconomic pressures and inflation reemerge, investors face a complicated rate environment. Dividends can provide a solution.

Model portfolios are a key pillar for asset managers competing for advisor and investor attention. They offer straightforward, pre-packaged tools that help investors target and achieve specific financial goals. Designing and operating models, however, takes a particular set of skills. Goldman Sachs Asset Management recently made a big hire therein.

Investors and advisors often seek private equity, but they are frequently thwarted by liquidity and other issues.

The ETF landscape is ever changing, and has grown massively since the ETF rule arrived in 2019. It was the game-changer that streamlined the launch process for new funds, thus allowing asset managers to offer new and innovative strategies in the wrapper.

Innovation drives portfolio growth, but how can investors access it while limiting concentration risk – or paying for red-hot valuations? Most investors are already significantly exposed to megacap tech names, but there are plenty more tech players out there that can deliver for investors.

Advisor clients have myriad goals and needs for their portfolios — but this year, delivering on them has gotten more complicated. Events in the Middle East will likely spur inflation for the rest of 2026.

Retirement is a challenge for countless investors and their advisors. A new report from Goldman Sachs has more.

Volatility ETFs have specific purposes to fulfill for investors -- so have they done so in a very volatile year?

It’s a stressful investing landscape right now and investors are feeling it. Volatility, driven by a chaotic geopolitical landscape, has defined much of the market narrative this year — perhaps just second to everything AI. Although markets have marched steadily upward, a growing number of investors are making more defensive moves to adapt. In fact, recent data from VettaFi suggests downside protection ETFs are gaining significant traction.

It’s the big story so far in 2026. Alongside AI, geopolitical market volatility is creating dislocations for investors to target. While some are more immediate and some are longer term, the ETF wrapper offers strategies that can attack all kinds of sectors. In corporate bonds, for example, growing volatility could create opportunities.

Clients may love the relative safety of cash, but many advisors know those assets could do more. A multisector bond approach for example, offers plenty of rewards for those willing to dive in. The right ETF can give tax efficient exposure to the space, providing both yield and total return.

Not only has infrastructure been devastated in key energy production zones, but other critical commodities like fertilizer have become much more expensive as well. It’s important for investors to respond, especially those at or near retirement. The right type of income ETFs can be that response.

VettaFi sat down with Innovator ETFs CIO Graham Day to discuss the move as well as the future of those defined outcome ETFs. Day, who joined the firm in 2017, has been part of many of the shop’s launches in the defined outcome space, one of the more popular options ETF segments.

529 Plans are a huge part of many families' investing lives, but up until recently rarely involved advisors. Could that change?

Income ETFs using options have been one of the biggest categories in recent years. As global volatility has risen, advisor clients and investors of all kinds have clamored for some added income.

Weight loss pills and treatments have exploded in popularity since GLP-1 drugs hit the market. From Ozempic to Wegovy, those pills have changed the lives of countless people around the world. They’ve also paid dividends to the companies that produce them.

ETF fees are falling, along with mutual fund fees, according to a new report looking back over multiple decades.

Muni bonds have been a strong performer so far in 2026, benefitting from an important transition to the ETF wrapper from mutual funds.

Economic dislocations create opportunities. While many market watchers are seriously concerned about the microshifts in markets and stocks, others may see the opportunities that emerge when oil prices spike.

International equities — non-U.S. equities — brought in a record $60 billion in January. Investors are looking abroad for their investment opportunities amid domestic uncertainty like significant concentration risk, Fed questions, and policy concerns.

2026 has kicked off with investors on the lookout for opportunities in a broadening market. While tech remains an important part of countless investor portfolios, it’s not the only category offering opportunities.

Global conflict has erupted in 2026, from South America to the Middle East. With energy at the center of the picture, markets face potentially serious volatility.

February saw more than 50 new ETF launches according to ETF Database data, with some standout offerings to note.

It’s no secret for financial advisors today that cracking the millennial client base is a key part of their work. Every day, U.S. millennials inherit major sums of money and are unsure of how to steward their new assets.

2026 offers plenty of opportunity in tech investing once again following a breakout year for tech AI tech in 2025. Inventors want that tech upside, but this year could behoove investors to diversify outside of AI hyperscalers.

Income ETFs have become a key part of the ETF landscape in recent years. With their ability to use tools like call options and FLEX options, as well as dividend-focused stocks, income ETFs can help investors meet their goals.

The year is young, but already, a clear theme is emerging: investors are looking to add international equities exposure to their portfolios. ETFs already offer a wide variety of options for investors to get that exposure, but which fund or funds make th

The year is young, but already, a clear theme is emerging: investors are looking to add international equities exposure to their portfolios. ETFs already offer a wide variety of options for investors to get that exposure, but which fund or funds make the most sense?

ETF industry and State Street Investment Management leader Matt Bartolini joined VettaFi's Todd Rosenbluth to talk diversification.

Active fixed income ETFs stand out amid the broader transition from mutual funds to ETFs, with DSCO a recent switch.

The whole world may be talking about AI nonstop right now, but that doesn’t mean other tech segments are falling off. Some are actually outperforming. Blockchain ETF BLOK, for example, has significantly outperformed its ETF Database Category average over the last year.

Investors have flocked to the evolving income ETFs space in recent years. The arrival of the ETF rule in 2019 helped launch countless new and intriguing ETF offerings aimed at adding income to investor portfolios.

The ETF ecosystem grew once more in December with more than 100 new launches joining the fray. Three funds invite a closer look.

ETFs have come on in leaps and bounds since the ETF rule arrived in 2019. Exchange-traded funds are taking a bigger and bigger role in the investment landscape, offering a different route into many strategies compared to mutual funds.

Income ETFs can help retirees and their advisors navigate complicated economic times as they strive to meet their goals.

Investors and advisors have numerous goals to meet with their portfolios. Some investors full send their portfolios to produce as much capital appreciation as possible. Others, especially those at or near retirement age, look for current income and ballast to steady their financial ships.

2025 is drawing to a close, and investors have plenty to look back on. Active ETF performance and proliferation was once again an important theme, and as the category matures, its standout performers have diversified.

Preparing for the new year? It helps to look back on the big stories in fund management that can inform plans for 2026.

Looking to add exposure to the Nasdaq? The key market index, with its heavy focus on the information technology sector, can help investors lean more into some key growth-oriented firms in the U.S. and global economy.