ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 9/7/23; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
Secretive active ETFs lose out to their fully transparent rivals by Steve Johnson
“Semi-transparent ETFs are dead.”
Can ETFs Work in 401(k)s With Mutual Fund Rebranding? by Alex Ortolani
“We recognized that the $6 trillion 401(k) DC/DB space is really cut out of the innovation that’s happening on the ETF side of the house.”
Securities Lending Provides Value. But Is It Enough To Make a Bad Fund Good? by Zachary Evens & Lan Anh Tran
“Vanguard Russell 2000 ETF, a popular small-cap ETF, earned an average securities-lending return of 0.11% annually from 2018 through 2022. This exactly offset its average expense ratio for the period.”
This Could Be Buffett’s Best Investment Ever by Meb Faber
“What if Berkshire launched an ETF? Warren, when you’re ready let me know and I’ll let you have the OMHA ticker…”
Active Stock ETFs Are Thriving. Index Funds Will Probably Beat Them. by Lauren Foster
“For the year through the end of August, active ETFs garnered 23.7% of all net flows despite representing just 6% of the market.”
Ramaswamy’s Anti-ESG ETF Firm Hits $1 Billion in Assets by Katie Greifeld
“It is a rare feat for any indie issuer to hit $1 billion in first year.”
ETF shop that shorts Cramer has sights on anti-ESG by Emile Hallez
“Small asset managers have brought more than two dozen anti-ESG funds to market over roughly a year.”
Grayscale court victory used in arguments for spot ether ETF by Ben Strack
“They’re basically betting that the SEC is not going to be able to figure out a way to deny spot bitcoin ETFs here.”
Financial Advisors May Jump on Spot Bitcoin ETFs, If Approved by Jeff Benjamin
“A spot bitcoin ETF eliminates confusion about regulatory issues, because it uses the most popular vehicle in the world.”
ETF Tweet of the Week
Sometimes, the simplest tweets are the best. Lost in the crypto ETF hype (guilty as charged) is an ongoing ETF fee war. State Street recently chopped the expense ratio on its SPDR Portfolio High Yield Bond ETF (SPHY). Why? Because as Dave points out below, price still matters. Investors can now access a portfolio of nearly 2,000 high yield bonds for 5 basis points!
ETF Chart of the Week
The below offers a nice visual of the historical premium and discount found in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GTBC). Optimism surrounding the prospects for spot bitcoin ETF approval – including Grayscale’s recent court victory – has helped narrow GBTC’s discount to 17%, its smallest since late December 2021.
Grayscale’s legal team followed-up their court win by sending a comment letter to the SEC last week urging the agency to quickly approve GBTC’s conversion to an ETF, which would eliminate the remainder of what was once a nearly 50% discount.
(Note: If interested in going more in-depth on the court ruling, comment letter, and GBTC’s conversion, I highly recommend listening to my conversation with Craig Salm on last week’s ETF Prime. Craig is Grayscale’s Chief Legal Officer and does an excellent job of laying everything out.)
