Plenty of ink has been spilled about how much money has gone into active ETFs in 2023, and from a pure top-line flows perspective, it’s true.

We can and are building much taller skyscrapers. But they are impractical money losers because so much floor space is taken up by elevators. A new book explains the interplay between size and scale, and what it means for our economy and investments.

Hedge funds are in regulators’ sights again. Their risk-taking with borrowed money must be better monitored and will sometimes have to be limited, the head of a global group of supervisors told the Financial Times last week.

Active management in ETFs are gaining market share in 2023, as leading managers bring their best ideas into the ETF industry.

The post-Covid era seems ripe for a Yogi-ism since economists and policymakers have been so wrong about the path of the economy and inflation. Yes, inflation is finally on a downward trend, but it has proven far stickier than the Federal Reserve and most economists predicted and remains above the Fed’s 2% target.

In many ways, 2023 continues to be the mirror image of 2022, with the most volatile assets being some of the best performers for much of the year.

By applying artificial intelligence and Chat GPT to statements made by active fund managers, researchers have found that their underperformance can be partly explained by overconfidence that led to, among other things, excessive risk taking.

Bond investors face the crucial decision of just how much risk to take in Treasuries with 10-year yields at the highest in more than a decade and the Federal Reserve signaling it’s almost done raising rates.

Financial advisors often face the challenge of transitioning a new client into their practice in a tax-efficient way.

ETF Trends interviewed three sources about active ETFs, why financial advisors are opting for these investment solutions for clients, and how these factors have changed in recent years. Each source responded to the same questions in their respective interviews.

BlackRock Inc. and other money managers spent years rolling out sustainable funds, seeking to capitalize on surging interest in ESG investing. Now they’re abandoning an increasing number of those products in the US amid political backlash and investor scrutiny.

For active managers, the math is stark. Out of thousands of mutual funds, literally only one beat the Nasdaq 100 over the last five, 10 and 15 years. It did so by boiling down stock picks to about two dozen companies and riding almost all of them to gains.

Now seems like a good time to talk about wrappers and which ones are best for different situations. How do you decide whether to use an ETF, a mutual fund, or something else?

Here’s how I apply behavioral finance to help clients to think differently about their investing.

ETFs are the instrument of choice for millions of investors in the U.S. Through a single trade and for a relatively low price, an investor gains broad exposure to a market, sector or niche.

VettaFi’s vice chairman Tom Lydon discussed the iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe of “Money Life.”

Today's economic conditions are attractive for BDCs (business development companies), and some benefit from businesses seeking alternative financing sources.

Dina Ting, Franklin Templeton ETFs’ Head of Global Index Portfolio Management, explores the positive trends that are making a case for holding UK equities.

Factory order numbers had previously been a source of positivity for the U.S. economy. The tough turn for the economy should remind investors of active ETFs’ ability to respond to a market downturn.

After a slow start to asset gathering, U.S.-listed equity ETFs were in vogue during the summer. At the end of August, the asset category had $165 billion of net inflows, more than $125 billion for fixed income.

Multi-sector fixed income strategies can deliver significant benefits to investors – including yield enhancement, volatility reduction and diversification of asset-class exposures – because of managers having the freedom to make tactical shifts between fixed-income sub-sectors.

Active ETFs have had a really strong year so far in 2023, picking up advisor and investor interest. Even institutional investors have increasingly turned towards specialist, responsive management.

We believe the best way to add value is through relative positioning in sector allocations, individual security selection and along the yield curve, holding duration neutral overall. That approach, however, does not prevent us from having views on interest rates and we think bonds offer good value at current rate levels.

Taxable municipal bonds may be an attractive option for investors in lower tax brackets, but there are things investors should know before making a decision.

If you’re interested in investing in mutual funds or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – or you already have some in your portfolio – you may be wondering what exactly the difference is between an active and a passive fund.

Vanguard Group’s best-of-both-worlds stranglehold over the money-management industry is facing a new kind of challenger.

In the current landscape, where bonds and stocks are experiencing positive correlation, it becomes even more important (if not critical) to incorporate additional diversification strategies to help mitigate portfolio risk and preserve portfolio balance.

Vanguard Group has famously stood apart in the money-management world with its popular mutual funds offering the liquid ETF wrapper.

Despite the increasing popularity of self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBAs) within 401(k) plans, recent data reveals that women are under-utilizing this investment tool.

The government has issued an eye-watering $1 trillion in Treasury bills since the debt ceiling was suspended in early June. So far, the market hasn’t batted an eye.

Former Bridgewater Associates LP executive Bob Elliott’s plan for exchange-traded funds that employ hedge fund strategies has sharpened the debate about whether retail investors should have access to such approaches.

ETFs are investments that can hold: bonds, stocks, gold bullion and cryptocurrencies. Canadian ETFs track a wide range of different asset classes via indexes. Most ETFs are tied to index products, including both equity or fixed income funds.

Monetary and fiscal policy are typically thought of as independent tools that central banks and governments use to manage the economy.

Foreign stocks are again competitive with their domestic counterparts. Here are four ways to gain exposure.

Advisors are using tax-managed products for tax-sensitive clients. In this interview, we learn how tax-managed products maximize the after-tax returns for investors to help them get to their goals with greater certainty.

The Agg is supposed to be to bonds what the S&P 500 Index is to equities. But it is an insufficient gauge for measuring the bond universe.

Where have all the publicly held companies gone? As companies increasingly choose to remain private, new opportunities emerge for investors.

As businesses worldwide adopt technology, the innovation of AI may result in market leadership changes, global economic growth, and investor opportunities.

We maintain a neutral-duration posture overall. We prefer an up-in-quality bias and have become increasingly selective in non-investment grades.

Effective tax planning means thinking about how tax rates might change.

The potential for a Fed pause presents an opportunity for investors to consider adding duration back into their portfolios.

Today, not one Vanderbilt descendant can trace his or her wealth to the vast fortune Cornelius bequeathed.

During the past decade, a turnaround in the Golden State has resulted in higher credit quality for many issuers.

We think advisors and end clients should dig deeper than a fund’s expense ratio to understand the exposure provided. For example, while IEMG has exposure to South Korean stocks, SPEM is like VWO and does not own them.

Great things rarely occur within your comfort zone. Earning revenue via commission-based mutual funds or annuities might seem straightforward and familiar, but it isn’t a sustainable way to grow your practice.

There’s been a steady trend in the advisory profession to fee-based practices and holistic wealth-management services. But just because this trend is widespread doesn’t mean that transitioning to fee-based models comes without challenges. My guest today, Jen Gloss, will discuss the why and how of transitioning from commissionable products to fee-based wealth management.

Municipal exchange-traded funds, still a relatively new and small part of the $4 trillion state and local debt market, have seen growth stall dramatically after record inflows last year as the shift away from mutual funds slowed.

To stand a chance of winning in this market, stock pickers need big tech exposure. Not all of them can get it.

TCW is the latest well-established asset manager poised to enter the ETF business. But unlike some of its peers, TCW is going the acquisition route. Today, TCW announced it is buying the Engine No. 1 ETF business.

TCW Group, the asset manager with a long history of managing bond funds, is expanding into exchange-traded funds with an agreement to buy an ETF business from activist investor Engine No. 1.

ESG scoring and mandates remain a subject we have contested since it sprang to life in 2020. The push of “woke activism” on, and by companies, to meet nebulous or artificial standards has led to various bad outcomes.