Despite geopolitical tensions, value has held up better than expected, while defensive strategies like low volatility and quality have failed to attract the typical safe-haven flows, suggesting markets are largely looking past the Iran war. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and co-host Christopher Cain, US quantitative strategist at BI, speak with Jeff Shen, co-chief investment officer and co-head of BlackRock’s Systematic Active Equities. They discuss the evolution of systematic active equity and how advances in data, AI and machine learning are reshaping alpha generation. The conversation also explores factor timing, expansion beyond traditional factors into alternative data and new signals, and how portfolio construction and risk management are driving more consistent and differentiated outcomes. Recorded March 31.

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Over the past decade, technology investing has been dominated by a handful of mega-cap companies, but AI is opening the door to a broader and potentially very different set of future winners. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active-management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Dominic Rizzo, portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price Global Technology Equity Fund (PRGTX) and the T. Rowe Price Technology ETF (TTEQ), about his investment framework. They explore how Rizzo identifies linchpin technologies and improving fundamentals, and why active managers may be better positioned than passive strategies to uncover the next generation of tech winners. The conversation also covers valuation, portfolio concentration, AI’s effect on productivity and growth, and how private companies like OpenAI and Anthropic fit into the opportunity set. This episode was recorded March 30.

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As value investing has lagged behind in a market led by a narrow group of large-cap growth stocks, insider buying has remained a closely watched signal, particularly during periods of volatility. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, spoke with John Spears and Jay Hill, managing directors with Tweedy, Browne and portfolio managers for the Insider + Value ETF (COPY) and International Insider + Value ETF (ICPY) about combining those ideas into a systematic investment approach. They discuss how they define value today, why insider buying can be a powerful signal, how they separate meaningful trades from noise and how they build portfolios designed to capture the strategy’s long-term results. This episode was recorded on March 24.

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Active fixed-income ETFs are entering a new phase of growth, driven by investor demand, structural advantages and expanding product breadth. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Jeff Johnson, head of Fixed Income Product at Vanguard, about the rapid rise of active bond ETFs and why fixed income remains a compelling space for active management. They discuss Vanguard’s expansion beyond its indexing roots, the appeal of ETFs for flexibility, liquidity and cost efficiency, and the key design challenges of active strategies in an ETF wrapper, including daily portfolio disclosure and scalability. The conversation also explores where flows are moving across short duration, core and higher-yielding strategies. Recorded March 19.

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Active ETFs may be in a golden age, not just a hot streak, driven by product innovation, lower structural frictions, conversions and potential ETF share classes. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, a mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, along with co-host Athanasios Psarofagis, an ETF analyst at BI, speak with Todd Sohn, chief ETF strategist at Strategas Securities. They discuss the current state of the active ETF market, including the breadth of flows across asset classes, the rise of outcome-oriented products and whether crowded areas like buffers and certain derivative-based strategies have become overhyped. They also examine which products helped redefine the category, where active ETFs are taking share and underappreciated areas of future growth such as small-cap, fixed income and alternatives. This episode was recorded on March 16.

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Rating agencies have been broadly positive, but their outlook is turning more cautious — especially in high yield — as geopolitical risks rise and spreads remain tight. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, along with co-host Sam Geier, corporate credit strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence, speak with David Sherman, founder and chief investment officer of CrossingBridge Advisors and a portfolio manager of the RiverPark Strategic Income Fund (RSIIX). Sherman explains why protecting return of capital matters more than chasing return on capital, how he applies a value-investing discipline to credit markets and where he’s finding opportunity in an expensive environment, including in the Nordic bond market. The conversation also explores the K-shaped divide in corporate credit fundamentals, the evolving distressed landscape and why liquidity premiums may be the most underappreciated risk in fixed income today. The podcast was recorded on March 3.

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In a market shaped by index concentration and short-term performance pressures, contrarian strategies are leaning into opportunities others may not have the patience or liquidity to own. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Murray Stahl, CEO, CIO and co-founder of Horizon Kinetics and a portfolio manager for the Paradigm Fund (WWNPX). They discuss the firm’s long-horizon contrarian philosophy, grounded in Stahl’s view that investors optimize for one-year grading periods, and its concept of an equity yield curve to explain why long-duration opportunities can be overlooked. The conversation also covers the fund’s willingness to let winners compound rather than trim positions, the tax considerations behind concentration, Stahl’s framework for Bitcoin exposure and why he views private investments as a natural extension of the strategy in an era of index dominance. The podcast was recorded on Feb. 18.

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Active ETFs, especially in fixed income, are surging as 10,000 Americans retire each day and demand grows for predictable, outcome-oriented income solutions for the trillions of dollars held in retirement accounts. In this episode of Inside Active, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, speaks with Dave Abner, head of global ETFs and funds at Northern Trust Asset Management. They discuss Northern Trust’s distributing ladder ETFs and the evolving opportunity set in municipal bond ETFs, while also examining why active ETFs are hitting a “hockey stick” growth moment. The conversation explores how automation and market-structure shifts may be reshaping traditional alpha opportunities in fixed income and what that means for risk-taking and portfolio construction. The podcast was recorded on Feb. 26.

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The US remains central to AI leadership, but investors should expect broader, more global opportunities to emerge in 2026. In this episode of the Inside Active podcast, host David Cohne, mutual fund and active management analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and co-host Breanne Dougherty, BI’s head of thematic strategy, speak with Sarbjit Nahal, a portfolio manager and analyst with the Global Thematic Equity team at Lazard Asset Management, which manages the Lazard Equity Megatrends ETF (THMZ). They discuss the role of thematic investing in capturing future wealth, how Lazard identifies megatrends, why megatrend investing is critical for navigating structural shifts and the importance of valuation discipline. The conversation also explores the growing significance of power and infrastructure in the age of AI, as well as rising interest in thematic investing among institutional investors and younger generations. The podcast was recorded on Feb. 9.

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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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