ETF Working Lunch Podcast

Impact investing is for investors who want to put their money where their heart is. And there are really interesting ETFs that offer the opportunity to do just that. Wendy Wong, head of sustainable investment partnerships at New York Life Investments, tells us more.

Every ETF comes with a story, but how do you best tell it to the marketplace? Julia Stoll, associate VP of media relations and business development at MacMillan Communications, shares her experience as a communicator on how to deliver the right message to the right people.

The ETF ecosystem is evolving as the industry grows and new participants come in. The pathway to success is not one-size-fits-all. Aisha Hunt has helped many navigate this space over the years. The experienced fund industry attorney, now heading her own firm, Kelley Hunt, shares her insights.

The founders of iClima, Gabriela Herculano and Shaila Leekha, are disrupting the conversation about ESG investing, offering a new take—and two new ETFs—that offers a unique way to access this theme.

There are a surprisingly high number of investors who don't fully understand the total cost of an investment, from ETF fees to advice, according to a recent State Street survey. Brie Williams, head of practice management at the firm shares the findings.

A lot goes into building an investment strategy, but how do you know if yours is robust enough? Liz Young, head of investment strategy at SoFi, walks us through her process, and shares what she's learned along the way.

As we kick off the second half of 2021, it's prime time to assess markets and evaluate portfolio positioning. Gargi Chaudhuri, head of iShares Investment Strategy, Americas, offers the best ideas in her midyear outlook.

Nationwide is leading an interesting effort on financial inclusion, one that Marge Farquharson, head of ETFs for the firm, is passionate about. She tells us how income needs are unique across different groups, and how Nationwide is putting those needs in the driver's seat of ETF innovation.

There's a lot of interesting innovation in ETFs, but not all of it makes headlines. Heather Bell, managing editor at ETF.com, tracks down the hidden gems of recent ETF launches, and walks down memory lane to remember the could-have-been greats that fizzled and the head-scratching greats that sizzled.

Environmental, social and governance investing is quickly expanding in the ETF space, and so is the conversation about its value proposition. Brie Williams, head of practice management at SPDR Exchange Traded Funds, dives into the numbers, the trends and the advisor/client disconnect on this theme.

ETF subadvisors connect a lot of dots within the ETF ecosystem to ensure that an ETF goes smoothly from original idea to trading desks to investor portfolios. Amrita Nandakumar, president of Vident Investment Advisory and subadvisor to nearly 50 ETFs, shares her experience in this space (and says they are ready for crypto ETFs!).

Nancy Davis, founder and CIO of Quadratic Capital, is somewhat of a newcomer to the ETF industry. She shares her experience, and explains 'IVOL,' a one-of-a-kind ETF that blends TIPS with options to access inflation expectations while being long fixed income volatility.

When it comes to financial advice, there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all offering. Rita Cheng, chief executive officer at Blue Ocean Global Wealth, knows this well, and shares here what it takes to meet clients wherever their needs are.

Canada recently beat the U.S. to the punch, welcoming bitcoin ETFs for the first time. Prerna Chandak, VP of ETFs at Canadian asset manager Mackenzie Investments, walks us through why innovation moves fast in Canada, and in what ways that ETF market is similar and different from ours.

The ETF ecosystem is full of opportunities for career growth. The trick is finding that next step. Jillian DelSignore, head of ETFs & Indexing for FLX Distribution, has made several moves in recent years, from a big bank to starting her own firm to landing at a startup platform. Here's what she's learned.

The passive versus active debate goes back a long way, and keeps reemerging in the ETF industry as product innovation and new ideas disrupt old norms. Aye Soe, global head of product management at S&P Dow Jones Indices, shares what the data tells us about alpha—and managers' ability to find it.

DFA entered the ETF space with a splash, launching three funds and announcing the conversion of some of its mutual funds to ETFs. Marlena Lee, head of Investment Solutions at the firm, walks us through that decision and shares fun lessons from her time working with economist Eugene Fama.

The industry saw a record number of ETF launches in 2020, and a record number of closures. Just as first-of-a-kind strategies emerged, some of the shortest-lived funds also made their debut and farewell. We go over the latest “ETF catalog” with FactSet Senior ETF Analyst Lois Gregson, and talk trends in product development.

ETF innovation is great, but not without strong product quality control behind it. Samara Cohen, who oversees that key process as co-head of iShares Markets and Investments, tells us what quality means in product development, and shares how her love of theater prepared her for the ETF role of a lifetime.

In the actively managed ETF space, it all comes down to the active manager. Janet Johnston, co-chief investment officer and portfolio manager at TrimTabs Asset Management, is one of them. She shares the day-to-day challenges of running two active ETFs, and tells us why she loves that hands-on role.

The March market madness taught us a few things about how ETFs work in a moment of crisis—among them, how authorized participants show up en masse when they're needed most. Shelly Antoniewicz, senior director of industry and financial analysis at the Investment Company Institute, shares the data from ICI's look into recent ETF market action.

Marketing and public relations are essential to any ETF distribution strategy. It all comes down to communicating the right message to the right investor. Alex Levis, president of Arro Financial Communications, walks us through the day-to-day effort of crafting compelling ETF stories.

ETF boards are an integral part of the ETF ecosystem, but one we rarely talk about. Stephanie Pierce, CEO of ETF, Index & Cash Investment Strategies at BNY Mellon Investment Management, walks us through how boards are put together, how they operate and when they are most important.

The financial industry isn't heralded for diversity, but things are changing, says Brie Williams, head of practice management at SPDR ETFs. We dive into the data and trends shaping the diversity conversation in our industry, and talk about the progress that's been made, and the progress that's still needed.

Fixed income investing isn't meant to be exciting, but in 2020 it has certainly not been boring. Kelly Ye, director of research at IndexIQ and a fixed income expert, shares her timely insight on what's driving the massive segment, and what opportunities she sees ahead.

Leveraged and inverse ETFs get a lot of bad press anytime a sharp market move surprises investors holding these funds. But it all comes down to understanding how, why and when these ETFs work best. Sylvia Jablonski, capital markets institutional ETF strategist at Direxion ETFs, helps us debunk some of the myths in this space.

The pandemic has disrupted economies everywhere, and government responses to it across the globe have impacted markets in different ways. Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco, takes stock of who's handled the virus well, and what the international investing opportunity set is now.

The ETF industry has welcomed numerous active ETF launches so far in 2020, including the first nontransparent active ETFs, while facing one of the largest numbers of ETF closures, and a race to the bottom in fees that just won't let up. It's been busy, and Elisabeth Kashner, director of ETF research and analytics for FactSet, breaks down the trends that are shaping the industry this year.

Direct indexing is challenging the model portfolio business. Active nontransparent ETFs are challenging the idea that transparency is key. Advisors are constantly faced with disruptive new products and ideas, but what to adopt? And how to use it? Shana Sissel, chief investment officer at Spotlight Asset Group, shares the implementation case for some of these latest trends given her experience.

Factor investing is a popular strategy, but in a year like 2020, it hasn't necessarily been easy. iShares' U.S. Head of Factor ETFs Holly Framsted shares the challenges, trends and opportunities driving this space.

Defined outcome investing has long been popular in the institutional space, but now it's available in ETF wrappers, and finding a growing audience. Joanne Hill, chief advisor for Research & Strategy at Cboe Vest and a founding member of Women in ETFs, offers a rundown of this space, as well as a look into the future.

It's a tough time to be a financial advisor, facing shrinking compensation and growing competition, as well as challenging markets in the year of a pandemic. Kathryn Schwartz knows the challenge well as founder and CEO of Pawleys Investment Advisors. She shares with us the hurdles, the opportunities and the lessons she's learned along the way.

Active management doesn't get a lot of love in the predominantly passive world of ETFs. Cathie Wood, founder and CEO of ARK Invest, is working hard to change that, not by talking about it, but by showing how it's done. We dive in here on what makes ARK's active management process tick, and why it's so successful.

The oil market this year has left many investors shocked in its wake. Gold hasn't been smooth sailing either. Investing in commodities isn't like investing in any other asset class. Jodie Gunzberg, Chief Investment Strategist at Greystone Consulting and a commodities expert, reminds us there's so much more to consider.

Perth Tolle, founder of Life + Liberty Indexes, believes freedom is an important metric in finding success in emerging market investing. As the index provider behind the first-of-a-kind freedom-weighted 100 Emerging Market ETF (FRDM), she tells us why freedom in these economies matters, and how it impacts portfolio composition.

Environmental, social, governance (ESG) investing is taking hold in the ETF market. Linda Zhang has been at the forefront of this effort as CEO and founder of Purview Investments, a New York-based RIA focused on active ETF strategies and ESG investing. Zhang, who's also a founding member of Women in ETFs, helps us navigate this burgeoning ETF segment.

We explore the new semitransparent and nontransparent ETF frontier with Cleo Chang, head of Investment Solutions at American Century Investments, and Women in ETFs' board member Kristine Delano. From lessons learned from NextShares, to innovation ActiveShares and other wrapper offers, we shine a light on this opaque structure.

Joining us for our first episode is Jillian DelSignore, board member of Women in ETFs. We catch up on everything from the importance of bringing women in this business together, to the growing ETF distribution challenge, to the big themes in ETF investing this year. It's what we call a power lunch!