Core Insights - Infrastructure Capital Advisors is a prominent provider of investment management solutions aimed at income-focused investors [1] - Jay Hatfield serves as CEO and CIO, leading the investment team and managing multiple ETFs and private accounts [1] - The company is frequently featured in major financial media outlets, enhancing its visibility and credibility in the investment community [1] Company Overview - Infrastructure Capital manages a range of investment products including the InfraCap Small Cap Income ETF, InfraCap Equity Income Fund ETF, InfraCap MLP ETF, Virtus InfraCap U.S. Preferred Stock ETF, and InfraCap REIT Preferred ETF [1] - The firm publishes a monthly market and economic report, quarterly commentaries, and various research materials to support investors [1] - Infrastructure Capital also engages in educational initiatives through monthly webinars and participation in industry conferences [1]

Core Insights - ClearBridge is a leading global asset manager focused on active management [1] - The investment approach is guided by research-based stock selection, reflecting high-conviction ideas from portfolio managers [1] - The company frequently shares insights with investors through various channels including investment commentaries, white papers, blog posts, videos, and podcasts [1]

Core Insights - ClearBridge is a leading global asset manager focused on active management [1] - The investment approach is guided by research-based stock selection, reflecting high-conviction ideas from portfolio managers [1] - The company frequently shares insights through investment commentaries, thought leadership, white papers, blog posts, videos, and podcasts [1]

Core Insights - ClearBridge is a leading global asset manager focused on active management [1] - The investment approach is guided by research-based stock selection, reflecting high-conviction ideas from portfolio managers [1] - The company frequently shares insights with investors through various channels including investment commentaries, white papers, blog posts, videos, and podcasts [1]

ETF Market Trends & Flows - ETF investors bought the dip, with IVV seeing inflows of $6 billion, VOO remaining a top choice, and VTI and Q's experiencing U S equity buying [2] - July saw $100 billion into ETFs, indicating a strong dip-buying trend similar to past instances where buying the dip proved successful [4] - Active ETFs are gaining traction, accounting for about 40% of total flows, with the U S active ETF market on pace to exceed $300 million, surpassing last year's record [9][10] - Derivative income remains the biggest category within the active ETF space, indicating investors' desire for downside protection and cash flow [14] - JP Morgan has taken in four times more than any other active fund shop in the past year [20] Ether ETF Surge - Ether ETFs experienced a turning point in July, with inflows of $4 billion, driven by momentum and institutional interest [26][27] - Ether is seen as more than just digital gold, offering income generation through staking, attracting treasury companies [30] - Ether ETF is potentially the fastest ETF ever to hit $10 billion [31] Humanoid Robotics ETF Analysis - Humanoid robotics ETFs aim to capture the trend of humanoid robots filling labor gaps in manufacturing and other sectors [34][39] - Tesla (11%) and NVIDIA (9%) constitute a significant portion (20%) of the HUMAN ETF, raising questions about thematic purity and potential overlap with existing holdings [35] - Morgan Stanley forecasts the humanoid robot market could be a multi-trillion dollar market by 2050 [47]

Core Viewpoint - Janus Henderson Investors aims to assist clients in achieving their long-term financial goals through active management, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and communication in their investment approach [1] Company Overview - Janus Henderson Investors was formed in 2017 from the merger of Janus Capital Group and Henderson Global Investors [1] - The company is committed to adding value through active management, which encompasses not only investment strategies but also the translation of ideas into action and building partnerships [1] Investment Philosophy - The investment managers at Janus Henderson have the flexibility to adopt approaches that best suit their areas of expertise, promoting a collaborative environment [1] - The company's ethos, referred to as "Knowledge. Shared," drives dialogue across the business and reinforces their commitment to empowering clients in making informed investment and business decisions [1]

Company Overview - Federated Hermes manages $845.7 billion in assets, including $211.3 billion in long-term managed assets: $89.0 billion in equity, $98.7 billion in fixed income, $20.7 billion in alternative/private markets, and $2.9 billion in multi-asset [12] - The company's total revenue for Q2 2025 was $424.8 million [14] - Federated Hermes has $634.4 billion in liquidity assets [10, 16] Asset Class Performance - Equity assets increased by $8.1 billion, a 10% rise from $80.9 billion as of March 31, 2025 [21] - Fixed-income assets decreased by $0.8 billion, a 1% decline from $99.5 billion as of March 31, 2025 [21] Revenue Diversification - In Q2 2025, money market funds contributed an average of 35% to revenue less distribution expense, with a high of 61% and a low of 13% [23] - Equity contributed an average of 43% to revenue less distribution expense, with a high of 56% and a low of 27% [23] - Fixed income contributed an average of 18% to revenue less distribution expense, with a high of 25% and a low of 11% [23] - Alternative/Private Markets and Multi-asset contributed an average of 9% to revenue less distribution expense, with a high of 19% and a low of 6% [23] Distribution Channels - U S Financial Intermediaries account for 67% of assets under management [26] - U S Institutional accounts for 26% of assets under management [26] - International accounts for 7% of assets under management [26] Capital Allocation - Since its IPO in 1998, Federated Hermes has allocated cash towards dividends (45%), share repurchases (35%), and acquisitions (20%) [77] - Total share repurchase, acquisition, and dividend payments since the IPO amount to $6.6 billion [78]

Market Overview - Nvidia's \$4 trillion market cap highlights the market's focus on tech, particularly AI [1][3] - The AI transformation is still in its early stages and is expected to persist for a long time [3] Investment Strategy - Active management in tech is crucial, as demonstrated by Nvidia's 30% drawdown and subsequent 60% rise, which passive indexes couldn't capitalize on [2][3] - Investors need exposure to the tech sector and guidance in selecting the right companies throughout different market cycles [4] - The AI opportunity set is divided into three areas: infrastructure, data & security, and applications [7] - Investors are encouraged to increase exposure to the data and security layers within their portfolios [9] Competitive Landscape - Nvidia currently captures 60% of every capital expenditure dollar spent on AI due to its rapid innovation [4] - The market is expected to become more competitive over time, creating new opportunities for investors [5]

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]

Todd, I'll go to you for this one first. Some argue that the AI trade really falls into more of that thematic bucket. There's a wide array of thematic ETFs out there for just about anything.If you can think it, there's probably an ETF for it. But how much of one's portfolio should be allocated to themes. You mentioned just how much in the beginning some advisers are allocating to the thematic trade, but is there any kind of a consensus building that you can see about whether that consensus is either underpl ...