Exchange Traded Funds

The rules governing global commodity markets are starting to witness a profound shift, which is putting critical minerals at the forefront of policy. On a recent episode of ETF Guide’s Metals in Motion, Justin Tolman, Senior Portfolio Manager and Economic Geologist at Sprott Asset Management, discussed this dynamic.

June brought a major change to the bond landscape with the arrival of the new Federal Reserve chair. Kevin Warsh, appointed by President Trump, arrived as a new Fed chair. He’s making big changes already, like not submitting a dot plot and trying to curtail forward projections. Warsh’s induction as the new chair was the most notable event for June, according to American Century Investments Vice President, Senior Portfolio Manager, and Director of Corporate Credit Research Jason Greenblath.

Concentration risk may have been overshadowed by major geopolitical events this year, but it hasn’t gone away. Indeed, the big AI hyperscalers remain a significant part of portfolios, but with that comes risk. Were AI to actually pop like a bubble, portfolios would suffer in turn. Equal weight ETF strategies can help diversify while also performing for investors.

On the surface, the recently released June reading of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) appears cut-and-dry as it relates to the Federal Reserve’s near-term plans for interest rates.

Halfway through the year, the U.S. equity market performance is broadening. That said, market concentration remains incredibly high, while equity and bond correlations sit in positive territory — conditions that scream a call for diversification. Investors are heeding that call, many with alternatives ETFs.

VettaFi Director of Research, Cinthia Murphy, appeared on Yahoo! Finance to discuss the ROBO Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (THNQ) and trends in the AI ETF industry.

On this episode of the “ETF of the Week” podcast, VettaFi’s Head of Research, Todd Rosenbluth, discussed the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) with Chuck Jaffe of Money Life.

Entering Wednesday, the Russell 2000 and S&P SmallCap 600 indexes were up an average of 20.8% year-to-date, confirming small-cap stocks are back with a vengeance. Arguably overlooked in that scenario, some vibrant ETFs represent higher-quality approaches to smaller stocks. Take the case of the WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund (DES). The $2.16 billion DES, which turned 20 last month, is clearly neither small nor young. However, the fund’s perks are arguably going unheralded at a time of small-cap strength.

Artificial intelligence and the subsequent data center boom are the primary contributors to the nuclear energy renaissance and investors’ newfound enthusiasm for nuclear equities and ETFs. Those ETFs include the ALPS Nautilus SMR, Nuclear & Technology ETF (SMRF).

Despite obstinate inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates, consumers continue to open their wallets and spend. But how they spend is another story. While physical stores struggle with rising operational costs, consumers are doubling down on digital channels.