ETF Prime: Rosenbluth on the Exchange Conference and More

Geraci opened the podcast by sharing that this podcast was being recorded live from the Exchange Conference in front of an audience of the event’s attendees. He then asked the trio of ETF professionals for their takes on how the conference had gone thus far.

VettaFi’s Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth joined the conversation to give his take: “There are over 1,800 people on-site for this conference, and we have more advisors than we had last year.”

Rosenbluth also shared that more than 100 industry partners participated in the event. He added that there had been quite a positive buzz surrounding the conference. Both Murphy and Balchunas shared a similar sentiment about the event.

Geraci then jumped back into the conversation to share some of his thoughts on the event so far. He then asked his panel of guests what they felt were some key takeaways that came out of their participation in the conference.

“I just continue to see the maturation of the industry; it has kind of gone mainstream,” Balchunas said.

He continued to highlight that he felt this year’s conference revealed how mature the industry has gotten in the past few years, especially since the Exchange Conference first started. He also shared that he felt every significant firm in the industry participated in the event in some shape or form, which truly revealed this growth and maturity in the industry overall.

“It surprises me that this year feels intimate, it’s the best word I can think of,” said Murphy.

She added that, despite the large number of people at the event, she was able to have meaningful one-on-one conversations with individuals in the industry. Murphy also mentioned how she appreciated that there was a large number of new people in the industry at the event. She cited this as proof of, and a contributing factor to, the industry’s overall growth.

Rosenbluth shared that VettaFi’s goal with the conference was to turn the financial services industry into a community. In addition to that, VettaFi also wanted to provide meaningful content for both advisors and asset managers. He noted that he felt they were able to accomplish that.

Additionally, the foursome explored some of the key takeaways from the event, exhibits on display at the conference, and how the ETF industry has continued to evolve.

The conversation shifted gears when Geraci shared that now that the industry is a month removed from the release of spot bitcoin ETFs, he feels it has been one of the most successful launches of products in ETF history. Geraci then asked for each of the podcast’s participants’ thoughts on these products overall.

Murphy said what she’s most excited about seeing with these products is what’s coming next in this part of the industry. She mentioned she feels the arrival of these products was a huge win for the industry at large. Murphy  reiterated that she’s interested in seeing what the next wave of these products will look like.

Rosenbluth took a slightly different approach to Murphy, saying he feels it’s still early days for these products. He highlighted that, at a Cryptocurrency Symposium VettaFi hosted, data revealed how many advisors hadn’t had exposure to cryptocurrencies before the launch of these products. Rosenbluth said he thinks this reveals the industry is still in the education stage overall, but feels the flows the products have seen thus far are a success.

Balchunas noted that what has impressed him the most is the flows the funds have seen recently. He highlighted that these funds are seeing close to half a billion dollars a day in inflows. Balchunas added that he believes this amount of inflows is a great achievement for these products.

The four ETF professionals explored several other key trends in the industry, including the ETF multishare class structure, and more.

For more news, information, and analysis, visit VettaFi | ETFDB.