Group 1: New ETF Products in the US - A total of 22 new ETF products were launched in the US last week, including various types such as downside protection, leverage, thematic, allocation, and rotation products [1][2] - Seven new downside protection products were introduced, including Calamos' structured products linked to Bitcoin, which offer varying levels of protection (80%, 90%, 100%) [1] - Arrow Funds launched a Bitcoin strategy product that adjusts its allocation between Bitcoin and gold or cash based on market risk appetite [1] Group 2: ETF Fund Flows - US ETFs experienced significant inflows of nearly $50 billion last week, with domestic equities attracting over $25 billion, and commodity ETFs, particularly gold, also seeing substantial inflows [3][5] - The SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) was the second highest inflow product, with $40.81 billion, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) led with $58.82 billion [5] Group 3: ETF Performance - Precious metal stocks have outperformed precious metal ETFs this year, with several mining-related ETFs showing gains around 150% [6][7] - The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and iShares Gold Trust (IAU) have both seen returns of approximately 63.73% and 63.91% respectively this year [7] Group 4: Mutual Fund Flows - As of August 2025, the total amount of non-money market mutual funds in the US reached $22.98 trillion, reflecting an increase of $0.41 trillion from July 2025 [8] - Domestic equity funds experienced outflows of around $20 billion, while bond products saw stable inflows exceeding $10 billion [8]

Concentration Risk & Diversification - The market is seeing flows into equal-weighted S&P 500 funds, potentially driven by concerns about concentration risk with large companies like Nvidia (8% of S&P 500) and Microsoft (close to 7%) in ETFs like SPY and VO [1][2] - Investors are seeking diversification benefits through equally weighted approaches and actively managed ETFs [3] - Actively managed equity ETFs from firms like Toro Price, Capital Group, and Fidelity offer expert management decisions on stock selection, potentially mitigating concentration risk [4] - Diversification can serve as a hedge against concentration risk, protecting against excessive run-ups in individual names [5] - One solution to overconcentration risk is an ETF that equal weights 100 names from a quality-screened universe, matching the sector weights of the S&P 500 [6] - History shows that companies riding high can decline (e.g., Kodak, IBM, GE, Lucent, Cisco), so advisors should consider pruning back gains from Nvidia and Microsoft without incurring taxes [7] Momentum Strategies - The S&P 500 momentum index is up more than 34% this year, reflecting a "risk-on" sentiment [8] - Momentum strategies, like the Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF (SPMO), focus on stocks with the strongest relative strength and have been outperforming the broader S&P 500 [9] - Momentum ETFs contain stocks beyond just technology, including consumer discretionary (Kohl's, American Eagle), financials (JP Morgan), and consumer staples (Walmart, Costco) [10] - It's crucial to understand the specific holdings and construction of momentum ETFs to ensure they align with investment goals [11] - Momentum is a factor that has historically outperformed the broader marketplace [13]