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Dave Nadig
3:12
Great question.  There are very few notable asset allocation funds that do this.
3:13
iShares has a small series of "target risk" funds.  AOR in particular has good assets in it.
and they are essentially just fund-of-funds that own a balanced portfolio.
THese kind of products (particularly target date) are very popular in traditional retirement accounts, but haven't caught on in the same was with ETFs.
3:14
The next issue of the ETF Report shipping in a few weeks has a lot of coverage of these kinds of issues.
John
3:14
Hi Dave. What's the best way to evaluate an index provider? We've all heard the names MSCI, FTSE, but there are a lot of other ones too. How do I know which one is best at what they do? I mean this in the context of choosing an ETF.
Dave Nadig
3:14
(cracks knuckles)
Back when we were building the ETF analytics for the fund pages, we did a LOT Of index research.
3:15
You can get deep into the weeds (and the CFA has a whole curriculum around it) but in short, mostly what you're looking for is a clean, transparent set of methodologies that work well together.
Institutions in particular often want to know that the way stocks are selected for, say, their EM exposure, is consistent with how they evaluate things in developed markets, and so on.
This becomes even more important when you combine products.
3:16
You can't just slap the Russell 2000 onto the bottom of your S&P 500 exposure and think "hey, I've got total market!"
As for "best" - boy, that's a loaded question.
3:17
Each firm has a unique way of looking at the world.  For basic beta exposures FTSE MSCI and S&P all have sound methodologies
they each have "headline indices" that they're known for.
I think the internal consistency issue is more important than the subtle differences -- mixing and matching can get you weird gaps or doubling-ups.
I'd pick one and stick to it, inside an asset class.
MJ Holder
3:18
I thought US Bank was the issuer of the MJ marijuana ETF
Dave Nadig
3:18
Ah, and here we have one of the big issues with funds in general (not just ETFs).
3:19
SHAREHOLDERS actually own all mutual funds and ETFs, and the board (which you elect!) decides who does what.
the BRAND of MJ is clearly etfmg
3:20
The actual trust is (If I'm  remembering) administered or custodied by US Bank.\
it can get very tricky deciding who "owns" a given fund.  In general, following the revenue trail is what gets you closest to some sort of truth.
3:21
in this case, the money flows mainly through the Advisor contract, and the Advisor in this case is ETFMG, for sure.
Anonymous
3:21
Could any ETF (new or existing) ever eclipse SPY in AUm? Perhaps because it might have a lower ER?
Dave Nadig
3:21
So, oddly enough, SPY has about the same assets as the other two big S&P 500 ETFs put together (IVV and VOO).
3:22
Both of which are 5 basis poitns cheaper.
and the flows have really been disproportionately into the two upstarts, for the past few years, not into SPY.
So its really just a matter of time.  SPY is not the asset gathering machine it once was.
3:23
if I had to pick what fund would knock it off, it would actually be VTI - Vanguards "just buy everything" etf.
its about $100B right now, and over time, it's just going to keep accumulating.  I mean, you're buying the whole world for 4 basis points.
3:24
its one of the greatest deals of all time.
I should say Whole US, not whole world.
VT, I believe, is the international version.
BNDW
3:24
What are your thoughts on Vanguard's latest ETF-of-ETFs, BNDW?  Would this be a good one-stop-shop for a bond allocation or is it too overly weighted in BNDX?  Most portfolios seem to have a larger allocation to U.S. fixed income rather than International.
Dave Nadig
3:25
I love this fund.  Most investors bond allocations are two US centric (just like their equity exposures)
and inside the US, too focussed on treasuries.
3:26
I think BNDW is a fantastic one stop shop for bond exposure, and it's what, 10bps? 9 maybe?  It's so cheap.
So I don't really see any downsides to using it as a one stop shop.
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