ETF Edge: Gold, uranium, private credit and the rush into alternative assets
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CNBC
5 days ago
- CNBC
Vanguard, BlackRock deliver second-half market plays that could cushion a potential growth slowdown
Investors may want to consider bracing for a weaker stock market performance over the next six months. According to Vanguard's Roger Hallam, it's prudent for long-term investors to have sufficient exposure to fixed income in this environment. "Our outlook for the second half of this year is that growth will slow," the firm's global head of rates told CNBC's "ETF Edge" on Monday. Hallam predicts the labor market will continue to gradually cool while inflation rises. Hallam expects the Federal Reserve will ultimately prioritize jobs and cut interest rates toward the end of this year to provide insurance. "We think that will provide a tailwind for bonds," he said. "So, we're confident in the outlook for fixed income, and we think... clients should be allocating to fixed income." Vanguard is behind three U.S. government bond exchange-traded funds debuting this week. The launch includes the Vanguard Government Securities Active ETF (VGVT). The firm's prospectus shows U.S. Treasurys hold the largest exposure in the new ETF. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield started 2025 at about 4.57% and has since fallen to roughly 4.4% as of Tuesday. Meanwhile, BlackRock's Jay Jacobs sees a barbell approach as a valuable second-half strategy as a hedge against economic slowdown risks. "I think we're still going to see a lot of money that's been in cash for a long time … start to inch their way back into the equity markets," the firm's U.S. head of equity ETFs said in the same interview. He expects buffer ETFs, which are designed to protect against the downside and still give a measure of upside performance, to benefit from the risk backdrop. BlackRock offers six buffer ETFs, according to the firm's website, including iShares Large Cap Max Buffer Jun ETF (MAXJ). The fund is up 5% so far this year and tracks the share price return of the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF. "Our fund MAXJ recently reset, giving a cap of up to 7% exposure to the S&P over the next year. A tool like that is going to be very much in vogue for investors looking to get back into the markets," Jacobs said, adding investors will likely play offense and will continue to migrate toward strong macro themes such as artificial intelligence. Jacobs also lists infrastructure as a key group. "As we continue to see geopolitics and fragmentation around the world impact markets, I think people are going to be looking at really powerful macro trends like the growth of infrastructure in the United States as a way to place their bets in the equity markets," Jacobs said.
CNBC
7 days ago
- CNBC
Is bitcoin price stalling at $100,000? ETF experts debate next crypto trades
After topping $111,000 in May, bitcoin has not been able to break out significantly above the $100,000 range. Some investors may simply be cashing in their chips, according to Tom Lee, managing partner and head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, with investors who bought into the coin during much earlier stages of its history now sitting on huge gains. "We have clients that have bought bitcoin at $100," Lee said on a recent edition of CNBC's "ETF Edge." "They don't care if bitcoin goes to a million; they are probably sellers at around $100,000," he said. Even if bitcoin is running into resistance at the $100,000-$110,000 level, other bets in the crypto market have taken off, including the digital assets infrastructure providers, such as Coinbase, which rose by 40% in June, its best month since last November. It was also the only stock in the S&P 500 to double in the second quarter, on top of finishing the quarter with its first three-month rally since 2023. Among the reasons for the boost in the crypto exchange shares, even as the price of bitcoin has stalled: the passage of the Genius Act by the Senate, the success of the Circle IPO, and the recent surge in bullishness about stablecoins. With other cryptocurrencies that have stalled in trading this year, such as ether and solana, investors who have no plans to sell crypto holdings can still put them to work via staking, and it may be a good option during a period when the price isn't gaining in the short-term. Staking allows investors to not only participate in the growth of a coin's value but also be paid for its use within the decentralized financial (DeFi) system that allows people, businesses, or other entities to transact directly with each other. "You can actually generate significant yields," said Dave Nadig, an independent ETF expert and futurist, on "ETF Edge." He added that the income generated from staking is often "a few points above" what an investor might gain from a more typical fixed-income instrument. In some ways, it is a crypto version of a high-interest savings account, but with one key difference being it is not handled by banking institutions but the crypto exchanges and networks, and this has led to issues with regulators in recent history. When you stake crypto, you contribute to the running and security of decentralized networks like ethereum and become a "validator" on the blockchain. Big players in the financial markets, such as BlackRock, do believe in opportunity for staking to grow this year. Robinhood's Johann Kerbrat, general manager of the brokerage company's crypto division, recently spoke to CNBC about its ethereum and solana staking push. "When we talk about mass adoption, this is what it looks like," Kerbrat said of staking and other recent additions to its crypto services. Other investors may be trading in their direct holdings in crypto for ETFs that now offer the same crypto market exposure. "Let's be honest, it's a whole lot easier to transact. It's a lot cheaper as well," said Nadig. Buying the cheapest ETF right now is cheaper than direct cash-to-coin transactions, with some ETF providers waiving all management fees to stoke more early adoption of their recent crypto portfolio editions. For example, VanEck's Bitcoin Trust (HODL) has waived all fees until it reaches $2.5 billion in assets, through January 10, 2026. "Effectively, bitcoin moved from one wallet to another wallet, the wallet now being ETF," Nadig said. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) have seen the most action this year overall, with over $15 billion and $2 billion, respectively, of net inflows to the crypto ETFs, as financial advisor and retail investor adoption grows. The company has been waiving a portion of the management fee on the ethereum ETF for up to $2.5 billion in assets, with the 0.25% expense ratio knocked down to 0.12%. Meanwhile, Van Eck has also waived fees on its Van Eck Ethereum ETF (ETHV) until it reached $1.5 billion in assets through July 22 of this year. Disclaimer
CNBC
03-07-2025
- CNBC
Slam dunk? Fundstrat's Tom Lee considers two new themes for his Granny Shots ETF
Long-time market bull Tom Lee is considering two new themes for his Fundstrat Granny Shots US Large Cap ETF. On CNBC's "ETF Edge" this week, he revealed sovereign security could soon make the cut. "It's now evident to me that the mechanisms are in motion for companies to really fix their supply chains within a sovereign border, and that's a change," the firm's chief investment officer said. "That's not going to just be one or two years." He's also looking at Gen Z. Lee compares the generation to millennials, who he called "the engine" of the market when Fundstrat first began researching themes seven years ago. "That means we need to be focusing on Gen Z and then Gen Alpha, so we might have to evolve our demographic theme to kind of orient towards the younger cohorts," he said. "It may not be for a couple years, but I'm kind of sharing our thought process." Lee's Granny Shots ETF was inspired by NBA legend Rick Barry's awkward free throw style. 'If you buy the best stocks in each theme, then you're hanging your hat on a single idea. So we said, 'Let's be like Rick Barry. Let's do a correct physics basketball throw, underhanded,'" said Lee. "It doesn't look great, but it makes 90% of the shots." According to Lee, the ETF's strategy starts with seven themes Fundstrat predicts will define the market over the next 10 years — from millennials to energy security. To be considered a granny shot, a stock must fit at least two of the themes. "We're not buying junky stocks. We want to make sure that they generate earnings and high ROIC [return on invested capital]," Lee said. "We rebalance every quarter." So far, the Granny Shots ETF, which was launched on Nov. 7, is scoring investors. In May, Fundstrat reported the ETF crossed the $1 billion in assets under management milestone. As of last week, Lee said the fund grew to $1.3 billion. Since its launch, the ETF is up 13% as of Thursday's close. The fund is beating the S&P 500 so far this year. It's up almost 15% since Jan. 1 while the index is up about 7%. As of July 3, Fundstrat reports its top three holdings are Robinhood, Oracle and AMD. Independent ETF expert Dave Nadig said he's observed recently that ETFs with active management styles are gaining traction. "Tom's very much a part of it," Nadig said in the same interview. "I think having an active management overlay, both on the stock selection and the thematic part, can make a lot of sense for investors. It's certainly easier for investors to understand."
