The ETF Experience

Phil and Josh get quanty with Patrick Gelshenen, Execusitve Directive of TOBAM. They discuss quantitative portfolio factors, and whether market cap weighting is itself a factor. The three discuss when market cap weighting tends to perform well, and when it doesn't. Patrick emphasizes his firm's approach to diversification while Phil and Josh wonder if the market environment has contributed to the idea that market cap weighting is sufficient as an investment thesis.

Phil sits down for a one on one talk with Deborah Fuhr, Managing Partner, ETFGI & Co-Founder Women in ETFs, to learn how she became the leader in ETF research. Debbie goes on to discuss the origins of Women in ETFs and why women are under-represented in the financial services industry. They talk about Women in ETFs' mission and how it is having an impact. Finally, they discuss the global reach of ETFs and how the popularity of ETFs is extending well beyond the United States.

Phil is joined by Tyrone Ross of NobleBridge Wealth and Michael Venuto of Toroso Investments. The crew starts off by discussing how to mix venture capital with traditional asset allocation models (1:16), and Mike tells us about the new Millennial Permanent Portfolio (5:20). Phil brings up Fintech and wonders why ETFs are not considered part of the Fintech genre (5:58). The Fintech discussion leads into Crypto (10:15) and Mike and Tyrone make the bullish case to Phil, who is the crypto skeptic. Finally, Tyrone shares his back-story and why he makes sure to express gratitude on a regular basis (26:10).

Exponential ETFs' CEO Phil Bak is joined in studio by Reggie Browne - Senior Managing Director of the ETFs Group at Cantor Fitzgerald and Joanne Hill - Head of Research and Strategy at CBOE Vest. Tune in to hear these industry titans discuss what makes ETFs attractive to institutional clients, the ways that institutional investors utilize ETFs and how that adoption curve has differed from the retail market.

The guests discussed Jack Bogle's legacy and then explored how the market's trading architecture need to be adjusted in order to keep up with the speed and ease which technology has brought to trading? What levers can be pulled to adapt a market originally built for stocks, to accommodate ETFs and other investment innovations that make up an increasing portion of total trading volume? Find out what is truly important when judging ETF liquidity, how options are the newest frontier in ETF portfolio construction. 

It's the Best of the ETF Experience Podcast! We go back and listen to conversations from:

Aye Soe, S&P DJ Indexes

Erica Balchunas, Bloomberg

Michael Batnick & Nick Maggiulli, Ritholtz Wealth Management

Chris Hempstead, Deutsche Bank

Todd Rosenbluth, CFRA Research

Joe Smith, CLS Investments

Michael Venuto & David Dziekanski, Toroso Asset Management

David Nadig, ETF.com

Steven Schoenfeld, BlueStart Indexes

Claes Fornell, ACSI

Tom Lydon, ETF Trends

Christian Magoon, Amplify ETFs

And finally, Phil and Kevin's great pizza debate.

Exponential ETFs Chief Strategist Kevin Quigg and Director of Capital Markets Josh Blechman take inventory of Exponential ETFs' 2018 research, articles and blog posts to grade ourselves on what we themes we hit and which we missed during this up and down market year. We examine the role played by the "Size" factor, looked back at FAANG throughout the year including what drove the uncoupling of the trade. We analyze the changing definition of "Cheap" as It pertains to value stocks and discuss efficient means of accessing those factors in the market. Additionally, listen to learn about the core value proposition behind Amazon's Empire, if the ETF market place has a hidden Achilles heel and in what industries do we see opportunity moving forward.

Welcome back to the ETF Experience. This week Kevin Quigg, Phil Bak and Josh Blechman dive into the recurring segment: What The Hell Is Going On? – 2019 look-forward storyline edition (Tariffs and Rates). Alongside our newest topic - Invest, Trade or Short – where the panelist are given three choices and must pick which they would Invest in, which they would trade around and which they would short (Example: Gold, Cash, Crypto – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).

Later, Michael Batnick – Director of Research at Ritholtz Wealth Management and author of The Irrelevant Investor  and Nick Maggiulli – Manager of Analytics at Ritholtz Wealth Management and author of Of Dollars and Data; Join us in the studio to discuss the evolution of the mediums through which financial professionals can connect to a larger audience beyond just their clients and how they manage the grind of producing continuous content. Listen to find out which of them was "discovered" by a renowned Wall Street Journal columnist? How far we are from a critical level of Index investing as a percentage of the market. Debating the merits of twitter anonymity, the usefulness of social media in financial services and who wins the future between Apple and Microsoft.

This week's episode starts off with segments such as: What The Hell Is Going On: Politics Edition – Can the political poles be pulled to the center?; Investment Article Book Club – The difference between Quant-As-A-Guide and Quant-As-A-Law; If I Were a Billionaire… - What is the first thing you would do? and Investing Theme Wars - pick your horse between Marijuana, Batteries and Crypto. 

Ryan Kirlin, Director of Capital Market at Alpha Architect and Bill Smalley the Head of Products at Virtus ETF Solutions join us in studio to discuss the implications of the pending Boomer generational wealth transfer, what that means from an advisor perspective and how millennials' interaction with financial products differ from their parents. Find out which millennial guest "doesn't own a house, but does like avocados". Are ETFs one thing that Millennials aren't ruining? Explore the link between ETF adoption and the democratization of knowledge. Currently, the average age of financial Advisor is in their 60's. Will ETF adoption accelerate even further as younger advisors increasingly take over? Over what timeline might that take place? Finally a thoughtful discussion about walking the line with respect to regulation vs innovation in the financial services arena and how can small companies compete with the industry giants.

Exponential ETFs Director of Capital Markets, Josh Blechman and CEO, Phil Bak – are joined in studio by Aye Soe, Managing Director of Research and Design for the Americas at S&P Dow Jones Indices (also known as "The SPIVA Diva") and Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence – to discuss thoughts on the perils and perks Active vs Passive investing, the SPIVA report, the double edge sword of benchmarking against an Index, opportunities in the Mid-Cap space and innovation in fixed income ETFs.

Interested in how active managers have done vs passive benchmarks? Is your "Factor Fund" pure, or watered-down exposure? How might managers approach "Smart Beta" for fixed income ETFs? What asset class does Eric believe is experiencing "The Jan Brady Effect"? and what emerging trend in flows does he call "Faces Over Formulas"? Aye and Eric are at the forefront of ETF and Index innovation, diving deep with us into the current market environment as they see it, the importance of knowing what you own and what future opportunities excite them most.

Exponential ETFs Chief Strategist Kevin Quigg and Director of Capital Markets Josh Blechman delve into topics including: Possible reasons behind the stock market's relative indifference to this latest rounds of earnings "Beats"; Imagining a future where legalized sports betting is part of an individual's standard asset allocation and housed within a unified brokerage account; Best/Worst parts of the Fall Season; and a conversation with Chris Hempstead, Head of ETF Sales at Deutsche Bank - on the capabilities and challenges of ETF market makers, the role they play in the ETF eco-system and how technology is changing everything.

Bonus Segment: An interview with Dan Cupkovic, Director of Investments at ARGI Financial Group – On the newly launched BlackSwan Growth and Treasury Core ETF (SWAN). The fund is designed to protect against (you guessed it) BlackSwan events. With the majority of assets in historically low-volatility Treasuries, remaining assets are used to purchase "in-the-money" calls (options with a strike price below the market price on the S&P 500). The goal is to achieve capital appreciation above inflation while minimizing volatility as compared to standard asset-allocated investments. Excellent insight is provided on the idea behind the design and where this product fits within a portfolio allocation model.