ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 3/27/25; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
What’s hot in ETFs? Bond funds are in demand as investors flee the Nasdaq ‘QQQ’ by Bob Pisani
“About 2,000 asset managers and investment advisors are here at the Exchange ETF conference in Las Vegas.”
Schwab and Fidelity halt of BlackRock’s money-market fund ETF trades was no shock nor was it a straightforward series of events — or explanations by Oisin Breen
“If you can’t beat ’em, block ’em.”
How Private Assets Impede the Benefits of ETFs by Daniel Sotiroff
“At the moment, these ETFs look like a distraction. Transparency is low, fees are high, and the benefits appear questionable.”
Launches of private asset ETFs raise concerns in funds industry by Will Schmitt
“The great appeal of private assets is that allocators can pretend they don’t go up and down.”
Active Management Lives On in ETFs After $1 Trillion Asset Haul by Isabelle Lee
“It’s not just confidence in the manager themselves, but confidence in the ETF wrapper.”
Panel: ‘A Cloud has Lifted’ on the ETF Regulatory Front by David Bodamer
“There’s been a ‘regulation by enforcement’ vibe for the last decade that is now lifting.”
Bond Ladder ETFs Can Help Investors Climb a Steepening Yield Curve by Saraja Samant
“For those undeterred by the risk of inflation, defined-maturity ETFs can overcome many, though not all, of the problems associated with building a bond ladder through individual bonds.”
How to Make 267%—or Lose 90%—on Treasury Bonds by Jason Zweig
“If you’d bought the leading exchange-traded fund investing in long-term U.S. Treasury bonds at its peak in August 2020, you’d have lost 41.3% by now.”
Fidelity Looks to Add Spot Solana ETF to Crypto Offerings by Mallika Mitra
“A meaningful portion of our customers are interested in and own digital assets.”
Making sense of Trump Media’s ETF link-up with Crypto.com by Ben Strack
“It’s not surprising that a lot of players are looking at the space.”
ETF Post of the Week
Last week was all about the Exchange ETF conference in Las Vegas, where it was wonderful seeing so many industry friends in person. The VettaFi team put on a first-class show, with an excellent mix of high value content and networking.
I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on the future of the advisory business with two leaders of highly successful, multi-billion dollar RIAs (use right bar below to scroll down and see picture). I also presented a session on alternative ETF due diligence tips and hosted ETF Prime live (see next section below).
Packed days and late nights – with perhaps one too many cocktails – made for a greatly enjoyable experience!
ETF Chart of the Week
The latest Brown Brothers Harriman 2025 Global ETF Investor Survey found that a staggering 95% of investors plan to increase their ETF allocations in the next 12 months. From the survey:
“While ETFs began as a niche, novel investment product largely utilized to house passive strategies, they have since transformed, with the emergence of smart beta strategies, active ETFs, derivative-based ETFs, alternative ETFs and cryptocurrency ETFs, to name a few examples. Our survey indicates a thirst for new categories that will fuel future growth. An ETF market established on the foundation of passive investment is seeing a marked shift in allocations towards specialized investment strategies and managers.”
The ETF industry is still accelerating, which was on full display at Exchange last week. David Abner, Global Head of ETFs & Funds at Northern Trust Asset Management, said it well:
“I think the ETF industry is hitting escape velocity. We’ve been talking about hitting the hockey stick moment for five or seven years … but I think last year was really it. We’re at $10 trillion now. It took us about 30 years to get here, and we’ve had a 19% CAGR over that time. I think we’re speeding up, not slowing down.”
ETF Prime Podcast
Last week’s ETF Prime was live from Exchange in Las Vegas! I was joined by Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, along with VettaFi’s Cinthia Murphy and Todd Rosenbluth, to spotlight the year’s most anticipated ETF event and discuss the industry’s hottest trends.
ETF Pulse
On last week’s ETF Pulse, etf.com Editor-in-Chief Kristin Myers and I were in person from Las Vegas. We discussed recent spot ether ETF outflows, the launch of futures-based solana ETFs, investor interest in leveraged and inverse ETFs, and two major brokerages blocking access to money market ETFs.
