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Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Wedbush and Dan Ives Launch AI Revolution ETF
Tech analyst Dan Ives believes he has identified the most important companies driving artificial intelligence innovation today. He and Wedbush Fund Advisors launched the firm's inaugural ETF Wednesday — the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF (IVES). The fund, based on Ives' proprietary research, targets companies leading the charge in robotics, semiconductor chips, retail products, and of course, AI. It's the old California gold rush 'picks and shovels' strategy. 'AI isn't just about the Mag 7,' Ives told Advisor Upside. 'It's the software, the consumer, the infrastructure, the cybersecurity players.' The fund had net assets of more than $26 million as of Wednesday, an expense ratio of 0.75%, and a net asset value of $25.35. AI is likely going to be as monumental as the printing press or the internet, but do advisors have much enthusiasm for products that specifically target the sector? READ ALSO: There's Almost 600K More Millionaires. That's Not Necessarily a Good Thing and Goldman, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Layoffs to Hit Northeast There are plenty of AI-focused ETFs already, including Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ), Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM), and iShares Future AI & Tech ETF (ARTY) which collectively hold more than $5.5 billion in assets, according to data compiled by Morningstar Direct. As of the end of May, AI and robotics ETFs in the US alone have taken in nearly $1.3 billion. However, many of those funds also include holdings that aren't AI-specific. For example, ARTY has plenty of exposure to multiple foreign currencies. IVES, on the other hand, is more limited: It's made up of just 30 holdings, including all of the Mag 7. It also has a few names clients may not be aware of, like cybersecurity firm Zscaler, software-maker Pegasystems, and nuclear power company Oklo. 'Investors miss a core part of the theme by not playing the second and third derivatives,' Ives said. Wedbush Funds CIO Cullen Rogers added that the fund allows large-cap leaders like Nvidia and Microsoft to carry influence without overpowering the portfolio, and it gives smaller names 'a seat at the table.' Making Waves? Though AI is being viewed as the fourth industrial revolution and has been responsible for major investor returns of late, AI ETFs — and thematics in general — are a tough sell for advisors, said Bryan Armour, director of ETF & passive strategies research at Morningstar. 'Investors, and advisors alike, got burned by thematic ETFs in 2022, so they've failed to generate as much interest since then,' he told Advisor Upside. Plus, clients already have significant exposure to AI companies when they invest in the S&P 500 or Nasdaq. 'We have definitely seen how advisors have been putting some of the legacy AI thematic ETFs to work in client portfolios, but we've also seen advisors start to realize that most 'AI' ETFs are little more than the MAG 7 with high fees,' said Adam Patti, CEO of VistaShares. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive financial advisor news, market insights, and practice management essentials, subscribe to our free Advisor Upside newsletter. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Rules for Now, but the Crypto Landscape Is Vast
Investors want more than just a bit of bitcoin. Spot Bitcoin ETFs amassed inflows of nearly $9.6 billion from April 21 through May 27, according to data compiled by Morningstar Direct. With the price of the world's most popular cryptocurrency reaching all-time highs of more than $100,000 lately and the Trump administration championing digital assets, advisors might now want to expand their focus beyond just bitcoin. 'The capitalization of the crypto space right now is more than $3 trillion. How can you ignore that?' said Campbell Harver, Duke University professor and partner at Research Affiliates. 'It'd be like ignoring a couple of companies in the Magnificent Seven.' READ ALSO: There's Almost 600K More Millionaires. That's Not Necessarily a Good Thing and Goldman, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Layoffs to Hit Northeast While spot Bitcoin ETFs have been seeing plenty of momentum lately, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) is the real winner. Over roughly the past five weeks, IBIT has taken in $8.7 billion, per Morningstar. That's about 80% of its total inflows year-to-date. Bitcoin and ETFs that track it may be a new corner of portfolios, but advisors are quickly growing more comfortable with it. 'Most of my clients have a 5-10% allocation to Bitcoin,' said Mike Casey, founder of AE Advisors. 'Some are allocated significantly higher.' Bitcoin and IBIT are clearly the biggest players in the space, but advisors should have a wider view when considering crypto allocations, Harvey said, recommending wealth managers consider stablecoins — digital currencies pegged to traditional assets like the US dollar or gold. 'In my vision of the future, almost all assets will be tokenized — stocks, debts, mortgages, all this stuff,' he told Advisor Upside. 'We're going in that direction, and stablecoins are the first step.' But of course, stay away from meme coins. 'They have no fundamental value whatsoever,' Harvey said. 'They're like trading cards.' Golden Hour. Amidst the current economic uncertainty, some have begun viewing Bitcoin as a safe haven similar to gold, but that's still debated territory, given that their volatility profiles are drastically different, said Joy Yang, head of product management at MarketVector Indexes. 'Gold is more of a slow and steady type of asset and has been quietly outperforming US equities over the past 20 years,' she told Advisor Upside. 'Bitcoin has done it, too, but in a much more rollercoaster type of movement.' In the same five-week span, Gold ETFs have experienced almost $2.8 billion in outflows, with State Street's SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) accounting for nearly all of that, according to Morningstar. The precious metal's price per ounce is down from an all-time high of $3,500 in late April. However, gold is still outperforming Bitcoin, up 28% YTD compared with Bitcoin's 12% as of Monday. 'Bitcoin is still a teenager,' Yang said. 'It'll eventually be an adult, but it's going to take a winding path to get there.' This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive financial advisor news, market insights, and practice management essentials, subscribe to our free Advisor Upside newsletter.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
RIA Headcount, AUM Shattered Records in 2024
Look how you've grown. The RIA industry has expanded tremendously over the past 25 years, with headcounts, client numbers, and assets hitting record highs in 2024, according to the latest snapshot report from trade group Investment Adviser Association. Last year, nearly 16,000 firms managed $145 trillion in assets. Since the report was first published in 2000, the number of firms has more than doubled, and total assets under management in the US have grown seven times as much, per the report. The number of non-clerical workers — half of whom provide investment advice — have increased to a record of more than 1 million, up from 766,000 in 2009. READ ALSO: Bitcoin Rules for Now, but the Crypto Landscape Is Vast and Bitcoin's Record Rally Prompts Advisors to Take a Second Look Overall client numbers reached a new peak last year at nearly 69 million. High-net-worth clients are always a top priority for advisors, and it's easy to understand why: The bigger a client's portfolio, the more an advisor stands to make. Since 2017, average assets in the accounts of high-net-worth individuals have jumped by roughly 25% from $1.4 million to $1.8 million, per the IAA. Not all clients are so fortunate, though: The assets of the average mass-affluent client — those with less than $1.1 million in assets, per IAA — fell 0.7% in the same time. Despite that, non-high-net-worth clients made up the bulk of asset management clients last year at roughly 85%. RIAs helped 48 million non-high-net-worth clients. The segment has grown by 9.5% per year for the last seven years, as digital platforms have made it easier for investors to access advice. There's Always a But. Despite all the record-high figures, there are a few things to keep in mind. The wealth management industry is expected to be short more than 100,000 advisors by 2034 as retirements outpace recruitment efforts, according to McKinsey & Co. The global economy is currently contending with tense trade negotiations among the world's superpowers, which could impact growth. And Americans continue to deal with inflation and high interest rates, hampering many peoples' ability to save. 'The next Adviser Snapshot may be reporting on a significantly changed industry,' according to the IAA report. 'Unsettled markets and economic uncertainty could mean lower growth in 2025.' This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive financial advisor news, market insights, and practice management essentials, subscribe to our free Advisor Upside newsletter. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bitcoin Rules for Now, but the Crypto Landscape Is Vast
Investors want more than just a bit of bitcoin. Spot Bitcoin ETFs amassed inflows of nearly $9.6 billion from April 21 through May 27, according to data compiled by Morningstar Direct. With the price of the world's most popular cryptocurrency reaching all-time highs of more than $100,000 lately and the Trump administration championing digital assets, advisors might now want to expand their focus beyond just bitcoin. 'The capitalization of the crypto space right now is more than $3 trillion. How can you ignore that?' said Campbell Harver, Duke University professor and partner at Research Affiliates. 'It'd be like ignoring a couple of companies in the Magnificent Seven.' READ ALSO: RIA Headcount, AUM Shattered Records in 2024 and Bitcoin's Record Rally Prompts Advisors to Take a Second Look While spot Bitcoin ETFs have been seeing plenty of momentum lately, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) is the real winner. Over roughly the past five weeks, IBIT has taken in $8.7 billion, per Morningstar. That's about 80% of its total inflows year-to-date. Bitcoin and ETFs that track it may be a new corner of portfolios, but advisors are quickly growing more comfortable with it. 'Most of my clients have a 5-10% allocation to Bitcoin,' said Mike Casey, founder of AE Advisors. 'Some are allocated significantly higher.' Bitcoin and IBIT are clearly the biggest players in the space, but advisors should have a wider view when considering crypto allocations, Harvey said, recommending wealth managers consider stablecoins — digital currencies pegged to traditional assets like the US dollar or gold. 'In my vision of the future, almost all assets will be tokenized — stocks, debts, mortgages, all this stuff,' he told Advisor Upside. 'We're going in that direction, and stablecoins are the first step.' But of course, stay away from meme coins. 'They have no fundamental value whatsoever,' Harvey said. 'They're like trading cards.' Golden Hour. Amidst the current economic uncertainty, some have begun viewing Bitcoin as a safe haven similar to gold, but that's still debated territory, given that their volatility profiles are drastically different, said Joy Yang, head of product management at MarketVector Indexes. 'Gold is more of a slow and steady type of asset and has been quietly outperforming US equities over the past 20 years,' she told Advisor Upside. 'Bitcoin has done it, too, but in a much more rollercoaster type of movement.' In the same five-week span, Gold ETFs have experienced almost $2.8 billion in outflows, with State Street's SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) accounting for nearly all of that, according to Morningstar. The precious metal's price per ounce is down from an all-time high of $3,500 in late April. However, gold is still outperforming Bitcoin, up 28% YTD compared with Bitcoin's 12% as of Monday. 'Bitcoin is still a teenager,' Yang said. 'It'll eventually be an adult, but it's going to take a winding path to get there.' This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive financial advisor news, market insights, and practice management essentials, subscribe to our free Advisor Upside newsletter.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ETFs Unfazed by Market Volatility
Volatility may be the defining word from the first half of 2025, but ETF investors just aren't flinching. Despite ongoing economic uncertainty and trade war tensions, ETFs attracted record inflows in the US. So far this year, investors poured $427 billion in new assets into ETFs, far surpassing the $301 billion over the same period last year, according to Morningstar. Much of this has flowed into equity ETFs as investors look to buy the dip, but diversification still remains key for advisors and their clients. 'The appetite for funds has not wavered,' said Bryan Armour, director of ETF & passive strategies research at Morningstar. He said it's also a good time to increase bond exposure with TIPS ETFs, or consider alternatives like gold funds. 'No one knows what's going to happen next, and there's a lot that's up in the air economically right now.' READ ALSO: Want a Crypto 401(k)? The DOL Isn't Standing in the Way Anymore and Why Thrivent Wants to Hire Nearly 600 Advisors this Year With markets recovering from earlier losses and the major indexes flat year-to-date, investors have piled into equity ETFs. Stock-based funds in the most popular ETF segments have taken in nearly $200 billion so far in 2025, according to data platform Trackinsight. While passive funds remain dominant in terms of flows and total assets, active ETFs are moving the needle, accounting for nearly 40% of inflows so far this year. The biggest equity fund winner is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO), which has seen roughly $65 billion in inflows so far this year. In February, it overtook State Street's SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) as the largest fund. 'Two years ago, that would've been a single-year record,' Armour told Advisor Upside. 'Even if we stopped in May, it would be the second-largest year of inflows ever for VOO. That's nuts.' In fixed income, investors are playing it safe, favoring ultra-short bonds and T-bill ETFs that offer lower credit and interest rate risk amid ongoing market choppiness, Armour said. Risky Bet? The previous high for ETF inflows by this point in the year was in 2021, at just over $370 billion — followed by a downturn in 2022. Could history repeat? Armour said ETF inflows alone don't pose a systemic risk. 'With the amount of money in bonds, stocks, mutual funds, hedge funds, and private equity, ETF inflows aren't going to tip the scales to the point where assets are overpriced,' he told Advisor Upside. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive financial advisor news, market insights, and practice management essentials, subscribe to our free Advisor Upside newsletter.
