Trillions

The ETF industry had a record year in 2025. Somehow, 2026 is shaping up to be even bigger. More than $1 trillion has already poured into ETFs, launches continue at a breakneck pace and trading volume is on track for another record — putting the industry within reach of an unprecedented back-to-back “Triple Crown.” But the boom isn't just about more money and more funds. Some of the most interesting action is happening in places that looked settled not long ago.

On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber is joined by Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Athanasios Psarofagis to spotlight five themes defining the ETF market right now. They examine the industry's record-setting run, a bull market that's gone global, Goldman's sudden appetite for ETF acquisitions, and new battles over the marquee S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes. Plus, they look at one of the year's more surprising comeback stories.

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ETFs are already famous for their tax efficiency, but a growing corner of the market is pushing those benefits further than ever. What if you could sell a massive stock position without paying taxes on it - at least not yet?  Welcome the 351 conversions - custom built funds that allow investors to swap concentrated stock positions into diversified portfolios without paying gains taxes. 

On this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas dig into the growing world of 351 conversion ETFs and how it actually works. Bloomberg News reporters Denitsa Tsekova and Zachary Mider, two of the journalists behind the story "The Latest Tax Dodge For the Ultra-Rich Is a Customized ETF,” join the conversation. Is this a smart tax alpha strategy or a cheat code in the tax  system? Where will the IRS draw the line? They break down how the 351 conversion actually works, why the Treasury officials are taking closer look and how billionaires like the family behind the Hot Pockets are using them.

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The ETF market is on pace for a record  year - not just in the number of launches but also for the range of issuers entering the market. With competition intensifying, there’s no shortage of noteworthy funds to keep an eye on.

In this week’s ETFs to Watch episode, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber are joined by Bloomberg news cross-asset reporter Isabelle Lee to break down the standout launches at the moment. They break down iShares’ and State Street’s long-awaited challenge to Invesco’s Nasdaq-100 dominance and the winner of the US-listed 2x leveraged SK Hynix ETFs smackdown. They also discuss the first actively managed multi-token ETF from T Rowe Price and whether Y’all Street Physical Gold ETF’s pitch for investors to store their gold in American soil is actually a good idea.

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The confluence of single-stock ETFs and leverage has reached a fever pitch this year. Products tied to companies like SpaceX, Micron and SK Hynix are proliferating, attracting billions of dollars from traders — and raising concerns they're beginning to influence the very stocks they're meant to track. In some markets — we're looking at you, South Korea — regulators have even stepped in to pause new launches.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart and Baird Strategas ETF strategist Todd Sohn about what's fueling the boom, how these products actually work, and whether fears that they're becoming a threat to markets are justified — or overblown. 

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Tokenization has been a Wall Street buzzword, only now it's becoming real. Beginning this summer, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation — a little-known utility at the center of the US financial system that processed securities quadrillion in transactions — will begin creating blockchain-based "digital twins" of stocks, bonds and ETFs. The goal isn't to replace traditional investments, but to make them more portable, programmable and useful in ways that haven't been possible before.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber are joined by DTCC's global head of digital assets, Nadine Chakar, along with Bloomberg News reporter Isabelle Lee, to unpack what tokenization actually means. They explore how ETFs could evolve in a tokenized world, why investors might eventually want a digital wallet alongside a brokerage account, and whether blockchain technology represents the biggest challenge — or the biggest opportunity — the ETF industry has faced since its inception.

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The new Trump Accounts are designed to give millions of American children a head start in the stock market. Besides the kids who are eligible for $1,000 in free money, there's another surprise winner: the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM). Thanks to its rock-bottom 0.02% fee, the fund has become the default investment for the new accounts — a designation that could funnel tens of billions of dollars its way and even reshape the competitive landscape for S&P 500 funds.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber explain why SPYM is the ETF of the Moment. They unpack how Trump Accounts work and how they could reshape stock ownership in the US. Then they explore SPYM's surprising backstory, its rivalry with its older sibling, State Street's legendary SPY, and why the policy could, in Balchunas's view, ultimately make the US stock market "too big to fail."

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The ETF wrapper has become investing's Swiss Army knife, packaging everything from stocks and bonds to gold and Bitcoin — and now, perhaps, even prediction markets. As issuers race to push the boundaries of what's possible, regulators at the Securities and Exchange Commission are rewriting their playbook in real time.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber sit down with Brian Daly, Director of the SEC's Division of Investment Management, to discuss the explosion of "novel" ETFs, why the agency hit pause on prediction-market funds, and what it's learned from its handling of crypto ETFs. Daly offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how ETF filings are reviewed, explains why the SEC wants a more predictable process for evaluating new products, and discusses how regulators are balancing innovation with investor protection. Bloomberg News SEC and CFTC reporter Lydia Beyoud joins the conversation.

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SpaceX's record IPO quickly turned into a feeding frenzy in the ETF industry. Within days, about a dozen leveraged funds tied to the company — many of them almost identical — launched at the same time, setting off a battle for assets, attention and trading volume. The frenzy is reminiscent of the rush to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs. And obviously there are many other noteworthy new ETF launches.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber — joined by Bloomberg News cross-asset reporter Isabelle Lee — dig into some new ETFs to watch. They discuss which leveraged SpaceX fund may emerge as the winner (SPCU), how to bet against AI (AIQD), Vanguard's long-awaited entry into high-yield bonds (VCHY), another addition to Corgi's rapidly expanding lineup (CBIL), and a Bitcoin fund (BTCK) that may have arrived a little late to the party. 

(Removes incorrect reference to AIQD in podcast published June 25, 2026.)

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In the asset management industry, there are two undisputed heavyweights: BlackRock and Vanguard. They rival each other in almost every category, but this month Vanguard overtook BlackRock as the largest US ETF issuer — a title BlackRock had held for two decades. Despite their dominance, the two firms have very different reputations, cultures and approaches.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Manuela Sperandeo, co-head of European iShares at BlackRock, and Jonathan Cleborne, managing director for Vanguard Europe. They discuss the rise of ETFs in Europe, passive investing in a market increasingly dominated by a handful of giant companies, and what it's like to compete with one another. This episode was recorded live at the ETFs in Depth Conference at Bloomberg's London headquarters.

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Earlier this year, investors got hammered by the "SaaSpocalypse." The rise of AI sparked fears that software companies would need fewer workers, sell fewer licenses and spend heavily on technology with uncertain payoffs. Yet just a few months later, one little-known ETF — with only $2.5 million in assets — is quietly suggesting that software's death may have been slightly exaggerated.

On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak with Bloomberg Intelligence ETF associate Andrey Yapp about another ETF that's having a moment: Themes Cloud Computing ETF (ticker CLOD). They discuss what makes the ETF's holdings interesting, how recent earnings challenged the AI-doom narrative, and how such a tiny fund emerged as one worth watching.

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