The Crazy ETF Industry

Michel Batnick spoke with James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence, about the transformation of the ETF industry. The same wrapper that gave us three basis point index funds is now giving us double-levered single stocks, funds that hold literal sports bets — there's a filing right now for an ETF that would hold 40 to 80 event contracts on NFL and NBA games. Not the sportsbook stocks. The bets themselves. And at the very same time, the boring stuff keeps getting better — BlackRock and State Street just launched Nasdaq 100 funds at 10 basis points, coming straight for the Qs. (Listen)

351 exchanges have boomed of late, with some clients and tax advisors seeming them as a ‘slam dunk.’ However the rapid growth, aggressive marketing, and rapid portfolio turnover are making the Treasury and some analysts nervous. You can read more from Jason Zweig and Brent Sullivan about 351 exchanges. The more attention 351 exchanges receive, the more pressure will be put on regulators to provide more guidance on the practice.

The new Trump Accounts sounds like other more established savings vehicles, but in practice operate differently. As Moreland notes the process is not intuitive, and clients may have questions along the way. The question will be for new parents, is whether additional contributions beyond the initial $1000 are worth the hassle. Also, not everyone thinks Trump Accounts were the way to go from a policy perspective.