True passive investing may not exist, as all investing ultimately involves active decisions. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, along with co-host James Seyffart, senior ETF analyst at BI, spoke with Michael Green, portfolio manager and chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management, about the implications of passive investing’s dominance and the challenges facing active managers. They discuss how large index-tracking product flows may be reducing market elasticity, distorting price discovery and contributing to systemic risks. The conversation also explores whether active strategies can adapt and find opportunities in an increasingly index-driven market. The podcast was recorded on Feb. 10.

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Bloomberg’s Market Pulse gauge hit an official manic condition at the end of January, where defensive sectors tend to outperform cyclicals and small caps often lag large caps. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and co-host Michael Casper, BI’s senior US equity strategist, speak with Christopher Tessin, a founder and managing partner of Acuitas Investments and lead portfolio manager for the Acuitas US Microcap Fund (AFMCX), about the firm’s multimanager approach to micro-cap investing. They discuss why the most critical factor in evaluating managers is idea-generation skill, not historical returns alone and why the greatest inefficiencies and alpha opportunities exist at the smallest end of the market-cap spectrum. The conversation also explores why quality matters more in micro caps and why Tessin is bullish on small and micro caps after a long period of underperformance. The podcast was recorded on Feb. 5.

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Actively managed municipal bond funds continue to attract strong investor interest, with active mutual funds taking in over $24 billion and active muni ETFs seeing over $22 billion in net flows last year. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Alex Petrone, head of fixed income and of distribution for the Americas at Rockefeller Capital Management, about the advantages of active management in the municipal bond market. They discuss why the steep municipal yield curve presents compelling investment opportunities, how active managers can exploit inefficiencies in a highly fragment market and why municipal bonds have historically shown resilience during economic downturns. The conversation also explores how technology is reshaping municipal credit research and portfolio construction. The podcast was recorded on Jan. 27.

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For JPMorgan’s income managers, discipline means delivering predictable outcomes through rigorous risk management rather than chasing headline yield. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, a mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and co-host Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at BI, speak with Hamilton Reiner, managing director and CIO of the US Core Equity Team, and James McNerny, managing director and portfolio manager within the Global Liquidity business. They discuss the growing appeal of equity income strategies like the JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPI), why the fund is designed around predictable outcomes rather than maximizing yield and how index-level options allow JPMorgan to generate income without sacrificing stock selection. The conversation also explores why the JPMorgan Ultra-Short Income ETF (JPST) is positioned as a deliberate step beyond cash, how the team prioritizes liquidity and capital preservation and why tight controls on credit and spread risk matter in volatile markets. The podcast was recorded on Jan. 13.

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Actively managed ETFs took in nearly $500 billion in 2025, indicating growing confidence in active strategies in the ETF wrapper. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and co-host Athanasios Psarofagis, a BI ETF analyst, speak with Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at TMX VettaFi, about the growth of active ETFs, the impact of market conditions, the role of brand and the challenges of overcrowding in the space. They also discussed the implications of share-class conversions, how advisers are using active ETFs, what will determine the success of new products and why some active strategies are better left in mutual funds. The podcast was recorded on Jan. 7.

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US value stocks have quietly regained momentum and remain deeply discounted relative to growth, a valuation backdrop that has historically supported strong forward performance. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active-management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and co-host Christopher Cain, BI’s US quantitative strategist, speak with Meb Faber, co-founder, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Cambria Investment Management, and a portfolio manager of the Cambria Global Value ETF (GVAL). The discussion explores why GVAL was designed to address a shortcoming in market-cap weighting, why Faber’s process begins with country-level valuations, and how composite valuation metrics can help reduce model risk. They also examine the role of investor psychology in shaping market behavior and why historical market patterns remain a us

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Earnings in 3Q beat expectations, but momentum is fading, suggesting a high earnings bar for 2026 and potentially more market volatility. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, and co-host Michael Casper, BI’s senior US equity strategist, speak with Justin White, portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price All-Cap Opportunities Fund (PRWAX). They discuss White’s four-pillar investment process and how pattern recognition helps him identify durable growth or unrealistic expectations. They also explore what part of the market is overestimating long-term monopoly profits, where high valuations have become unattractive due to poor risk-reward and which areas could offer long-term outperformance through 2030. The podcast was recorded on Dec. 4.

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Earnings season was strong, with profits doubling forecasts and solid margins driving the bull market despite higher volatility. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active-management analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, along with co-host Christopher Cain, US quantitative strategist at BI, speak with Jerry Parker, founder and chairman of Chesapeake Capital and portfolio manager on funds including the Blueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETF (TFPN). They explore his “trend-following-plus-nothing” philosophy, which adheres to pure, uncompromised trend following without added strategies or smoothing. They also discussed why diversification is paramount, why stocks belong in commodity-trading-adviser portfolios and how the original turtle experiment could be adapted for today’s generation of traders. The podcast was recorded on Nov. 11.

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A potential shift in US monetary policy toward fiscal dominance — where government financing influences rates more than inflation control — could change the risk-return trade-off for CLO investors. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, along with co-host Reto Bachmann, BI’s chief structured finance strategist, spoke with Bill Sokol, director of product management at VanEck and Fran Rodilosso, head of fixed income ETF portfolio management and a portfolio manager on the VanEck CLO ETF (CLOI) and VanEck CLO AA-BB CLO ETF (CLOB), about why active management is essential when it comes to manager selection and loan-level analysis and how effective ETF management mitigates liquidity risk through diversified exposure across tranches. They also discussed why relative value remains attractive as CLO tranches yield more than corporates and other asset-backed securities. 
This podcast was recorded on Nov. 4. 

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AI’s next competitive edge is increasingly tied to vertical integration, connecting digital capacity with physical infrastructure. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, and co-host Breanne Dougherty, BI’s head of thematic strategy, speak with Eli Horton, managing director of equities at TCW and senior portfolio manager for the TCW Transform Systems ETF (PWRD). Horton discusses why he rejects traditional sector-based investing, arguing instead for a systems-based approach, which views the economy as interconnected systems. They also discuss why changing legacy industries is crucial for transformation, how bottlenecks in the power supply present investment opportunities and why he views decentralized energy systems as highly promising. The podcast was recorded on Oct. 14.

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