Advertise on podcast: Trillions

Launching an exchange-traded fund is easy. Finding success is a different story entirely. About a quarter of all ETFs that have been launched have ended up having to liquidate. These stories can sometimes be forgotten given how much the successful ones are celebrated—but they can also provide a lesson about the marketplace and the importance of timing.  On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas speak with Jack Forehand and Justin Carbonneau, respectively the president and vice president of of Validea. They launched the value-focused Validea Market Legends ETF (VALX) back in 2014, right around the same time Cathie Wood launched ARKK. But they ended up closing it in 2020 due to a lack of assets. We speak to them about their journey, why timing is so important and the state of value investing today.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The launch of the first-ever spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds has dominated the ETF conversation over the last few months. Issuers are jockeying for position in what’s fast-becoming a successful and ultra-competitive category. But who’s the target market for these products? What do advisers think of them? And how are they talking to their clients about them? On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric speak with Douglas Boneparth, founder and president of Bone Fide Wealth. They discuss how he’s speaking with clients about Bitcoin, how he views the new ETFs, how much exposure to really consider and what they might displace in a portfolio. And then there’s how he thinks crypto compares with gold. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After years and years of drama, the US Securities and Exchange Commission finally let 10 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds begin trading last week. The launches have been wildly successful. But now that these funds are in the wild, you probably have a few questions. And you're not alone!  On this episode, Eric and Joel along with James Seyffart, ETF analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence—open up the mailbag to answer all your most pressing questions.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Exchange-traded funds tracking areas that lagged megacap US stocks—such as small caps, international, value and cannabis—are among the 24 ETFs that Bloomberg Intelligence says represent themes that could drive the market in 2024. Other big themes include the mini-boom in active and the race for the first spot Bitcoin ETF.  On this episode, Eric and Joel take a tour of BI’s list of ETFs to watch for the year ahead. They’re joined by BI’s James Seyffart and Athanasios Psarofagis to go through the 15 US ETFs on the list.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is busier than Santa’s elves these days as it scrambles to work with exchange-traded fund issuers to fine-tune offering documents ahead of the likely approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. While this ten year-long saga seems to be nearing an end, approving them will create a whole new world of products—and regulation. On this episode, Joel Weber, Eric Balchunas and Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld speak with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in front of an audience at Bloomberg’s 8th Annual ETFs in Depth conference. Topics discussed include Bitcoin and crypto ETFs, as well as other topics on the SEC’s radar, such as ETF share classes, the growing size of big passive fund companies as well as a steady stream of more complex products.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bloomberg News Now is a comprehensive audio report on today's top stories. Listen for the latest news, whenever you want it, covering global business stories around the world.      on Apple: trib.al/Mx9TCh1     on Spotify: trib.al/T4BG8s4     Anywhere: trib.al/O4EX6BA See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After more than a decade-long wait, it’s looking likely that the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETFs will soon arrive in the US. But despite the heated race just to get off the start line, SEC approval is actually just when the story begins. Who among the dozen issuers who have filed so far will even make it off the blocks? How will the ETFs differentiate themselves? Who exactly are the prospective investors? On this episod, Eric and Joel speak with ARK founder Cathie Wood and 21 Shares’ co-founder Ophelia Snyder about their spot Bitcoin ETF, their plethora of crypto futures ETFs, bitcoin price predictions, institutional adoption and ARK’s third act as an ETF issuer.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When it comes to evaluating companies for different exchange-traded fund strategies, some things can be easily measured—such as dividends and price-to-earnings ratios. Others are harder to gauge. This so-called dark matter of the stock market universe includes thinks like a company's brand power, human capital and intellectual property. The latter is something called “intangible value.” And now there’s an ETF for that, too. On this episode, Joel and Eric speak with Kai Wu, founder and chief investment officer of Sparkline Capital, the issuer behind the Sparkline Intangible Value ETF (or ITAN), as well as Chis Cain, a quant analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. Topics discussed include defining intangible value, how it explains the relentless returns of the Super 7 stocks and how much of it is being captures by popular ETFs.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At Bloomberg, we’re always talking about the biggest business stories, and no one is bigger than Elon Musk. In this new chat weekly show, host David Papadopoulos and a panel of guests including Businessweek’s Max Chafkin, Tesla reporter Dana Hull, Big Tech editor Sarah Frier, and more, will break down the most important stories on Musk and his empire. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ESG seems to have went from all the rage to yesterday's news as ETFs tracking these strategies have been hit with big stretches of underperformance and outflows while media interest has waned. What happened? And where does it go from here?  On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric discuss and debate this with Rob Du Boff and Shaheen Contractor, ESG analysts for Bloomberg Intelligence as well as hosts of a new ESG podcast called ESG Currents. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 1,000 ETFs have been liquidated and sent to the proverbial ETF graveyard. But a select few have been resurrected by issuers who think that either the time is right for the idea or they have the ways and means to make it work.  On this episode of Trillions, Eric and Joel speak with Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence about his "Lazarus List"—ETFs that have failed, sometimes at inopportune moments, only to later get another chance. The list includes target-date ETFs as well thematic ETFs—which track airlines, shipping and luxury goods—and two exotic offerings.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How much does the average person know about ETFs? What about an ETF analyst? On this episode of Trillions we put the experts knowledge to the test in our first ever ETF trivia game featuring two competitive teams made up of Todd Rosenbluth, head of ETF research at VettaFi, Lara Crigger, Editor-in-Chief of VettaFi, Katie Greifeld of Bloomberg News and Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence. Questions range across asset classes and historical periods and the winning team gets a free sushi lunch with Joel and Eric.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.