ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 2/27/25; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
ETFs that allow investors to make big bets on market moves are gaining in popularity by Bob Pisani
“Leverage and inverse ETFs, including leveraged and inverse single-stock ETFs, now routinely show up among the most heavily traded ETFs on a daily basis.”
Wall Street Gamblers Get Crushed as Leveraged ETF Losses Hit 40% by Denitsa Tsekova and Isabelle Lee
“There’s no question that the animal spirits in the marketplace are receding.”
A Diamond ETF is the Way to Reinvigorate Natural Diamond Sales by JCK
“There is a clear path forward: a diamond exchange traded fund (ETF) will establish natural diamonds as an investment-grade asset.”
(Note: This is a sponsored article on this website, but I found it interesting nonetheless.)
Rethinking Defined‐Outcome ETFs: Performance, Fees and the Tradeoffs by Robert Huebscher
“Investors cannot select a product, such as a defined-outcome ETF, based on the expectation of a bad year ahead; that is market timing.”
Here’s Why More Mutual Funds Are Shifting Assets Into ETFs by Jeff Benjamin
“The mutual fund conversion trend, which began with two conversions in 2021 by Guinness Atkinson Asset Management, now includes 103 mutual funds that combine for nearly $170 billion.”
Happy 3rd Anniversary, Capital Group ETFs by Todd Rosenbluth
“Capital Group has quickly made a name for itself in the ETF industry.”
Why Cohen & Steers dove into the ETF marketplace by Palash Ghosh
“Over the past 10-plus years Cohen & Steers has been exploring opportunities to introduce ETFs.”
ETF Post of the Week
In a surprising (at least to some of us in the industry) turn of events, the SEC allowed the SPDR SSGA Apollo IG Public & Private Credit ETF (PRIV) to launch on Thursday. This product can invest between 10-35% in private credit, an illiquid asset class that wasn’t previously available in an ETF wrapper. The SEC does not permit ETFs to hold more than 15% of net assets in investments deemed illiquid. State Street is working around this rule by having Apollo standing ready to provide liquidity – essentially turning an illiquid asset class into a “liquid” one. In other words, Apollo is the buyer, seller, and valuation provider of the private credit. In my opinion, this presents some potential conflicts of interest, though State Street does have the ability to transact with other firms. Interestingly, the SEC seemed to have some second thoughts, sending a list of pointed questions to State Street and Apollo *AFTER* the launch. You don’t see that every day.
In any event, this is yet another shining example of how ETFs are providing access to market segments that were previously difficult to reach.” State Street’s chief business officer, Anna Paglia:
“Historically, the ETF vehicle has been used to unlock market opportunities for all investors, no matter how big or small. Thanks to ETFs, all investors have transparent access to traditionally less-liquid segments of the markets.”
If interested in a deeper dive into this groundbreaking ETF and its potential issues, Brian penned a nice piece here.
The SEC seemingly accepted SSGA/Apollo's private credit etf. Ticker PRIV, 0.70% fee. Private credit may range between 10% and 35% of assets, but can be lower or HIGHER. No 15% cap on illiquids. We were on this possibility from beginning but still very surprised it was approved.
— Brian Moriarty (@bpmoriarty) February 26, 2025
ETF Chart of the Week
Bitcoin, and crypto overall, has experienced a sharp pullback recently. The iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) is now down about 10% this year, including 21% since January 21st. With this performance downturn, spot bitcoin ETFs have experienced record outflows – including over $1 billion last Tuesday. For the month of February, the category shed a record $3.3 billion in assets.
That said, IBIT is still up 80% and bitcoin ETFs overall have taken in $37 billion in assets since debuting last January. It should also be noted that BlackRock is now adding IBIT to their target allocation model portfolios that allow for alternative assets. Lead portfolio manager Michael Gates:
“We believe bitcoin has long-term investment merit and can potentially provide unique and additive sources of diversification to portfolios.”
Guess what happens when you invest in nearly any asset class over the long-term? That’s right… there will be ups and downs.
Source: Bloomberg’s Isabelle Lee & Sidhartha Shukla
ETF Prime Podcast
Last week’s ETF Prime featured Todd Rosenbluth, Head of Research at VettaFi, discussing an ongoing battle for the ETF throne and presenting the latest advisor polling data on fixed income.
ETF Pulse
On last week’s ETF Pulse, etf.com Editor-in-Chief Kristin Myers and I covered the continuing battle between VOO and SPY for world’s largest ETF. We also dove into recent gold ETF demand, bitcoin ETF outflows, combined bitcoin and ether ETFs, and Fidelity’s new ETF model portfolios.
Crypto Prime Podcast
Roger Bayston, Head of Digital Assets at Franklin Templeton, joined me on last week’s Crypto Prime to discuss the recently launched Franklin Crypto Index ETF (EZPZ), the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX), and the future of tokenization.
