Markets move fast, and in the ETF corner of the world, sometimes it feels like it’s practically impossible to keep up. Product development and proliferation have been so intense in recent months. New tickers are coming at us faster than ever.

Evan Harp sat down Axon’s Brady Lochte to talk about his practice, the Exchange conference, and the challenges facing advisors and their clients today.

The robotics space is entering earnings season with positive momentum, as solid performance in Q3 has continued into October. This note recaps the key themes and performance drivers from the quarter for investors, while previewing Q3 results.

Strong credit ratings remain a key feature for midstream companies, providing significant cost savings on debt. The subsector is largely dominated by investment-grade players, which also offer attractive dividend yields. Learn more below about the importance of an investment-grade rating and why midstream indexes are skewed towards these creditworthy names.

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be a prime catalyst for large-cap ETFs tilted toward growth. Companies integral to meeting the hardware demands of AI infrastructure buildout may be Broadcom, Palantir, and Nvidia. All three are core holdings currently in the VictoryShares Free Cash Flow Growth ETF (GFLW).

Recently, I attended the North American Blockchain Summit 2025, a digital asset conference in Dallas. Last year’s agenda leaned heavily on legislation and policy.

Kinder Morgan (KMI) announced its third-quarter results this week. It reported in-line results as well as a robust outlook for growth. Beyond earnings results, company commentary focused on its so-called shadow backlog and the recently announced binding open season with Phillips 66 (PSX) for the Western Gateway pipeline.

Nuclear-related stocks have seen significant positive momentum this year. In addition to policy tailwinds, investors are recognizing the critical need for reliable, carbon-free power generation for years to come. Nuclear represents a compelling opportunity in that vein.

Friday, October 10 was a forgettable day all the way around for risk assets. Those included cryptocurrency and crypto-related equities. The CoinShares Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI) wasn’t immune to the broader market pullback.

JPMAM has converted a major muni bond fund to the ETF wrapper, as muni bond ETF JMUB arrives on the stage.

A weakening greenback is being compounded by global de-dollarization and lower interest rates, creating an environment for emerging markets (EM) ETFs to prosper. In turn, more investors are flocking into EM equities, but for more targeted exposure, South Korea could present an intriguing alternative.

For those new to the practice, it’s relatively straightforward. Nearly every investor and advisor has an investment that is on track for a loss this year. Not all investments hit, after all. Selling at a loss helps tamp down a portfolio’s overall gains for the record books, reducing the end-of-year tax bill, “harvesting” losses to offset gains.

As noted by TMX VettaFi Head of Research Todd Rosenbluth, fixed income ETFs are having a banner year amid record inflows. The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and Vanguard Total International Bond ETF (BNDX) were two of the top funds responsible for the $325 billion in net inflows (as of October 15).

The U.S. has become the world’s top producer of natural gas liquids (NGLs) thanks to abundant supplies. Rising worldwide demand for plastics and clean fuels has sent U.S. NGL exports soaring, establishing a compelling long-term growth story for midstream players.

Although specific themes come in and out of favor, thematic investing is here to stay, as investors seek diversified exposure to hot new trends and industry disruption.

Northern Trust Asset Management provided justification for the mounting interest in munis in the fixed income space.

They may have never encountered unidentified flying objects, but something savvy investors can identify with is outperformance. And the Procure Space ETF (UFO) has been doing just that this year: outperforming the S&P 500 with an over 60% gain.

As investor adoption of crypto, retail and institutional, continues to grow exponentially, discussions are typically centered around bitcoin and ethereum. The former is lauded for its store of value while the latter carries more functional utility when taking into account its role in the blockchain network.

While many investors entered 2025 heavily exposed to tech already, that hasn’t stopped markets from identifying other opportunities created by the need for AI computing power, like data centers.

For most investors, energy security probably tends to be an afterthought until an event drives a jump in prices at the pump, as seen with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, energy security is about much more than geopolitics, especially as demand for electricity is poised for growth.

Active fixed income ETFs can provide the refresh many investors want as the year draws to an end in an uncertain rate market.

Pictet Asset Management just added three funds to a 2025 that’s seen a record number of actively managed ETF launches: the Pictet AI Enhanced International Equity ETF (PQNT), Pictet Cleaner Planet ETF (PCLN), and Pictet AI & Automation ETF (PBOT).

As the bond market expects more rate cuts to come after September’s drop of 25 basis points, investors may want to consider intermediate bonds as a way to maximize income.

One of the most interesting changes was Vietnam’s upgrade from frontier to emerging market. This will affect all FTSE indexes as of September 2026, likely with a phased implementation.

Many investors are likely familiar with the rapidly increasing demand for electricity, and the role nuclear power can play therein. Rcapacity is complicated in a country that has only added three large reactors since 1996. But recent news from the U.S. military may jump start nuclear power infrastructure supply chains.

The sector is also emerging as the most in-demand S&P 500 sector this quarter. XLV has attracted some $872 million in net new money by Oct. 13, according to our data. That places XLV among top 10 equity ETF asset gatherers this quarter.

Last week’s headlines around China tariffs and corresponding weakness in oil prices brought back memories of April and May when oil and energy stocks sold off sharply on the heels of tariff news. The weakness in energy infrastructure has been particularly acute.

The Vanguard Retirement Outlook broke down exactly how retirement-ready the American workforce is, on a generational basis.

September proved to be a powerful month for ETF flows, even as investors faced elevated long-end volatility, concerns about fiscal deficits, and a shifting macroeconomic backdrop. Rather than retreat from markets, investors leaned into opportunity, particularly in fixed income.

While energy policy in the US tends to be polarizing, nuclear energy enjoys broad support from both sides of the aisle. Republicans are drawn to nuclear’s energy security and reliability.

There's a base layer that underpins technological buildouts for disruptive technology — the need for natural resources.

This year several new funds have debuted, each designed to meet the changing needs of today’s diversified portfolios.

As the Fall gets into gear, more and more investors and advisors will be considering their end of year tax bills. While markets saw plenty of uncertainty and upheaval so far in 2025, many will be facing significant tax implications on their gains.

Often pitted against each other, gold and Bitcoin are both benefiting from the effects of the current “debasement trade.” In turn, this creates investment opportunities to capture upside in ETFs that offer exposure to cryptocurrencies.

Already off to a fine start due in part to the government shutdown headlines, bitcoin and BRRR could be in style this month and over the course of the fourth quarter with the help of favorable seasonality.

The fourth quarter is typically – seasonally – positive for U.S. equities. An ongoing government shutdown is not a strong backdrop for markets, but major indices remain close to record highs, waiting for new data for direction. It looks like a good time to be cautiously optimistic, or to get a little defensive, maybe add a little gold, and steer clear of highly valued stocks.

September was a powerful month for ETF flows, despite volatility, fiscal deficit concerns, and a shifting macroeconomic backdrop.

Many investors have moved to add significant foreign equities exposure this year, rewarding them with strong performances and returns.

The U.S. Federal Reserve instituted its first interest rate cut of the year, which could force investors to reassess their fixed income portfolios to plan for further monetary policy changes. Given this, it’s an opportune time to consider using more flexible active funds in order to mute any rate cut noise.

All of that data center activity requires huge new amounts of electricity, but with most renewables slowing down, nuclear energy stocks could be poised to benefit. That presents a notable opportunity in the nuclear energy ETF NUKZ.

In 2006, Andrew Fire and Craig Mello shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), which they published in 1998. Since then, the potential of a technology capable of silencing disease-causing genes has been a very attractive proposition.

In big news for the energy infrastructure space, Targa Resources Corp. (TRGP) has announced significant new investments in its Permian Basin operations. The announcement includes a new natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline and incremental natural gas infrastructure.

Many investors have turned to MLPs over the years for their income, which makes the outlook for distributions a perennial focus for investors. With MLP yields currently elevated relative to long-term averages and a flattish near-term outlook for U.S. energy production, the distribution outlook is particularly topical.

Emerging markets investing has had an overall positive year in 2025. Entering the year, with many U.S. investors underweight foreign equities, some market watchers anticipated big opportunities abroad.

Electricity demand is on the rise globally thanks to electrification, adoption of electric vehicles, wider use of air conditioning, and the rise of AI-related data centers.

Within the emerging markets story in 2025 is a potentially even more intriguing subplot: the strong performance of Africa equities.

Vanguard announced the debut of a new low-cost, emerging markets (EM) exchange-traded fund (ETF) — the Vanguard Emerging Markets ex-China ETF (VEXC). EM assets have been garnering increased investor attention this year and could see additional interest with the prospect of more interest rate cuts to come.

With bond strategies offering a compelling use case for the moment, advisors may want to consider approaches to build out their portfolios.

Given the current market environment, should investors include China, the top economy in emerging markets (EM), or simply avoid it?

September’s rate cut may be exciting for many investors’ equities holdings, but those same investors may feel less excited about the income on offer from bonds going forward. Falling rates, of course, lead to falling yields in numerous debt securities and offerings.