ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 6/11/26; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
The SpaceX ETF versus ‘hot money’ IPO arbitrageurs by Steve Johnson
“Ultimately, the proof of these highly unusual ETF trading restrictions will come out in the pudding.”
Active Versus Passive ETFs: Why Lower Fees Still Win by Allan Roth
“Active ETFs are generally better than active mutual funds but not as good as the lowest-cost and most broadly diversified indexed ETFs.”
Charles Schwab Fires Latest Shot in ETF Fee War, Cutting Expenses to Near-Zero by Andrew Welsch
“16 of Schwab Asset Management’s 24 market-cap weighted, index equity and fixed income ETFs are now offered at only three basis points (0.03%).”
VettaFi Acquires RAFI Indices: Bringing Institutional-Grade Research to Your Portfolio by Todd Rosenbluth
“Upon completion of the transaction, this milestone acquisition is expected to bring VettaFi’s combined asset base to more than $260 billion.”
Got Cap Gains? How Portfolios Can Move Into ETFs Tax-Free by Lara Crigger
“This nifty quirk of the IRS code allows investors to shift appreciated investments into an ETF structure without immediately triggering capital gains tax.”
Treasury Asked to Clarify Fast-Growing ETF Tax-Busting Strategy by Denitsa Tsekova
“It’s a little risky because when we ask for guidance, we can’t control what we get.”
The Top 1% Reap Most From Tax Loophole Costing $48 Billion by Zachary R. Mider and Surya Mattu
“The ETF tax break is a long-standing rule that promotes fairness and efficiency in fund investing.”
ETF Share Classes: Slow Product Development by Todd Rosenbluth
“104 firms have now filed for exemptive relief to offer ETF shares of their mutual funds (or vice versa).”
ETF Post of the Week
Friday’s SpaceX IPO was the market story of the week, with shares soaring nearly 20% in their public debut. Several ETF issuers were even hoping to launch 2x leveraged and inverse SpaceX ETFs on the same day. ProShares went so far as to issue a press release on Tuesday announcing plans to launch the ProShares Ultra SpaceX ETF (SPCF) alongside the IPO. However, the SEC apparently stepped in, pushing those launches back to Monday.
As Reuters reported:
“Asset managers seeking SEC approval to launch the ETFs had hoped to trade in lockstep with SpaceX’s market debut, several of the issuers said. Instead, exchanges told them on Wednesday the listings would need to be pushed to the first trading day following the IPO, according to four sources. The exchanges cited SEC concerns that coupling the ETF launches with leveraged products could complicate the SpaceX debut, three sources said.”
But wait! In a surprise twist, Defiance ETFs ended up providing leveraged SpaceX exposure via the Defiance Daily 2X Space ETF (SPCL) on Friday after all. From the firm’s press release:
“Defiance ETFs confirmed that the Defiance Daily 2X Space ETF (SPCL) will seek 2X daily leveraged exposure to SpaceX Class A common stock within its portfolio, making it the first and only U.S. ETF to have 2X exposure to SpaceX on IPO day. The fund’s SpaceX exposure was established at the $135 IPO price.”
SPCL is an actively managed ETF that can invest across multiple companies in the space economy. It appears the fund simply revised its strategy to hold only SpaceX – a move that quickly drew attention, perhaps from regulators. The ETF was temporarily halted after surging nearly 56% during trading. Stay tuned.
Never a dull moment in ETF land. As Todd Sohn of Strategas told Bloomberg:
“This is spot Bitcoin part two, but with a massive IPO and leverage. The hype meter is off the charts.“
Indeed, it is.
The Super Bowl of ETF advertising is here pic.twitter.com/gzXKwjhFOr
— Todd Sohn (@Todd_Sohn) June 9, 2026
ETF Chart of the Week
On the opposite end of the spectrum from 2x leveraged and inverse SpaceX ETFs, the supposedly “stodgy and boring” Vanguard reached a monumental industry milestone last week. The firm surpassed BlackRock as the largest ETF issuer in the U.S. Year-to-date, Vanguard ETFs have attracted nearly $300 billion in net inflows, compared with roughly $130 billion for BlackRock. That gap has been enough to secure the industry’s asset crown – a changing of the Van(guard), if you will.
Source: Bloomberg’s Katie Greifeld
ETF Prime Podcast
Last week’s ETF Prime featured Sylvia Jablonski, Chief Investment Officer of Defiance ETFs, and Wayne Penello, Founder & CEO of NextGen EMP. Sylvia discussed the first autism-focused ETF, the Defiance Autism Impact ETF (ASD), the continued growth of the Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM), and the firm’s broader approach to ETF innovation and product development. Wayne shared the investment philosophy behind the Efficient Market Portfolio Plus ETF (EMPB), a long/short strategy that uses a proprietary algorithm to dynamically allocate across U.S. market sectors and asset classes.
Crypto Prime Podcast
Cory Klippsten, Founder and CEO of Swan Bitcoin, joined me on last week’s Crypto Prime to discuss a new offering that enables investors to convert spot bitcoin ETF exposure into direct bitcoin ownership. He also examined bitcoin’s recent drawdown and outlined the key factors supporting its long-term investment case.
