ETF Edge: The fund capitalizing on the “most hated recovery”

Thematic Investing & ETF Market - The ETF market is evolving towards active management, with active equity funds accounting for 30-40% of flows in the last three months [17][18] - Thematic investing is not new, with early ETFs targeting small emerging markets and select sector spiders [16][17] - Investors are using actively managed ETFs as an "explore strategy" against their core, which is typically cheap beta [29][30] - The industry is aware that relative performance is something to be mindful of, and technical research teams are helpful in this regard [24] FundStrat's "Granny Shots" Strategy - FundStrat uses a thematic-based research approach, identifying long story arcs and population trends to drive investment decisions [4] - The "Granny Shots" strategy involves selecting stocks tied to at least two important themes to reduce risk [8][9] - The "Granny Shots" portfolio consists of 35 stocks from the S&P 500, tied to seven key themes driving the market [10] - FundStrat rebalances the portfolio every quarter and reviews themes monthly, potentially adding or deleting themes [15][24][25] Cryptocurrency & Bitcoin ETFs - Bitcoin ETFs have been a successful product launch, but Bitcoin's price has churned due to in-kind exchanges and early investors taking profits [33][34][35] - The next big thing in crypto ETFs may be staking, with filings for Solana and ETH staking products [39][41] - Buying the cheapest Bitcoin ETF is cheaper than most direct cash to Bitcoin transactions on crypto exchanges [39] International Investing - The S&P 500 has underperformed core emerging and developed markets year-to-date, partly due to a weaker dollar [44][45] - International diversification is beneficial, especially for those with a strong home bias towards US investments [47] - Over 95% of international markets are small and mid-cap companies, unlike the US market with its large, dominant tech companies [49]