Joel, Eric and Athanasios Psarofagis crack open the mailbag to answer some listener questions about ETFs.

Joel, Eric and Athanasios Psarofagis crack open the mailbag to answer some listener questions about ETFs.

Money goes where it’s treated best. That simple truth is a big reason why more and more money (trillions, in fact) flows into a powerful, low-cost tool that’s quietly transformed investing. Exchange-traded funds let you invest in everything from the stock market to gold like never before. This biweekly podcast will demystify them—and hopefully delight you in the process.

Money goes where it&rsquo;s treated best. That simple truth is a big reason why more and more money (trillions, in fact) flows into a powerful, low-cost tool that&rsquo;s quietly transformed investing. Exchange-traded funds let you invest in everything from the stock market to gold like never before. This biweekly podcast will demystify them&mdash;and hopefully delight you in the process.

Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas demystify the world of exchange-traded funds, or ETFs.

Trillions

The 2025 ETF Mailbag

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/afd17638-de8d-4536-b044-b318002bd76c/transcript

The ETF industry is on pace for another record year of launches. But there’s another record within reach: closures. About 250 funds have already been laid to rest in 2026, including leveraged bets that barely survived infancy and funds tied to ESG, the metaverse and cannabis. With about 2,500 products now buried in the ETF Graveyard, launching a fund is clearly no guarantee of longevity.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber — joined by Andre Yapp, a senior ETF research associate with Bloomberg Intelligence, and Todd Sohn, ETF strategist at Baird Strategas — take another tour through the ETF Graveyard. They examine which strategies died out this year, why leveraged ETFs account for so many of the casualties, and which funds closed despite having substantial assets or strong returns. And because some ETF ideas refuse to stay dead, they nominate a few fallen funds that might someday join the “Lazarus list” and get resurrected.

The ETF industry is on pace for another record year of launches. But there&rsquo;s another record within reach: closures. About 250 funds have already been laid to rest in 2026, including leveraged bets that barely survived infancy and funds tied to ESG, the metaverse and cannabis. With about 2,500 products now buried in the ETF Graveyard, launching a fund is clearly no guarantee of longevity. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber &mdash; joined by Andre Yapp, a senior ETF research associate with Bloomberg Intelligence, and Todd Sohn, ETF strategist at Baird Strategas &mdash; take another tour through the ETF Graveyard. They examine which strategies died out this year, why leveraged ETFs account for so many of the casualties, and which funds closed despite having substantial assets or strong returns. And because some ETF ideas refuse to stay dead, they nominate a few fallen funds that might someday join the &ldquo;Lazarus list&rdquo; and get resurrected.

The ETF Graveyard: This Has Been a Record Year for Closures

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/271efb35-c832-484f-8e33-b4f10125be77/transcript

A new ETF seeded with $2.5 billion from the University of California's investment arm invests 90% in the S&P 500 and 10% in short-term bonds — essentially the same allocation Warren Buffett has recommended for his own family. At the other end of the spectrum, there’s now an exchange-traded product offering pre-IPO exposure to Anthropic — and another ETF that allows for a "highly speculative" bet on the S&P 500.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber — joined by Bloomberg TV markets reporter Isabelle Lee — run through the latest ETFs to watch. They discuss the arrival of the State Street SPDR UC Investments 90/10 ETF (UCBG), a European product offering synthetic exposure to private AI giant Anthropic (CLAU), and an options-based ETF from Roundhill designed for investors betting that the S&P 500 will reach 10,000 by 2030 (XX). They also discuss a new ETF combining the S&P 500 with a managed-futures strategy (SPXP). 

A new ETF seeded with $2.5 billion from the University of California's investment arm invests 90% in the S&amp;P 500 and 10% in short-term bonds &mdash; essentially the same allocation Warren Buffett has recommended for his own family. At the other end of the spectrum, there&rsquo;s now an exchange-traded product offering pre-IPO exposure to Anthropic &mdash; and another ETF that allows for a "highly speculative" bet on the S&amp;P 500.
On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber &mdash; joined by Bloomberg TV markets reporter Isabelle Lee &mdash; run through the latest ETFs to watch. They discuss the arrival of the State Street SPDR UC Investments 90/10 ETF (UCBG), a European product offering synthetic exposure to private AI giant Anthropic (CLAU), and an options-based ETF from Roundhill designed for investors betting that the S&amp;P 500 will reach 10,000 by 2030 (XX). They also discuss a new ETF combining the S&amp;P 500 with a managed-futures strategy (SPXP).&nbsp;

New ETFs to Watch: A $2.5 Billion Launch, Anthropic and S&P 10,000, Anyone?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/62a39a0b-b892-4fbc-a25f-b4ea012d9576/transcript

In sports, wins and losses determine standings. Soon they could help determine something else: a price. A group of financial firms is trying to turn sports results and statistics into something investors can actually trade. The idea starts with indexes that measure the performance of individual teams, creating the foundation for futures, ETFs and potentially an entirely new asset class built around sports.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Vildana Hajric, a cross-asset editor with Bloomberg News, speak with FutureSports co-founder Leigh Taylforth and Head of Index Services Jodie Gunzberg about the financial infrastructure they’re building behind the new crop of sports ETF filings. They explain how to put a price on a team’s performance, why sports might offer investors something different from stocks and bonds, and how businesses could even use the products to hedge their exposure to wins and losses.

In sports, wins and losses determine standings. Soon they could help determine something else: a price. A group of financial firms is trying to turn sports results and statistics into something investors can actually trade. The idea starts with indexes that measure the performance of individual teams, creating the foundation for futures, ETFs and potentially an entirely new asset class built around sports. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Vildana Hajric, a cross-asset editor with Bloomberg News, speak with FutureSports co-founder Leigh Taylforth and Head of Index Services Jodie Gunzberg about the financial infrastructure they&rsquo;re building behind the new crop of sports ETF filings. They explain how to put a price on a team&rsquo;s performance, why sports might offer investors something different from stocks and bonds, and how businesses could even use the products to hedge their exposure to wins and losses.

Wall Street’s Plan to Make Sports an Investable Asset

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/42f42272-13c6-42d8-9127-b4e3014f18bf/transcript

The 2025 ETF Mailbag

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