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From Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk podcast, Ryan Nauman interviews Roxanna Islam, Head of Sector and Industry Research at TMX VettaFi, about major ETF trends and what they mean for advisors. Islam explains VettaFi’s role in helping build and grow ETF products and highlights fast-growing areas including spot Bitcoin ETFs (launched January 2024) and the broader crypto ETF ecosystem, noting flow consolidation into larger funds like iShares’ IBIT amid a Bitcoin pullback, and differences versus Ether products. She also discusses the rapid growth of options-based ETFs, defined outcome/buffer ETFs, and a return to thematic investing such as AI infrastructure, space, and defense, including rising interest around SpaceX exposure. The conversation covers challenges of putting private markets/private credit into ETFs due to liquidity and transparency constraints, and clarifies tokenization as moving real-world assets onto blockchain rails, including a filing to tokenize the TBIL ETF.

Zephyr can help financial advisors locate the best Crypto ETF strategies for their clients. Learn more here.

Learn more about TMX VettaFi here.

00:00 Welcome and Setup

01:10 Meet Roxanna Islam

03:26 ETF Trends Overview

04:37 Crypto and Bitcoin ETFs

06:01 Options and Buffer ETFs

06:40 Thematic ETFs AI and Space

08:40 SpaceX Exposure via ETFs

11:02 Private Markets in ETFs

15:34 Bitcoin Pullback and Flows

21:45 Overcrowded Crypto Products

25:37 Tokenization Explained

28:40 What Advisors Should Do

30:18 Wrap Up and Resources

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Ryan Nauman hosts Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk podcast from Lake Tahoe and interviews Jacob Ayres-Thomson, founder and CEO of 3AI, about how AI is shifting wealth management from understanding AI to implementing it for investing. Jacob explains 3AI’s “Alpha Intelligence,” which targets equity outperformance through predictive insights delivered for people, quant models, and AI-powered funds/indices. He describes his background in equities trading, stochastic asset modeling, and machine learning, and why humans struggle with stock picking due to noisy markets, insufficient data for reliable learning, and benchmark effects driven by market-cap concentration. They discuss AI’s role in increasing market efficiency, removing the analysis bottleneck by condensing vast data into forecasts and explainable research, and how advisors can use robust, statistically tested AI signals and indices, including products built with S&P Global.

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Learn more about 3AI here.

00:00 Welcome to the Podcast

01:18 Meet Jacob Ayres-Thomson

02:00 What 3AI Does

05:55 Why Stock Picking Is Hard

08:24 Learning From Noisy Markets

11:28 Speculation and Market Cycles

14:28 Stocks as a Never Ending Game

15:25 How AI Changes Investing

17:38 Alpha Intelligence in Practice

20:01 AI as the Analysis Engine

21:14 Wrapping Up the AI Thesis

22:03 AI Is Not One Thing

23:39 Markets Get More Efficient

25:44 Where Alpha Still Exists

26:52 Humans Plus AI Together

29:16 Alpha Intelligence Scoring

29:59 Stock Specific Factor Weights

33:47 Causality Versus Correlation

37:30 Moneyball Investing Analogy

39:26 Advisors Using AI Tools

41:25 Due Diligence On Forecasts

42:36 Where To Learn More

44:34 Podcast Wrap Up

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Recorded live at the Exchange ETF conference in Las Vegas, host Ryan Nauman welcomes David Nicholas, founder and CEO of XFUNDS, to discuss what a strong multi-year equity run means for investors and how to prepare for potential selloffs. Nicholas explains why focusing only on capital appreciation can be risky, argues that true diversification means some parts of a portfolio will lag, and emphasizes drawdown as a practical risk measure compared with volatility alone. He describes how investors often underestimate their drawdown exposure and how income generation can help investors avoid selling during downturns. Nicholas outlines XFUNDS’ approach using option overlays such as put spread selling and iron condors to harvest volatility and generate income without fully capping upside, and discusses implementation, including equity and fixed-income sleeves, potential allocations, and where to learn more at nicholasx.com.

Zephyr can help financial advisors create modern diversified portfolios. Learn more here.

Learn more about XFUNDS here.

00:00 Show Welcome

00:36 Live From Vegas

01:33 Meet David Nicholas

02:28 Why Launch ETFs

03:55 Beyond Growth Focus

06:21 Drawdown Risk Matters

07:59 Measuring Risk Tolerance

09:32 Income As Hedge

10:04 Options Strategy Basics

11:54 Explaining To Advisors

13:15 Portfolio Fit And Allocation

16:41 Where To Learn More

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Host Ryan Nauman welcomes Will Rhind, founder and CEO of GraniteShares, to discuss ETF innovation, the growth of active ETFs, and the rising use of derivatives in ETFs. Rhind explains how the SEC’s Derivatives Rule (18f-4) helped enable broader derivatives usage in funds, bringing strategies once limited to hedge funds and ultra-high-net-worth investors into ETF wrappers. The conversation focuses on autocallable strategies—popular in structured notes—designed to deliver attractive yield alongside defined downside protection, and why they resonate when markets are near all-time highs and investors prioritize capital preservation. Rhind highlights liquidity as a key advantage of the ETF structure versus traditional structured notes and discusses how advisors may use auto-callable ETFs as complements to fixed income, equity income, or alternatives.

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Learn more about GraniteShares here.

00:00 Podcast Welcome Disclaimer

01:10 ETFs Innovation Autocallables

02:09 Meet Will Rhind GraniteShares

04:09 Keeping Up With Trends

05:59 Derivative Rule 18f-4

08:04 Autocallable Basics

09:55 Why Now Downside Focus

12:20 Liquidity ETF Wrapper Edge

14:52 Advisor Allocation Playbook

16:56 Wrap Up Where To Learn More

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From Lake Tahoe, Zephyr market strategist Ryan Nauman hosts Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk Podcast featuring YieldMax ETFs strategist and CNBC contributor Mike Khouw to discuss the fast-growing trend of using options and other derivatives inside ETFs for drawdown management and enhanced income. Khouw shares his derivatives background, explains YieldMax’s approach to single-stock option income ETFs. They cover the macro backdrop (inflation, labor trends, and a potential new Fed chair), why cash flow matters for many investors, how options overlays tend to perform in different markets, and key advisor considerations and misconceptions around single-stock products, including concentration risk, taxes, and the tradeoff between distributions and price appreciation. Khouw directs listeners to yieldmaxetfs.com for fund details and holdings transparency.

00:00 Welcome and Topic

01:18 Meet Mike Khouw

02:38 YieldMax Strategy Overview

05:26 Cash Flow vs Growth

12:50 Why Options Overlays

16:05 Options ETF Boom Explained

22:42 When Overlays Work Best

30:43 Advisor Due Diligence

33:44 Concentration and Tax Angles

37:19 Portfolio Fit and Examples

43:00 Where to Learn More

43:38 Final Thanks and Subscribe

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Ryan Nauman hosts Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk Podcast during Financial Literacy Month and welcomes Alexis Rosenblum, Global Head of Sustainability and Social Responsibility at Capital Group. Rosenblum explains Capital Group’s mission, its employee-driven philanthropy program Capital Cares, and the firm’s focus on expanding access to investing and wealth-building. She details the Community Wealth Council, a 10-month fellowship that equips nonprofit leaders with financial education and pairs them with pro bono financial advisor mentors in a train-the-trainer model to address community-specific needs and build trust in financial services. Rosenblum shares research findings on barriers to wealth—limited resources, networks/trust, and knowledge plus the emotional stigma around money—and notes partnerships with The Practice Space and the Foundation for Financial Planning, including ways advisors can volunteer via FFP resources.

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Learn more about Capital Group here.

00:00 Podcast Kickoff

01:17 Meet Alexis Rosenblum

01:51 Capital Group Mission

04:42 Defining Community Access

05:25 Philanthropy Capital Cares

09:27 Community Wealth Council

13:32 Research Shaping Program

16:38 Trust and Wealth Barriers

22:16 Training and Partners

24:20 Nonprofits and Tailoring

26:55 Advisor Role and Joining

33:10 Mentorship Details

35:08 Movement and Wrap Up

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Recorded at the Exchange ETF Conference in Las Vegas, host Ryan Nauman welcomes Michael Baron, co-president and portfolio manager at Baron Capital, to discuss the firm’s long-term growth investing philosophy and its expansion into ETFs. Baron explains that since 1982 the firm has focused on owning competitively advantaged businesses for years, emphasizing management quality, durable advantages, and valuations based on future earnings rather than near-term results. He describes how Baron Capital aims for consistency through market cycles by holding diversified types of growth companies. Baron outlines the rationale for launching five ETFs in December to complement their mutual fund lineup, citing investor demand for different vehicles and ETF benefits such as tax efficiency, tradability, and transparency, while keeping strategies core to the firm. He also notes mutual fund trading improvements and plans for additional ETFs.

Zephyr can help financial advisors create modern diversified portfolios. Learn more here.

Learn more about Baron Capital here.

00:00 Show Intro and Disclosures

00:37 Live From ETF Exchange

01:45 Baron Capital Philosophy

05:25 Growing Up Investing

10:34 Consistency Through Cycles

15:21 Why Launch ETFs Now

17:30 Inside the Five ETFs

20:52 Mutual Funds Learnings

23:12 Where to Learn More

24:23 Closing and Subscribe

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Ryan Nauman hosts Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk podcast and welcomes Shannon Rosic, Director of WealthStack Content and Solutions at Informa Connect and host of the WealthStack podcast, to discuss how advisors can get the most out of industry conferences, including Wealth Management Edge (June 9–11 in Boca Raton). Rosic explains WealthStack’s role in helping advisors cut through the growing WealthTech landscape and emphasizes the importance of advisor experience with technology. They explore how conferences have evolved from information delivery to community, hands-on learning, and serendipitous connections, and Rosic shares strategies to maximize ROI by planning ahead, prioritizing meaningful conversations, and following up afterward. Rosic also highlights key wealth management trends including AI implementation, advisor efficiency, personalization at scale, and increased niche specialization among advisors.

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Learn more about Wealth Management Edge here.

Learn more about Wealth Management here.

00:00 Welcome and Sponsor

01:19 Meet Shannon Rosic

03:55 Wealth Tech Noise and Advisor Experience

06:16 Memorable Interviews and Gadget Girl

09:43 How Conferences Have Evolved

14:18 Why Attend in Volatile Markets 18:03 Wealth Management Edge Highlights

22:19 Conference ROI Plan and Follow Up

23:29 Top Trends AI Efficiency Personalization

27:09 CTO Think Tanks and AI Reality

29:49 Wrap Up and Where to Find More

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Live from Las Vegas, host Ryan Nauman welcomes DoubleLine Deputy CIO Jeffrey Sherman to discuss the macro backdrop and portfolio implications. Sherman outlines DoubleLine’s fixed-income focus and multi-wrapper approach across mutual funds, ETFs, and separate accounts. They cover the new Fed chair pick Kevin Warsh, Fed independence, the tension between inflation and employment, and the challenge of financing large U.S. deficits and Treasury rollover needs. Sherman explains why 10-year yields rose during the war amid a repricing of inflation risk, why the Fed’s threshold for cuts has increased, and why he prefers the front end and belly of the curve over long bonds. They discuss tight credit spreads, risks emerging in loans/private credit, agency MBS opportunities and Fannie/Freddie uncertainty, the attractiveness of emerging markets as a way to bet against the dollar, and the role of gold in diversified portfolios.

Zephyr can help financial advisors create modern diversified portfolios. Learn more here.

Learn more about DoubleLine here.

00:40 Walkup Music Banter

01:00 Live From ETF Exchange

01:23 Meet Jeffrey Sherman

01:41 Tahoe Small Talk

03:05 DoubleLine Overview

05:35 Macro Crosscurrents Fed

07:34 New Fed Chair Risks

10:52 Fed Independence Debt

13:21 Why Yields Rose

18:12 Credit Spreads Check

22:14 What Widens Spreads

23:15 Oil and Credit Spreads

24:47 Duration Strategy Today

27:28 Curve Positioning Playbook

28:35 Agency MBS Opportunity

30:51 Fannie Freddie Overhang

35:47 EM Debt as Dollar Hedge

38:32 Advisor Portfolio Takeaways

40:59 Gold and Dollar Outlook

41:44 Tahoe Banter and Wrap

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In this episode of Zephyr’s Adjusted for Risk, Ryan Nauman speaks with Pete McGratty, Executive Director of RIA Development at Verdence, about the evolution of wealth management and the shifting landscape of the independent channel. Pete outlines three phases of change, from early broker-driven models to the breakaway movement and today’s emerging split between traditional independent RIAs and large PE-backed consolidators. They discuss how scale is expanding service menus (technology, planning, tax, private investments) while differing values can recreate “wirehouse” behaviors inside independence. Pete frames a “four-legged stool” for evaluating firms—fiduciary alignment, proactive client relationships, planning, and investments—and explains how smaller firms can compete by leveraging community resources, succession solutions, and shared capabilities. The conversation also dives into private markets, especially private credit, emphasizing client fit, education, due diligence, and the risks of interval fund liquidity mismatches.

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Learn more about Verdence here.

00:00 Welcome and Sponsor

01:02 Meet Pete McGratty

03:07 Wealth Management Evolution

05:55 Third Wave of Independence

10:42 Consolidators vs RIAs

16:35 Ecosystem Choosing Sides

19:47 How Small RIAs Compete

23:17 Private Markets Opportunity

27:46 Interval Funds and Risks

33:23 Due Diligence Solutions

38:39 Wrap Up and Resources

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