Trillions

You just might be able to experience the financial future today. A recent trend in investing has exchange-traded fund issuers creating funds focused on futuristic themes like humanoid robots, alien technology and quantum computing. The hope is to attract investors looking for the next big idea. But needless to say, not all of them will pan out—remember Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse? On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas look at the recent flurry of futuristic theme ETFs, their prospects for success and how to do due diligence on them. They are joined by Bloomberg cross asset reporter Vildana Hajric.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the hottest themes of 2025 is defense companies as potential US isolationism has other countries scrambling to beef up their military. And within that it is European stocks that have really led the charge. This theme went from rags to riches overnight practically but it's been largely a winner take all category. On this episode of Trillions Joel and Eric speak with Bloomberg Intelligence's Senior ETF Analyst for Europe, Henry Jim about the wild frenzy to launch European defense ETFs around the world to catch this massive wave of returns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The narrative all year was "sell America" yet the stock market is positive on the year and flirting with all time highs after coming back from a brutal Q1. Like COVID this is a rally few predicted although this time the market didn't have the Fed's help. What happened? Why was everyone was so wrong?On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric talk about the wide gap between narrative and price and why US investors are simply not giving up on US stocks. They are joined by Athanasios Psarofagis of Bloomberg Intelligence and Isabelle Lee of Bloomberg News.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In investing, there are many “rules.” And the rules are intended to help you, dear investor, make money. But if you’ve been around money — and especially if you’ve been around a lot of money … managing other people’s money, say — you know that people make a lot of mistakes, too. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Barry Ritholtz, the co-founder, chairman and chief investment officer of Ritholtz Wealth Management and host of the Bloomberg podcast Masters in Business, about his new book, How Not to Invest. They discuss several of Ritholtz’s hot takes — all rooted in what not to do with your money.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During her time as a commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Hester Peirce has often been a dissenting voice—especially on all things crypto. Now, as she approaches the official end of her term, her legacy may include an SEC that’s more aligned with the positions she championed. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber—along with stacy-marie ishmael, head of cross-asset and crypto coverage for Bloomberg News—interview Peirce at the SEC’s offices in Washington. Peirce discusses her search for “crypto clarity,” why “merit” doesn’t matter and how the SEC will evaluate the 80-plus crypto-themed exchange-traded fund filings—including ones involving Trump. She also discusses the “terribly mismanaged” process for Bitcoin ETFs and other hot topics including private assets and share classes.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s that time of the year. Exchange, the big exchange-traded fund conference, was held in Las Vegas this year and brought together many in the ETF industry to talk shop and network. This year's big theme was ETF share class and the selloff in stocks, but no stones were left unturned under the scorching Nevada sun. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber go over Balchunas’s “man on the street” interviews with several of the attendees at Exchange, including representatives from VettaFi, Franklin Templeton, Natixis, FactSet, CF Benchmarks and ETF Guide.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day,” stock markets around the world plunged. Yet just 13 hours after Trump’s tariffs took effect, the president paused them for 90 days — for countries not named China, that is. Markets soared in response to Trump’s backpedaling. The S&P 500 Index climbed almost 10% while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped by the most since 2001. The Trump put, or the belief that the president uses the stock market as his scoreboard, appears to be alive and well after all. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber discuss what just happened, how ETFs fared and where cracks appeared. They also assess flows, volume and what to watch next.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is not your grandfather’s exchange-traded fund industry. What started as boring, predictable and passive has morphed into strategies and packaged trades being packed into new ETFs. These include leverage, options overlays and private assets. Given all of this upheaval, some from the old school are worried investors aren’t receiving the exposure and protection from issuers they think they are. On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas talk to ETF veteran and author Dave Nadig about his buzzworthy blog post in which he borrows language from the hacker world, describing ETFs as “black hat” versus “white hat.” To figure out what these developments mean for the industry, they are joined by cross-asset reporter Vildana Hajric.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First Trust, the sixth-largest issuer of US exchange-traded funds, has managed to stay mostly under the radar in the investing world — and yet it's also perfected a lucrative, Vanguard-proof business model. The company's products are directed more at financial advisors than the retail world, and their funds, most of which are actively managed, have higher fees than typical index-tracking ETFs. Enter the First Trust sales force, which wields steak dinners, personal coaching, sports tickets and Hermès scarves to win business — practices that have attracted the attention of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Bloomberg News reporters Emily Graffeo and Max Abelson about their recent First Trust story, “An All-American Finance Empire Drew Billions—and a Regulator’s Attention,” for Bloomberg Businessweek. They discuss CEO Jim Bowen's approach, how the company has distinguished itself from competitors, and why Finra is investigating the company's sales tactics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

European stocks are off to a strong start this year—one of their best ever in fact and easily beating the US market. But can it last? Will US tech stocks come roaring back again? And are there any reasons to invest in Europe besides stocks there just being “cheap?” On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Gina Martin Adams, Bloomberg Intelligence’s chief equity strategist, and Todd Sohn, senior exchange-traded fund and technical strategist at Strategas Securities. They discuss Europe’s fundamentals, the market’s limitations and why it’s outperforming now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s something special about the US stock market these days—it’s almost beyond comprehension how it keeps kicking out consistently big returns. Sure, other markets have nice runs now and again, but they’re usually short-lived and almost microscopic compared to the US. Why is that? And how long can this level of dominance last? On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Steve Hou, a quantitative researcher at Bloomberg Indices, who’s written a number of white papers on innovation, pricing power and turnaround companies. They discuss why US companies are rewarded for innovation while companies elsewhere are not, how to measure and invest in a successful strategy, which attributes make US corporate culture and its economy unique and where the competition is going to come from in the future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Municipal bonds are the foundation of how American cities and states operate. And a big reason investors love “munis” is their tax-free status. But if you think that makes muni exchange-traded funds sound boring, think again. On this episode, Eric and Joel speak with Eric Kazatsky, head of municipal strategy at Bloomberg Intelligence and co-host of the podcast Masters of the Muniverse. They discuss the storied history of munis, how they figure into portfolios—and how that favored tax-free status could be at risk in President Donald Trump’s second term.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Will the first private credit exchange-traded fund launch in 2025? How many new crypto-related ETFs will come to market this year? And how will the battle of the S&P 500 funds shake out? Will BlackRock’s iShares Core S&P 500 ETF cut fees in an effort to stop Vanguard’s S&P 500 ETF from passing State Street’s SPDR S&P 500 ETF in assets?  On this episode of Trillions, the discussion leaves no stone unturned. Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber—along with cross-asset reporter Vildana Hajric—grill Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, over his five big predictions for 2025. The heated debate also explores single-stock ETFs and a maneuver called “351 exchanges.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gold or Bitcoin? The answer to that question—as always—depends on whom you ask. Yet the response will regularly be a passionate one. The exchange-traded fund has played an enormous role in making both assets more accessible, part of the reason 2024 was such a banner year. With the debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs and Donald Trump’s election (given his embrace cryptocurrency during the campaign), we now look to what the new year means for both. On this episode of Trillions, recorded at Bloomberg’s “ETFs in Depth” event on Dec. 12 in New York, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber discuss the two sectors with Simeon Hyman of ProShares, David Lavalle of Grayscale and George Million-Stanley of State Street Global Advisors. The group explores gold and Bitcoin as a store of value, how each asset can benefit investors and even how the two can coexist in a single portfolio. They also discuss what to make of Trump’s recent enthusiasm for crypto and how their companies are preparing for the incoming administration.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's pretty safe to say that 2024 was the best year ever for ETFs. The industry saw record flows of $1 trillion, a record 670 new launches and a 30% jump in assets- not to mention that record smashing bitcoin ETF launch. So how do you top that? On this episode of Trillions Joel and Eric host a roundtable discussion on highlights from 2024 as well as predictions for 2025 with Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi, Vildana Hajric, reporter with Bloomberg News and Athanasios Psarofagis, ETF Analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.