To survive, businesses must grow. Growing your practice is important in all fields, but it is particularly critical for financial advisors. Without growth, advisors risk falling into a rut and becoming stuck. Here are four tips that can help you grow your practice.

Many view growth stocks, including tech stocks, as sensitive to rising interest rates. Last year confirmed this thesis. That script has been flipped for the better this year as technology ranks as one of the best-performing groups in the S&P 500 despite multiple rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

Yesterday’s Equity Symposium brought together industry thought leaders. Attendees were treated to actionable information. Additionally, the panels presented cutting-edge thinking around equities.

Given concentration risk, understanding what a strategy and portfolio owns is more important than ever in current markets.

ETF Trends interviewed three sources about active ETFs, why financial advisors are opting for these investment solutions for clients, and how these factors have changed in recent years. Each source responded to the same questions in their respective interviews.

In State Street Global Advisors’ recent Gold ETF Impact Study, the firm reported that “36% of surveyed investors don’t invest in gold because they don’t know enough about the ways that they can invest in gold.”

The biggest growth companies continue to increase their concentration in major equity indexes this year. It’s not surprising that investors are starting to rethink their exposure to large-caps, given concentration risk and ongoing market uncertainty.

Thematic ETFs have come a long way since they made their full debut in the ETF ecosystem.

Just about 10 “mega-cap” firms have driven more than 80% of the S&P 500’s growth in 2023. For some, that’s proven to be a source of robust returns, but that statistic also means heightened concentration risk for everyone.

Broad-based dividend strategies haven’t performed very well in 2023. But panelists at VettaFi’s Equity Symposium argued that there is value in dividend ETFs — investors just need to know where to look.

Register today for this free Symposium to earn CE credits and learn how to take advantage of all that equities have to offer.

When Exchange first launched in 2022, it redefined what an advisor-focused conference could look like. Now, Exchange 2024 is just around the corner. The financial services industry prepares to unite at Miami Beach on February 11th-14th.

What’s inside an ETF really matters. This is an argument I’ve been making for more than a decade. However, with the growth of alternatively weighted index ETFs and actively managed products, this has become even more notable.

Industrial securities are unloved by financial advisors. However, it is the backbone of a relatively popular sector ETF and two relatively new thematic ETFs positioned to benefit from transformational changes. Perhaps they want to dive deeper into the fundamentals with us during the VettaFi Equity Symposium on September 21.

For new investors, the world of finance can appear daunting. But among the sea of investment options, Treasury bonds (often just called “Treasuries”) are a pillar of stability and reliability.

In arguably quiet fashion, active managers are performing admirably in 2023. An impressive percentage of active equity and fixed income funds beat their benchmarks in the first half of the year.

Now seems like a good time to talk about wrappers and which ones are best for different situations. How do you decide whether to use an ETF, a mutual fund, or something else?

Confidence is returning to the bond markets and one sign is corporations’ willingness to start taking on debt again with new issuance.

As the artificial intelligence (AI) investment thesis continues evolving, one benefit accrued by investors will be that it becomes easier to identify winners and losers.

With actively managed ETFs, advisors and clients are willing to pay a premium relative to investing in an index-based approach. However, they want to be rewarded. In 2023, VettaFi is seeing this occur and is eager to share more about some of these active equity ETF strategies.

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, is mired in a slump. The decision in the Greyscale case stoked optimism that the SEC will eventually, finally approve spot bitcoin ETFs. Still, the bitcoin slump has erased all of the upside generated by the court ruling.

Bearish China traders have had the upper hand for most of the year. Still, easing deflation could give bulls a glimmer of hope.

Some investment trends seem obvious — people are watching more streaming movies, consumers like shopping online, and more people are buying electric cars. So why don’t these ETFs always work?

Last week the World Gold Council reported that central banks continued to add to their global gold reserves during the month of July. The World Gold Council also highlighted that China, Poland and Turkey were among the countries that were the largest buyers of gold during the month.

Touchstone Investments now has six actively managed ETFs. It seeks to bring its “distinctively active” mutual fund approach to meet advisors where they are focused.

VettaFi’s Equity Symposium is just over a week away and will provide advisors with free access to some of the most important thought leaders in the investment space.

Recently, some clarity emerged on Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM) — two of the most important names in the semiconductor industry.

ETFs are the instrument of choice for millions of investors in the U.S. Through a single trade and for a relatively low price, an investor gains broad exposure to a market, sector or niche.

ESG has dominated advisors’ minds when it comes to looking at the current generation of young prospective clients. It remains a popular investment approach for millennial and Gen Z clients per surveys.

While there are lots of reasons to celebrate the growth stocks inside the NASDAQ 100 index, some advisors might be looking for alternatives to the market-cap weighted index ETFs that reduce their risk profile. Thankfully there are some choices to consider.

Growth stocks are getting the better of their value rivals this year. Still, that doesn’t mean exchange traded funds dedicated to value stocks are delivering losses. Rather, the opposite is true. It’s just that growth stocks are delivered better returns though the first eight months of the year.

In September, where volatility can strike at any time, investors will want the safety cushion of bonds for their portfolio. At the same time, short duration continues to be the default play as the U.S. Federal Reserve still attempts to cool down inflation further.

Innovative provider of custom indexes becomes a key part of a growing suite of VettaFi index solutions, which now power nearly $19 billion in ETFs and other vehicles.

High-yield bonds, often referred to as “junk” or “speculative grade,” are corporate bonds that command a higher interest rate than other bonds. This higher yield is essentially compensation for the increased risk of default that investors assume when purchasing these securities.

An efficient avenue for asset managers and fund issuers to avoid regulatory scrutiny of products with the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) label is to ensure that those funds live up their ESG ETF billing. That can be accomplished with data-intensive approaches.

Vanguard has forecasted that inflation will remain sticky, so the U.S. central bank will continue raising rates. But the investment giant also estimates that a recession still won’t hit the U.S. this year.

Conference season has come for Financial Services. Future Proof is coming up and Exchange is right around the corner. Many advisors have complex, busy schedules.

Many investors are starting to look for ways to diversify their portfolios and protect their wealth. One way investors have done so in the past is through investing in gold.

Most portfolios live or die based on their equity allocations. VettaFi is thrilled to announce that they will be hosting an Equity Symposium on September 21st.

Factory order numbers had previously been a source of positivity for the U.S. economy. The tough turn for the economy should remind investors of active ETFs’ ability to respond to a market downturn.

After a slow start to asset gathering, U.S.-listed equity ETFs were in vogue during the summer. At the end of August, the asset category had $165 billion of net inflows, more than $125 billion for fixed income.

Last week, the VettaFi AI Symposium was one of the more popular places to be in the days before Labor Day.

This week was packed with several key economic releases that helped provide insight into the overall state of the U.S. economy. Policymakers and advisors closely monitor economic indicators to understand recession risk and the direction of interest rates because the data can ultimately impact business decisions and financial markets.

There are differing opinions all around, but some reputable sources like Goldman Sachs are saying it’s increasingly unlikely. Yet the Fed is going to be raising rates further, from what it looks like because inflation is higher than they want.

Though it encountered some hiccups last month amid fears the Federal Reserve isn’t done raising interest rates, tech remains one of this year’s best-performing sectors. Some analysts believe there’s more upside to come for the S&P 500’s largest sector weight.

In an environment of pronounced volatility and less-than-certain equity and bond performance in the last few years, investors are leaning toward more complex strategies such as alternatives.

Active ETFs have had a really strong year so far in 2023, picking up advisor and investor interest. Even institutional investors have increasingly turned towards specialist, responsive management.

The S&P 500 closed August with a monthly loss of 1.71%, after a gain of 3.22% in July.

A slew of recent polls, studies, and surveys confirmed the importance and relevance of ESG investing to younger investors.

Given their overall credit risk versus safer government debt, corporate bonds may not get enough exposure in a retirement portfolio. However, they can serve a purpose as long as investors are aware of their nuances.