A new competition has begun to see who can successfully solve an investing paradox: how to package illiquid, private assets into liquid, public exchange-traded funds. State Street, in partnership with Apollo, officially kicked off this race with a recent filing. If approved, their offering would make one of Wall Street's fastest-growing corners—private credit—open to a much wider world than just institutional investors.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Vildana Hajric, a cross-asset reporter at Bloomberg News, about the details of the filing, why more filings are expected, what to know about Apollo’s “liquidity backstop” and why all of this is such a potential game-changer. 

A new competition has begun to see who can successfully solve an investing paradox: how to package illiquid, private assets into liquid, public exchange-traded funds. State Street, in partnership with Apollo, officially kicked off this race with a recent filing. If approved, their offering would make one of Wall Street's fastest-growing corners—private credit—open to a much wider world than just institutional investors.
On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Vildana Hajric, a cross-asset reporter at Bloomberg News, about the details of the filing, why more filings are expected, what to know about Apollo’s “liquidity backstop” and why all of this is such a potential game-changer.

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 in recent years. 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.

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

Trillions

The Apollo ETF Landing

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e323e827-a2a2-4240-adbd-b1f601158a53/transcript

“The House That Jack Bogle Built” is alive and well in sleepy Malvern, Pennsylvania. So far this year, the asset management firm that pioneered low-cost investing—so much so that “beta” is almost free now—has hoovered up another $256 billion of inflows into its US exchange-traded funds. But as the company nears its 50th anniversary, can it continue to succeed without changing its tried-and-true ways?

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Vanguard’s Janel Jackson, head of bank and institutional in the company’s Financial Advisor Services division. They discuss her time at Vanguard, how she discovered the power of ETFs, why the company remains “true to label” despite the industry’s love of “spicy” products and even where Vanguard might look to push the envelope. 

“The House That Jack Bogle Built” is alive and well in sleepy Malvern, Pennsylvania. So far this year, the asset management firm that pioneered low-cost investing—so much so that “beta” is almost free now—has hoovered up another $256 billion of inflows into its US exchange-traded funds. But as the company nears its 50th anniversary, can it continue to succeed without changing its tried-and-true ways?
On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Vanguard’s Janel Jackson, head of bank and institutional in the company’s Financial Advisor Services division. They discuss her time at Vanguard, how she discovered the power of ETFs, why the company remains “true to label” despite the industry’s love of “spicy” products and even where Vanguard might look to push the envelope.

A Rare Peek under the Hood of Vanguard

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f48af57b-c3c8-46dc-bf8d-b22e011af97f/transcript

One of the year’s hottest investments? Bitcoin, which has surged on exchange-traded fund adoption as well as the return of the “Trump trade.” One way to go especially big on that bet is two new leveraged ETFs: MSTX and MSTU, which are 2X MicroStrategy—a company that’s already a highly exposed Bitcoin proxy.

Both ETFs effectively give investors a 4X exposure to Bitcoin. If that sounds volatile, it is: MSTX is the most volatile ETF in the US. Consider this space the “ghost pepper” of hot sauces.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Sylvia Jablonski, the CEO and CIO of Defiance ETFs—the issuer behind MSTX. They discuss how the product came into existence, what the Trump trade has meant for inflows, why there’s a modest rivalry with MSTU already, how investors are using options on the product and what makes a good “ghost pepper.”

One of the year’s hottest investments? Bitcoin, which has surged on exchange-traded fund adoption as well as the return of the “Trump trade.” One way to go especially big on that bet is two new leveraged ETFs: MSTX and MSTU, which are 2X MicroStrategy—a company that’s already a highly exposed Bitcoin proxy.
Both ETFs effectively give investors a 4X exposure to Bitcoin. If that sounds volatile, it is: MSTX is the most volatile ETF in the US. Consider this space the “ghost pepper” of hot sauces.
On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Sylvia Jablonski, the CEO and CIO of Defiance ETFs—the issuer behind MSTX. They discuss how the product came into existence, what the Trump trade has meant for inflows, why there’s a modest rivalry with MSTU already, how investors are using options on the product and what makes a good “ghost pepper.”

Get Ready for the Hottest Hot Sauce

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a6044abd-e155-48f3-8366-b22001013a1a/transcript

As with humans, death is a part of life in the exchange-traded fund industry. There have been about 150 closures this year, which may be a bit surprising given how almost everything is up in the markets. So what’s behind this year’s class of liquidated ETFs? And what does it mean for investors? 

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber dig into the stories and answer the “why” behind some of the closures in 2024. On hand to assist is Vildana Hajric, a cross-asset reporter for Bloomberg, and Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi.

As with humans, death is a part of life in the exchange-traded fund industry. There have been about 150 closures this year, which may be a bit surprising given how almost everything is up in the markets. So what’s behind this year’s class of liquidated ETFs? And what does it mean for investors? 
On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber dig into the stories and answer the “why” behind some of the closures in 2024. On hand to assist is Vildana Hajric, a cross-asset reporter for Bloomberg, and Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi.

Why These ETFs Died During a Bull Market

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b15b1df1-35db-41b4-a747-b2120103fe48/transcript

The Apollo ETF Landing

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