Latest news with #MorningstarDirect
Yahoo
3 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: 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
5 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
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bond ETFs Are Clear Winners as Investors Seek Market Safety
U.S. fund investors pulled back in March amid growing economic concerns, with long-term fund inflows dropping to just $24 billion, the lowest total since April 2024, according to Morningstar Direct's latest fund flows report. The rapid expansion of the market for bond ETFs signals a fundamental shift in how investors access bonds during uncertain times. This structural change carries major implications for financial advisors, asset managers and investors as the investment landscape continues to evolve during periods of market stress. The first quarter saw taxable bond ETFs collect nearly $100 billion compared to just $20 billion for their mutual fund counterparts, pushing ETFs' market share to 30%—triple what it was 10 years ago, according to Morningstar Direct. "ETFs have especially taken root in the government-bond categories, where their combined $362 billion base represents about two-thirds of all the assets," the firm reported in its March 2025 fund flows analysis. Source: Morningstar Direct The overall market experienced subdued flows in March, according to the report, with five of the 10 category groups seeing outflows. Ultra-short bond funds claimed $15 billion of the $23 billion that went into taxable bond funds, masking weakness across other bond categories. Market volatility drove investors toward safety, with utilities and consumer defensive funds being the only sector-equity categories receiving meaningful inflows in March. Utilities funds collected $1.3 billion, their largest inflow within the sector-equity group, according to the Morningstar report. Commodities funds, particularly those tracking gold, took in more than $7 billion in March, reaching levels not seen since 2020. The price surge came as investors sought safe-haven assets amid concerns about potential tariffs and a resulting recession. Europe-stock funds provided a rare bright spot for international equity, gathering more than $6 billion in March—their strongest showing since 2015. Overall, they collected more than $9 billion in the first quarter, their best performance since 2021's second quarter. Dividend-oriented investment strategies also attracted investor interest in the challenging environment. According to Morningstar Direct, dividend funds took in $5.6 billion in March, a pattern more reminiscent of 2022's defensive market positioning. Meanwhile, tactical traders showed appetite for market volatility, pouring a record $7.8 billion into leveraged equity funds. The ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) alone collected $2.8 billion as traders positioned for potential market | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bond ETFs Are Clear Winners as Investors Seek Market Safety
U.S. fund investors pulled back in March amid growing economic concerns, with long-term fund inflows dropping to just $24 billion, the lowest total since April 2024, according to Morningstar Direct's latest fund flows report. The rapid expansion of the market for bond ETFs signals a fundamental shift in how investors access bonds during uncertain times. This structural change carries major implications for financial advisors, asset managers and investors as the investment landscape continues to evolve during periods of market stress. The first quarter saw taxable bond ETFs collect nearly $100 billion compared to just $20 billion for their mutual fund counterparts, pushing ETFs' market share to 30%—triple what it was 10 years ago, according to Morningstar Direct. "ETFs have especially taken root in the government-bond categories, where their combined $362 billion base represents about two-thirds of all the assets," the firm reported in its March 2025 fund flows analysis. Source: Morningstar Direct The overall market experienced subdued flows in March, according to the report, with five of the 10 category groups seeing outflows. Ultra-short bond funds claimed $15 billion of the $23 billion that went into taxable bond funds, masking weakness across other bond categories. Market volatility drove investors toward safety, with utilities and consumer defensive funds being the only sector-equity categories receiving meaningful inflows in March. Utilities funds collected $1.3 billion, their largest inflow within the sector-equity group, according to the Morningstar report. Commodities funds, particularly those tracking gold, took in more than $7 billion in March, reaching levels not seen since 2020. The price surge came as investors sought safe-haven assets amid concerns about potential tariffs and a resulting recession. Europe-stock funds provided a rare bright spot for international equity, gathering more than $6 billion in March—their strongest showing since 2015. Overall, they collected more than $9 billion in the first quarter, their best performance since 2021's second quarter. Dividend-oriented investment strategies also attracted investor interest in the challenging environment. According to Morningstar Direct, dividend funds took in $5.6 billion in March, a pattern more reminiscent of 2022's defensive market positioning. Meanwhile, tactical traders showed appetite for market volatility, pouring a record $7.8 billion into leveraged equity funds. The ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) alone collected $2.8 billion as traders positioned for potential market | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As the S&P 500 crashes, this new retiree says advisers are ‘head-in-the-sand clueless'
Got a question about investing, how it fits into your overall financial plan and what strategies can help you make the most out of your money? You can write to me at . Please put 'Fix My Portfolio' in the subject line. I'm a 65-year-old retiree. I just saw a Suze Orman post about the stock market falling and it made me mad. 'Take a pause, take a breath … We knew this would happen and now it has, so don't be freaked out. Take it day by day,' she said. She sounds like my financial adviser — head-in-the-sand clueless. I'm administrator of my sister's estate. Her bank won't tell me the names of her beneficiaries. Is that legal? After two big days of selloffs, here's what history suggests will happen next Stock futures plunge as ugly stretch for Wall Street looks set to worsen U.S. stocks aren't a screaming buy just yet — but we're getting close. Here's what to watch. Bill Ackman warns of 'economic nuclear winter,' urges 90-day timeout on tariffs But what do we do? Do we sell and move to anything that's possibly still safe? And then what, do we take a big bad tax hit? And watch our Medicare costs rise? (What am I saying? Medicare could be next to just go completely.) Does anyone have advice that is better than 'the market always comes back, stay the course'? Ready to Run I know the headlines are scary. I don't know if you'll find my advice soothing, but I'm going to start with a reality check. If you're a new retiree and have at least a 50-50 portfolio, or maybe even more conservative than that, then your bottom line is not the big red number flashing next to the S&P 500 SPX or Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA tickers on your screen. I took a look at the target-date retirement funds for people intending to retire in 2025, with help from Morningstar Direct. The top fund in that category, the Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Fund VTTVX, was down just 1.6% in the past week through Thursday, compared with 5.2% for the S&P 500 index. In the past month, through Thursday, that fund is down just 0.4%, compared with down 7.9% for the S&P 500. The Vanguard 2025 fund has about a 50-50 split right now between equities and fixed income, according to its prospectus, and holds about $75 billion of the $832 billion in 2025 target-date funds. Investments like this are designed to glide over time to be more conservative, at the direction of the fund managers, and are popular in workplace retirement plans. About 30% of employees have their 401(k)s invested in target-date funds, according to the Investment Company Institute, and they are even more popular among younger employees who are often auto-enrolled and auto-invested in such plans. I say this to get across the point that, yes, your retirement-portfolio balance has dipped, but it's maybe not as bad as it seems at the moment. The Vanguard target-date fund is likely more a proxy for what's in your own account statement than the headline S&P 500 numbers of the day. If it's really freaking you out, then don't listen to the advice to stick your head in the sand and look into it. Before you just blindly sell and stick your cash under the proverbial mattress, evaluate your actual holdings and think about where you can do better. Make sure to consider this: You're 65 and likely started investing in a workplace plan something like 40 years ago. The three-year return on that Vanguard 2025 portfolio is 3.6% and the five-year return is 9%. Your lifetime gain is significant — not up as high as the S&P 500, but still up. A balanced portfolio that gets more conservative as you age is designed for hard times just like this. Your risk in the stock market is balanced by investments in fixed income like government and corporate bonds. In bad times, that's a buffer against significant losses. In the good times, you're getting less gains, but still making something. What are your alternatives? As you mention, cashing out as a new retiree can have consequences. If you keep the money inside a tax-deferred account and just change the investment options, it won't impact your income tax or Medicare premiums, but it can leave you at a loss compared with inflation, which is still running high. You can either go riskier or go safer — and both are probably bad options, inversely. If you get more conservative, you won't get to 9% in any given year. A Treasury bond or money-market fund won't even get you half that now, and will drop along with interest rates over time. If it turns out we're in a temporary downturn, you'll miss out on the upswing. If you go more into stocks, you could end up permanently denting your portfolio — and given your outlook, this is the least likely of your choices. If you cash out in a taxable account then, yes, you could incur capital-gains taxes, because most likely you are not at a loss in any of your positions yet overall, compared with how much you paid initially. That could push you into IRMAA surcharges that will make your Medicare more expensive and have all sorts of other ancillary effects, including also that missed opportunity on the upswing. The thing to remember overall is that the stock market's ups and downs are theoretical until you press the buy or sell button in your brokerage account. As a new retiree, you only have to think about right now: That is the money you are going to spend this year on living expenses. Make sure you have that in cash. It's probable that you took a distribution from a retirement account at the end of last year to tide you through this year, and will keep up that distribution schedule through retirement, even before you get to the age of required minimum distributions when the government makes you do this. That's not sticking your head in the sand — that's just being smart about your retirement spending strategy. You can also join the Retirement conversation in our . I'm the executor of my mother's will. She left $160,000 in a secret savings account. Should I tell my siblings? 'She has been telling him lies': My sister convinced my father to sign everything over to her. What can I do? U.S. stocks see biggest 2-day wipeout in history as market loses $11 trillion since Inauguration Day 'I've made the most money over the last 30 years buying solid companies in terrible markets': Should I start buying? 'I'm stuck': I'm a single mom with a 6-year-old child. What can I do to earn money fast?
