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Investing with Guardrails: The Rise of Defined Outcome ETFs and Structured Income Notes
Brian Skrobonja sits down with Phon Vilayoune to unpack buffered ETFs and income notes. Phon is the Founder and CEO of VETA Investment Partners, where they currently oversee over $5.5 billion in assets. They discuss the benefits of positioning your portfolio for growth and safety, how to protect your nest egg in volatile markets, and practical strategies for optimizing gains while limiting downside risk.
Tune in to hear professional insights on ETFs, income notes, and actionable frameworks for navigating today's complex market cycles.
- Phon explains how he entered the investing world and now helps oversee roughly $5.5B in assets.
- Phon highlights what trading during the 2008–09 crisis taught him about being positioned like Warren Buffett or Middle Eastern banks. In deep volatility, cash plus cash flow gives you the power to buy when everything is on sale.
- Why you want a Buffett-style portfolio in a downturn: Buffett held strong during bear markets and bought when others panicked.
- How to win more by losing less. Phon says risk management is the key. You never want to be a forced seller during a correction because you take a double hit: loss plus selling at the bottom.
- Phon and Brian break down buffered ETFs and how they're tied to S&P 500 options designed to provide a more predictable range of outcomes over 12 months. Think of it like investing with guardrails — you're participating but with intentional limits on downside.
- Learn what income notes are: Phon says it's basically converting equity exposure into monthly income. For example, instead of holding stocks outright, you buy a structured note designed to pay you steady monthly income while still giving some market participation. It's like blending investing and cash flow without fully being in the stock market.
- Phon on the future earnings potential of ETFs. He believes growth will continue, especially as aging demographics seek income and protection. BlackRock projects more than $600B in defined-outcome/Buffered ETFs in the coming years.
- Brian highlights that markets don't move straight up forever. We all intellectually understand cycles, but emotionally, we forget. That's why having a plan for downturns is essential.
- Phon shares a real-life ETF scenario and how, in 2002, a near-retirement couple protected their nest egg during intense volatility using defined outcome tools. They preserved their lifestyle when others were taking major hits.
- How to balance your portfolio for growth and safety. For Phon, the best thing you can do is to talk to a real human advisor. There's too much DIY noise; professional guidance helps you tune the right mix for your unique situation.
- Phon on what to ask your advisor: Ask how your portfolio would perform in a COVID-style year or another global-financial-crisis scenario. Then ask how it generates income and supports your goals. His favorite question: "Have you actually guided clients through a deep bear market?"
- Why working with a professional matters: Many strategies look great and work during bull markets. But the real test is whether they protect you when things are down.
- Phon explains that good portfolio design is about being structurally prepared before volatility hits. You want a position that holds through downturns—and ideally lets you buy when opportunities appear.
- Phon's parting advice to the audience: Go outside, walk your dog, and take real time away with family. Getting off screens and into nature helps you stay grounded. Investing is long-term—your life should be too.
Mentioned in this episode:
VetaInvestmentPartners.com
BlackRock.com/us/financial-professionals/insights/outcome-etfs
BrianSkrobonja.com
SkrobonjaFinancial.com
SkrobonjaWealth.com
BUILDbanking.com
Common Sense Financial Podcast on YouTube
Common Sense Financial Podcast on Spotify
Alternative investments may be subject to less regulation than other types of pooled investment vehicles. Alternative Investments may impose significant fees, including incentive fees that are based upon a percentage of the realized and unrealized gains and an individual's net returns may differ significantly from actual returns. Such fees may offset all or a significant portion of such Alternative Investment's trading profits.
Incorporating alternative investments into a portfolio presents the opportunity for significant losses including in some cases, losses which exceed the principal amount invested.
Also, some alternative investments have experienced periods of extreme volatility and in general, are not suitable for all investors. Asset allocation and diversification strategies do not ensure profit or protect against loss in declining markets
----
BUILD Banking™ is a DBA of Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC. Benefits and guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company. Not FDIC insured. Results may vary.
Any descriptions involving life insurance policies and its use as an alternative form of financing or risk management techniques are provided for illustration purposes only, will not apply in all situations, may not be fully indicative of any present or future investments, and may be changed at the discretion of the insurance carrier, General Partner and/or Manager and are not intended to reflect guarantees on securities performance.
The term BUILD Banking™, private banking alternatives or specially designed life insurance contracts (SDLIC) are not meant to insinuate that the issuer is creating a real bank for its clients or communicating that life insurance companies are the same as traditional banking institutions. This material is educational in nature and should not be deemed as a solicitation of any specific product or service. BUILD Banking™ is offered by Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC only and is not offered by Madison Avenue Securities, LLC. nor Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC.
----
This content is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual's situation.
Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC are not permitted to offer and no statement made during this presentation shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firms are not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC.
----
Securities offered only by duly registered individuals through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC. (MAS), Member FINRA &SIPC. Advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through Skrobonja Wealth Management (SWM), a registered investment advisor. Tax services offered only through Skrobonja Tax Consulting. MAS does not offer Build Banking or tax advice. Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Tax Consulting, and Build Banking are not affiliated with MAS.
Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.
The firm is a registered investment adviser with the state of Missouri, and may only transact business with residents of those states, or residents of other states where otherwise legally permitted subject to exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
Skrobonja Wealth Management has no ownership interest, compensation arrangement, revenue-sharing agreement, or other economic relationship with Veta Investment Partners. We may allocate a portion of a client's portfolio to strategies managed by Veta Investment Partners when we determine that the allocation is appropriate for the client's objectives, risk tolerance, and overall portfolio design. Our selection of Veta's strategies is based solely on the merits of the investment and the needs of the client, and not on any financial relationship between our firms.
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By Brian SkrobonjaBrian Skrobonja sits down with Phon Vilayoune to unpack buffered ETFs and income notes. Phon is the Founder and CEO of VETA Investment Partners, where they currently oversee over $5.5 billion in assets. They discuss the benefits of positioning your portfolio for growth and safety, how to protect your nest egg in volatile markets, and practical strategies for optimizing gains while limiting downside risk.
Tune in to hear professional insights on ETFs, income notes, and actionable frameworks for navigating today's complex market cycles.
- Phon explains how he entered the investing world and now helps oversee roughly $5.5B in assets.
- Phon highlights what trading during the 2008–09 crisis taught him about being positioned like Warren Buffett or Middle Eastern banks. In deep volatility, cash plus cash flow gives you the power to buy when everything is on sale.
- Why you want a Buffett-style portfolio in a downturn: Buffett held strong during bear markets and bought when others panicked.
- How to win more by losing less. Phon says risk management is the key. You never want to be a forced seller during a correction because you take a double hit: loss plus selling at the bottom.
- Phon and Brian break down buffered ETFs and how they're tied to S&P 500 options designed to provide a more predictable range of outcomes over 12 months. Think of it like investing with guardrails — you're participating but with intentional limits on downside.
- Learn what income notes are: Phon says it's basically converting equity exposure into monthly income. For example, instead of holding stocks outright, you buy a structured note designed to pay you steady monthly income while still giving some market participation. It's like blending investing and cash flow without fully being in the stock market.
- Phon on the future earnings potential of ETFs. He believes growth will continue, especially as aging demographics seek income and protection. BlackRock projects more than $600B in defined-outcome/Buffered ETFs in the coming years.
- Brian highlights that markets don't move straight up forever. We all intellectually understand cycles, but emotionally, we forget. That's why having a plan for downturns is essential.
- Phon shares a real-life ETF scenario and how, in 2002, a near-retirement couple protected their nest egg during intense volatility using defined outcome tools. They preserved their lifestyle when others were taking major hits.
- How to balance your portfolio for growth and safety. For Phon, the best thing you can do is to talk to a real human advisor. There's too much DIY noise; professional guidance helps you tune the right mix for your unique situation.
- Phon on what to ask your advisor: Ask how your portfolio would perform in a COVID-style year or another global-financial-crisis scenario. Then ask how it generates income and supports your goals. His favorite question: "Have you actually guided clients through a deep bear market?"
- Why working with a professional matters: Many strategies look great and work during bull markets. But the real test is whether they protect you when things are down.
- Phon explains that good portfolio design is about being structurally prepared before volatility hits. You want a position that holds through downturns—and ideally lets you buy when opportunities appear.
- Phon's parting advice to the audience: Go outside, walk your dog, and take real time away with family. Getting off screens and into nature helps you stay grounded. Investing is long-term—your life should be too.
Mentioned in this episode:
VetaInvestmentPartners.com
BlackRock.com/us/financial-professionals/insights/outcome-etfs
BrianSkrobonja.com
SkrobonjaFinancial.com
SkrobonjaWealth.com
BUILDbanking.com
Common Sense Financial Podcast on YouTube
Common Sense Financial Podcast on Spotify
Alternative investments may be subject to less regulation than other types of pooled investment vehicles. Alternative Investments may impose significant fees, including incentive fees that are based upon a percentage of the realized and unrealized gains and an individual's net returns may differ significantly from actual returns. Such fees may offset all or a significant portion of such Alternative Investment's trading profits.
Incorporating alternative investments into a portfolio presents the opportunity for significant losses including in some cases, losses which exceed the principal amount invested.
Also, some alternative investments have experienced periods of extreme volatility and in general, are not suitable for all investors. Asset allocation and diversification strategies do not ensure profit or protect against loss in declining markets
----
BUILD Banking™ is a DBA of Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC. Benefits and guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the insurance company. Not FDIC insured. Results may vary.
Any descriptions involving life insurance policies and its use as an alternative form of financing or risk management techniques are provided for illustration purposes only, will not apply in all situations, may not be fully indicative of any present or future investments, and may be changed at the discretion of the insurance carrier, General Partner and/or Manager and are not intended to reflect guarantees on securities performance.
The term BUILD Banking™, private banking alternatives or specially designed life insurance contracts (SDLIC) are not meant to insinuate that the issuer is creating a real bank for its clients or communicating that life insurance companies are the same as traditional banking institutions. This material is educational in nature and should not be deemed as a solicitation of any specific product or service. BUILD Banking™ is offered by Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC only and is not offered by Madison Avenue Securities, LLC. nor Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC.
----
This content is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual's situation.
Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC are not permitted to offer and no statement made during this presentation shall constitute tax or legal advice. Our firms are not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. The information and opinions contained herein provided by third parties have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC.
----
Securities offered only by duly registered individuals through Madison Avenue Securities, LLC. (MAS), Member FINRA &SIPC. Advisory services offered only by duly registered individuals through Skrobonja Wealth Management (SWM), a registered investment advisor. Tax services offered only through Skrobonja Tax Consulting. MAS does not offer Build Banking or tax advice. Skrobonja Financial Group, LLC, Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC, Skrobonja Insurance Services, LLC, Skrobonja Tax Consulting, and Build Banking are not affiliated with MAS.
Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Skrobonja Wealth Management, LLC and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.
The firm is a registered investment adviser with the state of Missouri, and may only transact business with residents of those states, or residents of other states where otherwise legally permitted subject to exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Registration with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities authority does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
Skrobonja Wealth Management has no ownership interest, compensation arrangement, revenue-sharing agreement, or other economic relationship with Veta Investment Partners. We may allocate a portion of a client's portfolio to strategies managed by Veta Investment Partners when we determine that the allocation is appropriate for the client's objectives, risk tolerance, and overall portfolio design. Our selection of Veta's strategies is based solely on the merits of the investment and the needs of the client, and not on any financial relationship between our firms.