ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 6/12/25; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
Credit Investors Embrace Portfolio Trades as ETF Grip Loosens by Isabelle Lee, Caleb Mutua, and Lu Wang
“They needed the ETFs in order to flourish. If you take the ETF out of the equation, there will be no portfolio trading.”
How to Launch an ETF: Key Takeaways for Investors by Zachary Evens
“Selecting a strategy that’s marketable is, maybe, the greatest determinant of commercial success, which is different from investor success.”
Active ETFs Need $100M First Year for Long-Term Success by DJ Shaw
“Successful managers leverage one of three competitive advantages: specialized investment styles, proprietary distribution channels or strong brand identity.”
How ETF issuers beyond the Big Three are unlocking growth by Ari Weinberg
“Of the top 10 global ETF issuers, five firms actually increased assets under management at a significantly faster rate than the industry giants.”
The Great ETF Fee War Is Over. You Can Still Get Burned. by Ian Salisbury
“It is inevitable that the pace of fee declines will slow, prompting asset managers to look elsewhere for profits.”
Vanguard Requests Active ETF Share Classes by Daniel Sotiroff
“Vanguard pioneered the ETF-as-a-share class structure 24 years ago.”
Five risks to know when investing in ETFs by Invesco
“A little due diligence can go a long way before purchasing an ETF, so don’t judge a book by its cover.”
How bitcoin price’s newest source of long-term support is evolving by Eric Rosenbaum
“What’s changed in the last month are flows into the ethereum ETF.”
SEC asks potential Solana ETF issuers to update S-1s: Sources by Jack Kubinec and Katherine Ross
“One source estimated these updates could put Solana ETFs on track to be approved within three to five weeks.”
ETF Post of the Week
I love spotlighting ETF issuer success stories and this is a great one. Roundhill recently eclipsed $5 billion in assets, just six years after launching their first ETF: the Roundhill Video Games ETF (NERD) in 2019. They followed that up in 2020 with the Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (BETZ). Roundhill Co-Founder Will Hershey on BETZ:
“We were certainly looking at closing up shop and looking for day jobs had that one not been a hit… As they say better to be lucky than good! Or something like that.”
Will’s being humble. Luck often plays a role in any firm’s success, but Roundhill has clearly been good. Today, they boast a lineup of more than 20 ETFs, led by the $2.4 billion Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS). Their Roundhill Innovation-100 0DTE Covered Call Strategy ETF – barely a year old – is already approaching $800 million.
The ETF Terrordome can be brutal, especially for new entrants. What I admire about Roundhill is they haven’t rested on their laurels. They’ve leveraged their hits to keep innovating—and it’s leading to more hits. That’s how you survive and thrive in the Terrordome.
Pretty wild to look back at our growth trajectory
— Will Hershey (@maybebullish) June 11, 2025
2019: $0
2020: $90mm
2021: $670mm
2022: $750mm
2023: 780mm
2024: $1.2b
Today: $5.0b
And to think that in early June 2020 we were sitting at $9mm in AUM and gearing up to launch a sports betting ETF without any sports on TV… https://t.co/BDcz9POvua
ETF Chart of the Week
For the first time ever, the number of U.S.-listed active ETFs has surpassed that of passive ETFs. As Morningstar’s Ben Johnson points out, the definition of “active” now includes a range of strategies that don’t always fit the traditional mold of active management. Still, this milestone is striking for an industry with such deep passive roots.
And with the SEC likely to greenlight the multishare class structure, watch out… active ETFs could further hockey stick from here.
Source: Morningstar’s Ben Johnson
ETF Prime Podcast
Last week’s ETF Prime featured Carolyn McPhillips, President of MFDF, shedding light on the evolving role of ETF directors and their growing importance as investment products become more complex – particularly in emerging areas like crypto and private assets. Plus, VettaFi’s Zeno Mercer explored artificial intelligence ETFs, highlighting new launches and offering tips to help investors navigate this rapidly expanding category.
ETF Pulse
On last week’s episode of ETF Pulse, etf.com Editor-in-Chief Kristin Myers and I were live from the Wealth Management Edge conference in Boca Raton, Florida. We discussed the iShares Bitcoin ETF’s rapid pace to $70 billion, the ETF implications of Circle’s IPO, the trading volume and assets of the “Big 3” ETF issuers, and whether investors really need private credit ETFs.
