Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, let you invest in everything from the stock market to gold like never before. This biweekly podcast will demystify them—and delight you in the process.
Latest Episodes
- State of the ETF Industry With BlackRock’s ETF Captain(Podcast)While the media — us included! — bestows a lot of attention on “shiny objects” in the investment world, almost all the real money goes to the massive firms such as BlackRock. The world’s largest asset manager is fast approaching $10 trillion assets under management, almost a quarter of which is in ETFs — many of them low-cost veterans. On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with Salim Ramji, the head of BlackRock's global ETF business, about areas of growth for ETFs, the widening investor base, potential threats such as direct indexing, mutual fund-to-ETF conversions, and when a iShares crypto ETF is coming out (probably not soon).
- ETFs Go Into the MetaverseThe day that Mark Zuckerberg announced he was changing the name of Facebook to Meta Platforms, the Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF ($META) found a new trajectory. Since then, the ETF—which holds companies such as Nvidia, Roblox, Unity, Microsoft, and, well, Meta—has seen assets grow 6-fold and volume jump 50-fold. Much like $HACK, which also benefited from being the right idea at the right time, META is fast on its way to becoming a billion-dollar ETF—mostly because of a big news event. Eric and Joel explore the metaverse—and the investing opportunities it could bring—with Matthew Ball, managing partner of EphyllionCo and the brain behind the ETF; Matt Kanterman, who covers gaming as a senior analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence; and Rebecca Sin, an ETF analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. The group discusses how to think about the metaverse, what's at stake for companies, why investors are so excited, AR and VR applications, the size of the virtual economy, Robux vs crypto, and more.
- The Rise of the Anti-Woke ETFA new batch of ETFs seeks to appeal to right-leaning investors who want an alternative to "woke" Corporate America and ESG activism. While political-themed ETFs aren't a new idea, they've never really managed to attract meaningful assets. With Americans more polarized than ever before, could this be the moment that these ETFs actually find an audience? On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with Bloomberg Businessweek national correspondent Joshua Green about his magazine story on 2ndVote Advisers, which will soon introduce a new fund to complement their existing offerings ($EGIS and $LYFE). They also discuss the infighting with the $MAGA ETF, the practical considerations of putting these funds into a portfolio, and why this version of conservative investing is so challenged.
- The Bitcoin ETF Race Is Over—and Also Just BeginningThe quest for a bitcoin ETF has lasted more than eight years. Countless filings have ended in rejection. Then, finally, it happened—the SEC allowed a bitcoin ETF to come to market, albeit one that tracks futures as opposed to holding bitcoin. The unlikely winner of this race? ProShares, whose ETF $BITO broke all kinds of records for a new launch. Valkyrie's version, $BTF, was also approved. On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with ETF lawyer Jeremy Senderowicz of Vedder Price, Katie Greifeld of Bloomberg News, and James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence about these developments. Their discussion includes how Greifeld's reporting moved the price of bitcoin, why the SEC allowed futures-backed products, who benefits from these investments, and what comes next.
- Cooking Up Returns with ETF Master ChefsETF strategists are professional investors who create model portfolios that financial advisers can bring to their retail clients. You can think of them almost like chefs — experts who know how to combine the right ingredients into recipes that, if everything goes as planned, can achieve a desired outcome. On this episode of Trillions — a special episode that coincides with the debut of their new Bloomberg Quicktake show, “Trillions Presents: ETF Master Chefs” — Eric and Joel host ETF strategists Shana Sissel, CIO of Spotlight Asset Group, John Davi, founder of Astoria Portfolio Advisors, Tushar Yadava, Investment Strategist at BlackRock and Ben Lavine, CIO of 3D Asset Management Group. The group discusses the investing process, portfolio construction, and, of course, everybody’s favorite tickers.
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