Trillions The 2025 ETF Mailbag
Jul 17, 2025
Athanasios Psarofagis, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, joins the discussion to provide insights into the world of ETFs. He and the hosts tackle the upcoming ETF share-class approvals and their tax benefits. The conversation also delves into the promise and limitations of asset tokenization, comparing traditional ETFs with tokenized stocks. They'll cover how profitability differs in ETFs, the potential fate of crypto ETFs, and why Vanguard's S&P 500 ETF remains a stronghold. The trio predicts the future evolution of ETFs over the next decade.
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Mutual Funds Getting ETF Share Classes
- ETF share-class conversions will let mutual funds add an ETF share class without forcing clients to take a taxable hit.
- Eric Balchunas expects broad adoption and a likely flow drain from mutual funds to ETFs when approved.
Tokenization Is A Back-Office Play
- Tokenization mainly cleans up back-office processes and can speed settlement, but offers marginal user benefits in developed markets.
- Eric Balchunas and Athanasios see tokenization as a backend improvement, not a disruptive replacement for ETFs today.
Treat Tokenized Retail Claims With Caution
- Be skeptical of tokenized retail offers that sidestep established infrastructure and regulation.
- Expect regulators to limit tokenized workarounds for things like private equity without clear compliance.