Wedbush's Dan Ives Joins ETF Wave Turning Analysts Into Brands

Yahoo

04-06-2025

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Street tech analyst Dan Ives is lending his personal brand to power a new ETF riding the artificial-intelligence boom, joining a growing pack of finance names looking to monetize their industry renown with retail-friendly investment funds.
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Wedbush Fund Advisers is launching a product tracking the investment picks touted by Ives, whose high-conviction tech calls have earned him a sizable following among the likes of retail investors.
The Dan IVES Wedbush AI Revolution ETF is launching Wednesday with the ticker IVES, and is focused on Ives' 'proprietary research.' It comprises 30 names in AI sectors, including semiconductors, cybersecurities and robotics, among others.
It's the latest in a growing trend of money managers, strategists and analysts with high name recognition launching their own ETFs in recent months, with the tally including economist Nouriel Roubini and Fundstrat's Tom Lee — the latter's fund has been able to attract more than $1 billion in inflows since its late-2024 inception. Even President Donald Trump's media company has announced plans for its own suite of ETFs and other products, with some analysts citing the famous 'Trump' brand as a potential catalyst for inflows, once the funds debut.
Yet the ETF market has become known for its oversaturation of products, with some 4,200 offerings in the US alone, spanning all manner of asset classes and themes. There are more than 25 ETFs that focus on the AI theme or are AI-powered, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. For many, it's been difficult to compete in such an overcrowded field, leading to a slew of liquidations in recent years. Underperformance can also be a huge detriment to a fund's success.
Ives, who has been with Wedbush for about seven years, says his years of coverage and extensive research help differentiate his ETF from other AI-centric offerings. He called AI the biggest tech theme of the past 50 years.
'Investors around the world have focused on our research in tech for decades,' he said in an interview. 'It's those same clients and philosophy that we believe is going to lead us to success here. Because when it comes to the AI revolution, we've been early, we've identified the winners.'
Ives, who is a managing director and the global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, has more than 180,000 followers on X and makes frequent media appearances.
Wedbush Fund Advisers has plans for additional ETFs, according to Cullen Rogers, its chief investment officer. But for now, IVES is something that could be attractive to both retail and institutional clients, according to Rogers.
'When we looked around at our internal assets, there's no greater asset than Dan Ives, his market views, the way that he sees these seismic shifts going on across the world, especially in AI,' he said.
--With assistance from Jeran Wittenstein.
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