A week has passed since the Exchange conference kicked off. More than 1,500 people joined VettaFi on site in Las Vegas for education, networking and more. (I played a ‘Connect 4 basketball game and got a hole in two in min golf).
People regularly stopped in as I was walking around to celebrate the on-stage content. This was humbling to hear as my colleagues and I put effort ahead of and during Exchange to make the content special. For those of you not in attendance, let me give you a taste of what was discussed. There were a dozen sessions not covered below.
Kicking off Content on Monday
Monday morning, my TMX VettaFi colleague Cinthia Murphy and I discussed advisors’ sentiment toward equity markets, fixed income, cryptocurrency and more. Our goal was to lay out some of the topics slated for discussion. For example, advisors told us they favored U.S. quality and growth stocks, were not likely to shift the durations of their fixed income portfolio, and preferred crypto equities as a way of getting bitcoin exposure.
An All Weather Approach to Investing
Later that morning, Anna Paglia of State Street Global Advisors and Karen Karniol-Tambour of Bridgewater Associates joined me on stage. These firms partnered for the SPDR Bridgewater All Weather ETF (ALLW) that launched in March 2025. Paglia noted the benefits of taking a diversified approach to investing in 2025, one that incorporates more than just US large-cap equities.
Factors 2.0 vs. Active Management
Tuesday morning, my VettaFi Voice colleagues had some great discussions with asset management experts. Murphy kicked off the portfolio strategies track with a Factors 2.0 session.This featured Rene Casis of American Century, Michael Mack of Victory Capital and Todd Mathias of Franklin Templeton. A newer wave of index ETFs were discussed. Funds like American Century Quality Growth ETF (QGRO ), Franklin US Dividend Multiplier Index ETF (XUDV), and Victory Capital Free Cash Flow ETF (VFLO ).
Roxanna Islam’s fireside chat with Dom Rizzo of T Rowe Price followed. Rizzo manages the T. Rowe Price Technology ETF (TTEQ) that takes an actively managed approach to investing in tech trends like artificial intelligence, e-commerce, and digital payments. Rizzo made a compelling case for why the future for these trends remains bright.
Room for Bonds in a Portfolio
I wanted to discuss one additional panel I was a part of. Tony Kelly of BondBloxx and Alex Morris of F/m Investments shared the stage with me Tuesday afternoon. The crowd was much larger than I expected for a fixed income session on the final day of the conference. There remains a lot of uncertainty about the Fed’s next moves and how advisors should position their portfolios. While Kelly saw greater opportunities in the credit markets, Morris made the case for having Treasury exposure via ETFs. Morris also challenged me on stage to a basketball contest to take place during the break. (I lost).
Regularly I refer to Exchange as the best three business days of the year. It definitely delivered for me and I hope for many in attendance.
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VettaFi LLC (“VettaFi”) is the index provider for QGRO, VFLO, XUDV for which it receives an index licensing fee. However, QGRO, VFLO, XUDV are not issued, sponsored, endorsed, or sold by VettaFi, and VettaFi has no obligation or liability in connection with the issuance, administration, marketing, or trading of QGRO, VFLO, XUDV .