Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, let you invest in everything from the stock market to gold like never before. This biweekly podcast will demystify them—and delight you in the process.
Latest Episodes
- How Stock Index Rejects Can Still Be WinnersOn this episode of Trillions, we explain why some equities knocked off of the S&P 500 or Russell 1000 are populating a new exchange-traded fund.
- Trillions: Your ETF Questions AnsweredWhile exchange-traded funds have become increasingly popular and people are more familiar with them, there are still aspects of ETFs that—for some—remain shrouded in mystery. So we recently asked our followers on social media to send us any ETF questions they may have or topics they were curious about. We received a ton of responses. On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas answer about 20 of these questions—ranging from whether ETFs will be in 401(k) plans someday to how overnight trading works to our thoughts on some of the new iterations of ETFs, like buffers, return stacking and crypto.
- Trillions: Ether ETFs Are Looking for a Bitcoin Style LoveBitcoin exchange-traded funds, which were finally introduced earlier this year after intense regulatory scrutiny, have already become some of the most successful ETF launches ever. For months it seemed that spot ETFs for Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, might linger in a similar purgatory — and then, after some back and forth with issuers, regulators finally blessed them. About 10 products began trading in mid-July; they've seen healthy inflows, though Bitcoin ETFs were in a different league. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber welcome stacy-marie ishmael, an executive editor at Bloomberg News who oversees crypto, digital payments and cross-asset coverage, to the podcast. They discuss the differences between Bitcoin and Ether, what happened during the approval process, how the various Ether ETFs compare, what we've learned since their launch, and what this might mean for future crypto ETFs.
- Trillions: Single Stock ETFs Are Running WildSingle-stock exchange-traded funds seem like an oxymoron: An investing vehicle that usually contains an entire portfolio reduced to a single company? But whatever skepticism existed when this type of ETF arrived, it has since abated. Traders are hooked on this kind of hot sauce even if it sounds a lot like gambling. Assets in single-stock ETFs have doubled this year to more than $5 billion. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber explore single-stock ETFs with Will Rhind, founder and chief executive of GraniteShares, which currently has about a dozen such offerings. Rhind’s most popular, GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF ($NVDL), takes Nvidia’s performance—an incredible upward trajectory of late—and doubles it. (Its daily volume usually exceeds most blue-chip stocks.) You can also go short with the GraniteShares 2x NVDA Daily ETF ($NVD). They discuss how these ETFs work, who uses them, what the risks are, why enthusiasm for a given stock is so important and where this interesting new category and the “Vanguard-free zone” could go from here.
- Trillions: The 2024 ETF Halftime ReportSo far, this has been a banner year for ETFs. The S&P 500 is at record highs. Inflows keep soaring. And investors are taking more risk. BlackRock's Bitcoin offering, IBIT, even became the most successful ETF launch ever. On this episode, Eric and Joel discuss the most noteworthy themes and trends with Todd Rosenbluth and Cinthia Murphy of VettaFi. They review what the inflows reveal, how various sectors are performing, and which products and issuers have been the biggest winners and losers. They also talk about what to watch for in the second half of the year.