One of the “most helpful plain-English resources for investors who want to demystify exchange-traded funds” – Bloomberg Businessweek
Will Rhind, Founder & CEO of GraniteShares, dives into their YieldBOOST lineup of ETFs and offers perspective on the growing demand for options-based ETF strategies overall. Zeno Mercer, Senior Research Analyst at VettaFi, breaks down one of the hottest segments in the market: artificial intelligence ETFs. He covers fund flows, performance trends, and the key drivers behind investor interest.
ETF Prime is hosted by Nate Geraci. Learn how to make ETFs a part of your investment portfolio as Nate spotlights individual ETFs and interviews experts from across the country. ETF Prime is available on Apple Podcasts, Android, Spotify, and most other major podcasting platforms. Specific guest interviews can be accessed by visiting the ETF Expert Corner.
ETF.com’s Drew Voros discusses whether an ETF’s AUM should matter to investors. GFM Asset Management’s Tariq Dennison explains the investment case for emerging markets and against a bitcoin ETF. EventShares’ Ben Phillips spotlights their U.S. Legislative Opportunities ETF (PLCY), along with key government policy issues he’s tracking.
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The 2010s marked the first decade since immediately prior to the Civil War that the U.S. economy didn’t suffer at least one recession. The S&P 500 went the entire decade without experiencing a single 20% drawdown, or bear market. That hasn’t happened in 120 years!
These facts are made even more remarkable when you consider the events of the past ten years: Greek bailout, U.S. debt downgrade, European sovereign debt crisis, “fiscal cliff”, Cyprus banking crisis, “taper tantrum”, Ebola virus, Syria, Chinese currency devaluation, Brexit, 2016 U.S. Presidential election, trade war, yield curve inversion – to name a few (or a lot)! Despite plenty of terrifying headlines, a resilient US economy and stock market pushed ahead.
Perhaps it’s fitting we begin the 2020s with yet another scary headline (Iran) and stocks barely flinching. The market continues showing an uncanny ability to brush aside unsettling news and march higher. So, where does that leave us? What might the next decade hold?
Nobody knows for sure, but there are two important takeaways from the previous decade that may help shape a successful investment approach in this new decade:
1) Investors who overreact are rarely rewarded. If the 2010s taught us anything, it’s that there is always another alarming headline around the corner. Headlines that taunt. Headlines that tempt. They make every effort to derail your sound investment plan. This isn’t new, of course. Investors have always found reasons to sell stocks – politics, wars, economic data. The difference now is that news is 24/7 and instantaneous. It’s immediately accessible on the supercomputers we carry in our pockets. The world knew about Iran’s missile strikes nearly as quickly as the Pentagon did. This creates a desire to do something, anything in your portfolio!
Add to that, many investors experienced the pain of the dotcom bubble and/or global financial crisis. There is still a feeling that any one event might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. No investor wants to repeat the agony of 2008-2009. But we are now 11+ years removed from that dreadful experience. The economy and markets have withstood the negative headlines. Investors who overreacted during the past decade paid a price. Headlines will come and go, but how you handle them is what matters.
2) The 2010s were an anomaly. While investing is best approached with an optimistic mindset, a pragmatic viewpoint is also helpful. The fact is the 2010s were an anomaly, sidestepping both a recession and bear market. With history as our guide, we should expect a recession in the 2020s. We should also expect a bear market at some point this decade. That doesn’t mean history should be feared, however. Investors who are mindful of history can approach the markets with a sense of optimism and realism, the most powerful combination in investing. It’s having faith in the longer-term success of the global economy, while realizing there will be bumps along the way.
The key is to not conflate these two takeaways. Some might say, “the 2010s were an anomaly, which is why the negative headlines didn’t matter”. The problem with that thinking is, again, there have always been negative headlines. The markets have always bounced back. With Iran in the news, consider the stock market reaction to past geopolitical events:
Source: LPL Financial Research
On average, stocks lost 5% and recovered that loss within 47 days. Imagine having bailed on stocks after the Ronald Reagan shooting in 1981 or Iraq invasion in 1990, in the midst of one of the great bull market runs of all-time. That doesn’t mean world events can’t impact financial markets, even for more prolonged periods of time. They most certainly can and do… but not typically in predictable ways. How many investors expected a positive stock market less than one year removed from the attack on Pearl Harbor?
As we say goodbye to the 2010s and welcome in the 2020s, we’ll leave you with this: we are all (unfortunately) 10 years older. Given the past decade and what history may suggest about the forthcoming decade, now is an excellent time to take inventory of where you are at. What are your financial goals? What’s most important to your future? We are here to help.
ETF.com’s Drew Voros recaps 2019 ETF flows and looks ahead to 2020. Inside ETFs CEO John Swolfs previews the world’s largest ETF conference. ReSolve Asset Management’s Adam Butler spotlights the index behind the Strategy Shares Newfound/ReSolve Robust Momentum ETF (ROMO).
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One of the “most helpful plain-English resources for investors who want to demystify exchange-traded funds.” – Bloomberg BusinessWeek
In addition to the following guests, be sure to catch our weekly segment with the experts at ETF.com! Subscribe to receive the latest ETF Prime podcast directly to your inbox.
January 7th – John Swolfs, CEO of Inside ETFs, previews the world’s largest ETF conference. Adam Butler, CIO at ReSolve Asset Management, explains the index behind the Strategy Shares Newfound/ReSolve Robust Momentum ETF (ROMO).
January 14th – Tariq Dennison, Director of Cross-Border Wealth at GFM Asset Management, discusses ETF due diligence and investing in emerging markets. Ben Phillips, CIO at EventShares, highlights major government policy issues in 2020, along with the EventShares U.S. Legislative Opportunities ETF (PLCY).
January 21st – D.J. Tierney, Managing Director at Charles Schwab, talks commission-free trading and Schwab’s low-cost ETF lineup. Alexi Panagiotakopoulos, Co-Founder & Partner of Fundamental Income, lays out the investment case for the NETLease Corporate Real Estate ETF (NETL).
January 28th – Nate Geraci live from Inside ETFs.
February 4th – Elisabeth Kashner, Director of ETF Research at FactSet, offers perspective on the current ETF landscape, including continued fee compression. Tony Wenzel, Co-Founder & President of Brandometry, explains the index underlying the Brand Value ETF (BVAL).
February 11th – Matt Bartolini, Head of SPDR Americas Research, addresses common ETF misperceptions. Brad Ball, CEO of Liquid Strategies and portfolio manager of Overlay Shares, spotlights their unique suite of ETFs which utilize an option overlay strategy.
February 18th – Michael Natale, Head of Intermediary Distribution at Northern Trust’s FlexShares, discusses the role of real assets in a portfolio, including infrastructure, real estate and natural resources. Maz Jadallah, Founder & CEO of AlphaClone, highlights the AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF (ALFA), which seeks to mimic top stock picks from select hedge fund managers.
February 25th – Jason Wenk, Founder & CEO of Altruist, goes in-depth on the current and future custodian landscape. Tony Dufault, Head of ETF Product Development at Pacific Global ETFs, describes their actively managed approach to ETFs.
March 3rd – Wes Gray, CEO of Alpha Architect, talks factor tilts and ETF portfolio construction. Conor Platt, President of Confluence Analytics, explains the importance of ESG data.
March 10th – Laton Spahr, President of ALPS Advisors, and Jon Maier, Chief Investment Officer at Global X, discuss thematic ETFs and their proper use in portfolios.
March 17th – Jeremy Schwartz, Global Head of Research at WisdomTree, highlights core tenets of their “Modern Alpha” approach to ETFs. Tim Rotolo, CEO & Founder of North Shore Indexes, spotlights the index behind North Shore Global Uranium Mining ETF and the investment case for uranium.
March 31st – Todd Rosenbluth, Sr. Director of ETF & Mutual Fund Research at CFRA, recaps ETFs in the first quarter of 2020 and looks ahead to the remainder of the year. Scott Acheychek, President of REX Shares, goes in-depth on the cannabis market and the first leveraged cannabis ETP in the U.S.
All guest interviews are available through our featured section “ETF Expert Corner” at etfstore.com and can be played directly from any mobile device. Full podcasts of ETF Prime can be downloaded for free at etfprime.com, etf.com, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Android, and other major podcast apps.
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Nate revisits some of his favorite conversations from 2019, including Vanguard’s Michael Lovett, ETF.com’s Dave Nadig, Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, CFRA’s Todd Rosenbluth, Bitwise’s Matt Hougan, State Street’s George Milling-Stanley, and Nuveen’s Jordan Farris.
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