Trillions

For a while, the artificial intelligence trade was almost comically simple: just buy Nvidia. But as the buildout of massive data centers accelerates, and the AI models running on them get more complex, some long-overlooked parts of the semiconductor world are suddenly back in view. One of the most important: memory. Dominated by a small group of global giants—SK Hynix, Samsung and Micron among them—it’s a corner of the market that’s been hard for investors to access in a targeted way. Until now. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Bloomberg Intelligence semiconductor analyst Jake Silverman to unpack the explosive debut of the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM), which pulled in $1 billion in just 10 days. They break down why this fund could become one of the most successful thematic exchange-traded funds ever, what actually makes memory different from other chips, and why—despite its critical role in AI—it still trades a lot like a commodity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just when it feels like ETFs have done it all, along comes some filings that push the frontier. A trio of issuers wants to launch funds tied to prediction markets -- letting investors wager, from their brokerage accounts, on outcomes like which political party will control the White House or Congress. But how would these ETFs actually work? What else might get packaged this way? And will regulators ever sign off? On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber interview Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise and one of the filers, about why prediction market ETFs might make sense, how they’d work, and whether this is the start of a much bigger wave of event-based ETF investing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With each passing year, ETFs pull in trillions of dollars while mutual funds steadily bleed assets. And yet, mutual funds still hold more money overall. Now, a long-standing wall between the two may finally be coming down. Dimensional Fund Advisors has launched the first-ever ETF share class of an existing mutual fund, a structure made possible by the expiration of Vanguard’s once-protective patent. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Joel Schneider, Dimensional’s deputy head of portfolio management for North America, and Katie Greifeld of Bloomberg News. They discuss why Dimensional volunteered to be the guinea pig, why it chose its 45-year-old US Micro Cap Portfolio (ticker: DFMC), and whether this hybrid structure could reshape how trillions of dollars are invested. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the US and Israel's attack of Iran has reminded the world, oil remains as integral as ever to the global economy. But the ETFs for investing in crude come with some caveats—and are a big reason why Bloomberg Intelligence introduced its traffic-light system. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Bloomberg Intelligence's James Seyffart, an ETF analyst, and Vincent Piazza, a senior energy analyst. They discuss Piazza's "delay, disruption and destruction" outlook; how the United States Oil Fund (USO) came back from the dead; and what to know about other noteworthy energy ETFs such as XLE, CRAK and even BWET. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM) is having a moment. Launched seven years ago as a way to filter out autocratic emerging market countries and invest more in ones that have more freedom, it took a while to get going but it hasn't recently caught fire with a five year return of over 100%, which is 5x better than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and even more than the Nasdaq 100. On this episode of Trillions Joel and Eric speak with Perth Tolle, founder at Life + Liberty Indexes and the creator of FRDM, about the ETF's methodology, her experience growing up in China, how her life has changed with all the recent success and comparing and contrasting the US' freedom score with other developed countries. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gold and silver ETFs just experienced eye-popping trading volumes, with sharp price swings that drew in speculators chasing the momentum. The frenzy has cooled a bit, but the underlying forces haven’t disappeared. So what’s really behind the surge in precious metals -- and is this just a tactical trade, or something more durable? On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management, which manages gold, silver and uranium ETFs, among other metals strategies. They discuss the debasement trade, what else is fueling gold’s rally, how gold compares with bitcoin, what’s driving moves in silver and other metals, and how Sprott’s uranium miners ETF generated a remarkable 450% return over the past six years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cathie Wood is best known for exchange-traded funds, especially her flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK). But ARK also runs a less familiar product: the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX), an interval fund that holds stakes in private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic — firms expected to make a splash when they go public, perhaps as soon as this year. The fund has quietly become one of the few active strategies to outperform the Nasdaq 100, yet it still manages only about $500 million in assets and comes with the caveats typical of interval funds (namely illiquidity). On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Cathie Wood, Brett Winton and Charles Roberts — the fund's three portfolio managers — about how they decide which private companies to invest in, how they value assets that don't trade publicly and whether some of these holdings could eventually find their way into ARK's ETFs. They also discuss the structural challenges of gaining private-market exposure through ETFs as well, and how issuers and investors are navigating those limits. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Venezuela bonds were up 100% even before the US ousted President Nicolás Maduro. Then they went up another 30%. And one actively-managed exchange-traded fund was positioned perfectly after buying the bonds in 2025. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Jim Craig, portfolio manager of the Virtus Stone Harbor Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF ($VEMY), and Damian Sassower, who oversees emerging markets fixed income for Bloomberg Intelligence. They discuss why Venezuela bonds are surging, how Stone Harbor gained exposure, Craig's overall investing strategy, and how a restructuring might work. They also take a brief tour of VEMY’s other holdings, including countries such as Lebanon and Ecuador that have also seen increased returns. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To kick off the new year, Bloomberg Intelligence has its annual list of ETFs for your stocking-shaped portfolio. While these aren't buy or sell market predictions, the funds are worthy of your watchlist as they may help investors tap into or navigate important themes. And you never know, a few of them could even have a breakout moment you'll find yourself humble-bragging about. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber are joined by Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Athanasios Psarofagis and James Seyffart, who helped write the team's annual report. The episode features 16 ETFs, including the tickers BINC, XOVR, MSOS, BUFB, UFOD, OTGL, VXUS, SBIL, RSST, SPYM, BOXX, GRFT, ITB, PXUI, PCLN and LRND. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Competing in the marketplace for exchange-traded funds — aka "The Terrordome" — is not for the faint of heart. It's like fighting a multi-front war where issuers have to market existing funds; engage in fee wars with the likes of Vanguard and BlackRock; and innovate in a rapidly changing industry, which now includes more than 300 firms. Only the strong thrive. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Brian Hartigan, the global head of ETFs and index investments at Invesco. The fourth-biggest ETF issuer in the US, Invesco has about $800 billion in assets under management and saw inflows of $67 billion in 2025. They discuss how the company competes against the industry's "Big Three," the secret behind QQQ's dramatic success and the surprising staying power of smart-beta ETFs. They also explore whether there are simply too many ETFs and how retail investors should assess volatile assets, like Bitcoin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2025 is arguably the single best year in ETF history as the industry has broken all-time records in the three primary categories: flows, launches and volume. What is behind these numbers and how long can these good times last? On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric look at the year that was with Katie Greifeld, reporter and anchor at Bloomberg News and Todd Sohn, senior ETF technical strategist at Strategas Securities. The conversation also includes the boon in leveraged ETFs, option-based funds, industry consolidation and whether small caps or low volatility can ever mount a comeback. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

So far this year, some 920 exchange-traded funds have launched in the US alone—a new record. Some are already juggernauts. Others are more about capturing vibes than assets. And then there are some intriguing sleepers that remain under the radar. So, which is the best new addition to the overall investing landscape? On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber welcome colleagues from Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Intelligence — Isabelle Lee, Denitsa Tsekova, Andre Yapp, Vildana Hajric, James Seyffart and Athanasios Psarofagis — to make their cases for the best new ETF of 2025. Executive Editor David Papadopolous returns to Trillions as a highly subjective judge with questionable methodology. Tickers mentioned in this episode include $MEME, $CAIE, $HUMN, $TEXN, $XDIV, $BSOL, $VBIL and $GXLC. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may not know the term autocallable, but you will. There’s a new type of high income ETF that tracks autocallable notes that yield 14% a year and is having instant success with flows coming in every single week since it launched in June. It’s all part of the boom in ETFs using derivatives (instead of stocks or bonds) to generate income streams. On this episode of Trillions Joel and Eric speak with Matt Kaufman, head of ETFs at Calamos Investments, about how autocallables work and the risks and rewards of investing in ETFs that track them. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The election of Sanae Takaichi as Japan’s first woman prime minister is putting a new spotlight on the country. Markets expect the “Iron Lady,” as she’s known, to continue some of the policies of Shinzo Abe, under whom the yen weakened while equities rocketed. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Jeremy Schwartz, chief investment officer at WisdomTree. They discuss the stellar performance of his flagship Japan Hedge Equity Fund, how Warren Buffett capitalized on Japan’s opportunities, why the country’s high debt-to-GDP ratio matters, what investors can expect from the new prime minister—and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With so many assets at or near all-time highs, a rational investor might wonder: How long can the good times last? And: Is now the time to consider an insurance policy for the inevitable pullback? And also: What sort of downside protection should you use, if any? On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Bernard Goyder and Suzanne Woolley of Bloomberg News about the spectrum of hedging strategies, many of which now involve ETFs. At one end are advanced approaches that involve the VIX, which can have big payoffs—but can be as dangerous as juggling chainsaws. They also discuss more vanilla options such as Treasuries and gold, as well as buffer ETFs — aka “boomer candy.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The “American dream” has always been about money: financial progression and building wealth. But for many the concept is slipping further and further away as the country’s yawning wealth gap widens. So the question is: can you still climb the proverbial wealth ladder, or is the dream dead? And if there is still room to rise, how important is salary versus investments? How can exchange-traded funds help? On this episode, Joe and Eric speak with Nick Maggiulli, author of the new book, The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life, and chief operating officer and data scientist at Ritholtz Wealth Management. Topics discussed include how the ladder breaks, pros and cons of different strategies for climbing it and how intertwined happiness and wealth are. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Young people are looking for an easier way to wealth than working a 9-5 job for 40 years. This has grown the appeal (and assets) of income ETFs, which can generate anywhere between 2% and 200% yield. This wide spectrum of income ETFs has seen assets balloon to $750 billion but there's more than meets the eye with many of these and investors need to understand what they are giving up. On this episode of Trillions, Joel and Eric speak with Vildana Hajric of Bloomberg News about her Big Take story about income ETFs and how and why they are appealing to young people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A relentless barrage of headlines in recent weeks have all centered on exchange-traded funds. For the first time, there are now more ETFs than stocks (4,300 versus 4,200). Also of note, ETFs have also become prized listings for exchanges—perhaps even more than IPOs—because they trade so much. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Dave Nadig, president and director of research at ETF.com, and Athanasios Psarofagis, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. They discuss those stories as well those on passive ownership's increasing complexity; a different way to think about the Magnificent Seven; Vanguard's push into active management; Wall Street not seeing a need for tokenization; and the irony of European ESG equity funds having exposure to the nuclear arms industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here's a mind-blowing stat: the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) is the fastest ETF in history to hit the $10 billion mark outside of the bitcoin ETFs. After a slow start, it's price has doubled over the past three months, sparking massive inflows just as it hit its first birthday. On this episode or Trillions, Joel and Eric look at why Ether is rallying, how big it could get and how investors should view it relative to bitcoin in a portfolio. They are joined by Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise and Isabelle Lee of Bloomberg News. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ETF "Thunderdome" is an unforgiving and relentless environment. Which makes the exchange-traded funds from JPMorgan Asset Management so noteworthy. Led by its Chief Executive Officer George Gatch, the firm has carved out a unique niche — active ETFs — and then used its institutional muscle to move up the leaderboard while driving down costs. In an era where 75% of all active funds are seeing outflows, JPMorgan has found a way to thrive; in fact, it’s now the fourth biggest active fund company in the US. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Gatch about JPMorgan's secret sauce, his strategy in the active category, how his biggest products became such hits, why fixed income remains a promising space, what to watch in private markets and why he's avoiding crypto. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.