ETF Inflows & Outflows
Performance Leaders & Laggards
Source: ETF Action; flows and performance data as of 7/30/26; performance data excludes leveraged and inverse products
Weekly ETF Reads
ETF Odyssey Continues as Issuers Sail Toward Another Record-Breaking Year by Mallika Mitra
“The ETF market is looking a lot like showings of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey: crowded and breaking records.”
The corgi-inspired ETF provider that wants to disrupt BlackRock by Steve Johnson
“The San Francisco-based company seems intent on turning the ETF industry into the financial equivalent of a puppy mill.”
You might soon be able to buy futures and options on your favorite sports team by Bob Pisani
“Are sports event contracts financial derivatives or another form of sports betting?”
(Note: While this piece isn’t specifically related to ETFs, I thought it was highly relevant as a sign of the times, given the continued blurring of the line between investing and gambling. Not to mention the (high?) likelihood that these futures and options end up in an ETF wrapper in the not-too-distant future.)
The ETF Crazy Train Is Picking Up Speed by Spencer Jakab
“Buyers of exchange-traded funds are in a speculative mood. So are ETF issuers.”
The Degens are Winning in Oil ETFs by Dave Nadig
“ETFs are used by every kind of investor, from the most staid long term allocators to the most Red-Bull-addled day trader.”
SEC Clarifies ETF Treatment of Creation Baskets During Passive Concentration Exceedances by Ropes & Gray
“The Letter resolves long-standing uncertainty about how ETFs should treat in-kind creation basket activity when experiencing a passive exceedance of a disclosed concentration policy due to market movement.”
Not All Active ETFs Are Created Equal by Morningstar
“Halfway through 2026, a little more than 2,100 ETFs tracked an index, while more than 3,200 ETFs did not.”
Coldcard’s $38 million (so far) exploit shakes faith in self-custody, may push investors to ETFs by Krisztian Sandor
“Frankly, you are better off today holding funds across several publicly-traded exchanges or ETFs.”
Morgan Stanley debuts Ethereum and Solana ETFs with market’s lowest fee, staking rewards by RT Watson
“Both the ETH- and SOL-based funds charge a 0.14% sponsor fee.”
ETF Post of the Week
As I highlighted last week, the U.S. Treasury Department indicated it was evaluating 351 exchanges, along with other “potentially abusive” tax strategies, including box spread strategies and ETFs that avoid dividends by swapping into other ETFs. The post below makes several excellent counterpoints, including:
“The laziest frame in this whole debate is that tax efficient ETFs let investors ‘avoid’ tax. What they actually do is defer it, the exact thing every buy and hold equity investor in America does on purpose, with the explicit blessing of Congress.”
Well worth a read (click the link following “My response”)…
Washington has borderline cheered every form of democratized investing. SPACs. Private credit in your 401(k). Fees on fees.
— Jake (@EconomPic) July 26, 2026
Then retail found the one tool the wealthy always had, paying less tax, and Treasury called a meeting.
My response:https://t.co/WpmGEtWVtu https://t.co/YQOCoSQTjm
ETF Chart of the Week
Approximately 900 ETFs have launched this year already, putting 2026 easily on pace to shatter last year’s 1,150+ new products. A few fun stats:
-The year’s most successful launch so far has been the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which has attracted a staggering $26 billion in about four months.
-Ten new ETFs have already surpassed $1 billion in inflows.
-As a group, these ETFs now manage $90 billion in assets.
-Nearly 80% of this year’s new launches are technically classified as “actively managed.”
-The average expense ratio across all of these ETFs is 0.66%.
-Upstart issuer Corgi is responsible for nearly 200(!) of the launches.
Source: FT’s Steve Johnson
ETF Prime Podcast
Last week’s ETF Prime featured Cinthia Murphy, Director of Research at VettaFi, and Matt Bartolini, Global Head of Research Strategists at State Street Investment Management. Cinthia examined what’s driving renewed investor interest in alternative ETFs, highlighting funds such as the iShares Systematic Alternatives Active ETF (IALT) and the iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF (DBMF). Matt discussed this year’s key ETF flow trends, the launch of the State Street SPDR Portfolio Nasdaq 100 ETF (QNDX), and the Treasury Department’s selection of the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) as the exclusive default ETF for Trump Accounts.
Crypto Prime Podcast
What’s next for the Clarity Act? Miller Whitehouse-Levine, Founder & CEO of Solana Policy Institute, joined me on last week’s Crypto Prime to offer a deep dive into the legislation, explaining why it matters, where it stands today, the key points of contention, and what comes next.
