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Exchange takeaways for asset managers

Exchange takeaways for asset managers
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In mid-March, the Exchange conference offered a treasure trove of takeaways for asset managers. On the opening day of the conference, the Industry Conclave program featured six sessions meant to help issuers think about all aspects of product creation and growth.

The sessions included:

  • “Investment Strategies Powered by Adaptive AI,” which featured QuantumStreet AI’s CIO Chris Natividad
  • “Message Not Received: How to Market to the Busy Unresponsive Advisor,” featuring  Independent Advisor Alliance CMO David Buzo.
  • “Tracking the ETF Flight Path: Concept to Scale,” which featured VettaFi’s Chief Revenue Officer Sebastian Jakob and Director of Research Cinthia Murphy, as well as SS&C ALPS Advisor’s Paul Baiocchi and T. Rowe Price’s Christopher Murphy. 
  • “Taking Your ETF Strategy to Europe,” which featured a panel consisting of VettaFi’s Peter Diel, HANetf’s Josh Palmer, U.S. Bank’s Tony O’Brien, and Simmons and Simmons’ James Cullinane. 
  • “ETF Trends 2026: Alpha, Income & More — Sponsored by WE,” which featured J.P. Morgan’s Julie Abbett, American Century Investments’ Cleo Chang, Fidelity Investments’ Lubna Lundy, and moderator Roxanna Islam from VettaFi.
  • “Meet the ETF Press,” which featured With Intelligence’s Jenny Grybowski, Moby’s Thorton McEnery, Ignite’s Brian Ponte, CNBC’s Natalie Zhang, Investment News’ James Rodgers, and VettaFi’s Elle Caruso Fitzgerald.

Each session explored topics relevant to asset managers looking to create successful products.

Unpacking how AI is transforming investing

AI is creating massive shifts in the investment landscape, but it is also revolutionizing how investors invest. Natividad’s session explored how adaptive AI is increasingly important for financial professionals.

The data overload challenge

One of the biggest challenges facing asset managers is data overload. There’s a ton of data available, but determining what data is pertinent is a huge obstacle. “The data is absolutely exploding,” Natividad said. “90% of all of the data that’s ever been created has been created in the last two years.” Artificial intelligence can help financial professionals quickly slice and dice large and expanding data sets.

The key to capturing alpha, according to Natividad, is “combining structured data points with unstructured data points.” LLMs and AI were barely used five years ago, and now they are widely leveraged tools. Natividad thinks they will only continue to grow more sophisticated over time. “Making sure that you are utilizing a system that is able to capture this unstructured data that’s growing is tremendously important."

Faster risk detection through AI

One immediate case for AI is risk detection. According to Natividad, AI can interpret and rapidly understand granular data which can illuminate coming market challenges. With events in the Middle East affecting markets, a host of risks could arise at any moment. AI can be leveraged to detect risk on particular securities extremely quickly. “These systematic strategies are combining that unstructured data with structured data,” he explained.

Dealing with hallucinations

Of course, every tool has its limitations. AI has been plagued by hallucinations, and even though the technology is continuing to improve, users are encouraged to double check the information to make sure it is rooted in reality. According to Natividad, it is critical to train AI well and make sure that it is used in tandem with trained financial professionals to ensure accuracy. As more advancements are made in quantum computing, Natividad anticipates a reduction of hallucinations.

Marketing to advisors

The second talk of Exchange’s Industry conclave unpacked the various ways financial institutions are failing to connect to advisors. The solutions-oriented session also covered how issuers can remedy this problem and illustrated the most common pitfalls. 

To underline the absurdity of many modern marketing campaigns, Buzo compared them to meeting someone and then immediately leaning in for a kiss. Marketers must have a profound sense for the unspoken rules and take precaution not to violate them, but to earn trust instead.

Advisors face collective changes

The key disconnect is that marketers are not thinking about who they are talking to. “The advisor count is shrinking,” Buzo noted. With less advisors to target, the advisors who are around are being inundated with marketing. There is a 32% decrease predicted between now and 2035. 

Buzo also noted that their psychographics are shifting — running yesterday’s playbook could yield worse results. In 2035, Buzo expects there to be more AI assistants and an increasing focus on personalization. “Maybe now the gatekeeper is not going to be the person answering the phone,” he said. “It’s going to be AI.”

The 5 rules

Looking at the common breakdowns between issuer marketer and financial advisor, Buzo said there were five common missteps that all have solutions.

  1. You don’t know who you’re trying to reach. Who is your client? Who is the decision maker? What are their needs? 
  2. You are reaching them the wrong way. Everyone has different behavior patterns and preferences. “The fix here is to be intentional,” Buzo said.
  3. You are asking for too much too soon. Delivering value to someone before asking them for something can be a huge help to properly connect with someone.
  4. You are leading with the solution, not the problem. Many firms are eager to push their solutions, instead of communicating the problem you can help solve.
  5. You are prioritizing volume over quality. Account-based marketing (ABM) works when you start at a client level and work your way up, rather than starting at the top of the funnel and eventually drilling down. It can be advantageous to focus on a smaller slice of the overall pie and do it well, rather than sending thousands of emails.

Being on top of these rules can help create meaningful connections and drive better results. 

The ETF flight path

Tracking the ETF Flight Path: Concept to scale” was an essential session that walked the audience through thinking about all steps in the product lifecycle before even embarking on an ETF journey. Aligning index design, product strategy, and distribution before day one can be the difference between a product that stalls out of the gate and a product that soars.

The evolving ETF market

At the top of the session, Cinthia Murphy explained that launching an ETF in 2026 is vastly different than it used to be. “Just ten years ago, there were just under 2,000 ETFs on the market. It took 24 years to get to 2,000 ETFs. It took us nine to get to 5000 ETFs.”

Anyone who wants to launch an ETF has several ways to go about it. White-labels have increased in popularity, mutual fund conversions are on the rise, and a 351 Exchange can transform an SMA into an ETF with relative ease. “In some ways, the ETF market is a bit of a paradox right now,” Baiocchi said, noting that though it’s easier than ever to launch an ETF, it’s more challenging than ever to differentiate yourself and find purchase in an increasingly crowded market. 

Good ETF ideas alone won’t cut it

“All of us in the room, we’ve all heard this story: A good idea is not good enough anymore,” Jakob said. He urged that issuers consider product, distribution, and PR in tandem ahead of product launch. “If you don’t have a distribution edge before you launch a product, you are likely going to lose.” 

Jakob underscored the value of using data to explore what investors are thinking about. “This is data that is so valuable from a product development perspective.” Understanding the appetite for a product before launch can help issuers have the right conversations and set their distribution arm up to effectively tell the product story. 

Chris Murphy articulated that, for many issuers, there is a simultaneous impulse to be patient and let a product succeed, alongside one to rush and push for success from the jump. Coming to market fast with a fresh idea is critical, but it also needs to be thoughtfully deployed and handled with care. “That patience has to be married to conviction,” he noted.

Differentiation through trust

“The way we as a company try to differentiate ourselves is by saying we don’t leave when the product is built. We try to grow the product when it is market,” Jakob said. 

Historically, index partners did most of their work prior to launch. Rebalancing is, of course, a thing that happens after launch. However, standing up the investment universe has traditionally put most of an index provider’s work early in the process. This can lead to a detachment from the product once it’s launched, even though index providers earn more as the products staked to their indices grow. 

Taking your ETF strategy to Europe

The next panel at the conclave helped illuminate the opportunities and challenges facing asset managers looking to expand into Europe. With Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) expanding rapidly, it is more important than ever for issuers to understand how to launch, manage, and trade a UCITS ETF. 

An overview of Europe

According to Diel, Europe has just passed the $3 trillion in AUM threshold. The continent saw $390 billion in inflows last year. Additionally, the number of ETF investors increased by 69%. “In the next five years, the market will explode in Europe. We’ll see double or even triple of the amount of investors,” Diel said, referring to a recent study.

“[It] feels very much like a pivot point in the industry,” O’Brien added. This pivot is largely due to the influx of retail investors. 

Accessing the European ETF market

To access the European market, issuers must overcome some legal and regulatory hurdles. Many will turn to white label platforms, like HANetf, to navigate regulatory challenges and  implement those strategies.  

According to Palmer, there are two other ways aside from white-labeling. The first one is to build your own platform. There can be challenges with this method, as it will require a great deal of ground work and mistakes are likely to happen. Another option is buying platforms. This turnkey solution has advantages, but it can be costly. “You can overpay,” Palmer noted.

Legal and regulatory

Cullinane dug into the legal and regulatory challenges, explaining that it can take four to six months to get a product approved by the central bank. “We’re constantly coming up with new ways to assist in this process,” he said, sharing that AI is deployed to track comments and see what solutions were made to similar comments. 

There are also critical decisions that issuers need to make. “The first and most important primary decision is to decide on your domicile,” Cullinane said. He shared that Ireland is the best choice as a domicile, given its generous tax laws, and he cautioned that “UCITS can be a minefield for new issuers.”

As with the ETF flight path session, the panel concurred that it is vital to think about distribution well in advance.“Where I see managers go wrong, sometimes, is they put distribution on the wrong finger,” Cullinane noted. 

The U.S. and Europe’s crosspollination of ideas and innovations

O’Brien reported that Europe and the U.S. have a rich history of sharing investment innovations. Then he cautioned that, “distribution in Europe is fundamentally different than in the United States.” Understanding the unique ways in which the European market is fragmented is important for issuers looking to find their audience.

Given the hurdles and challenges of learning about a new market environment, Palmer urged issuers to “do what you are good at” as they consider what kinds of strategies to bring abroad.

Women in ETFs explored the most important 2026 trends

The penultimate session, sponsored by Women in ETFs, focused on what the panel saw as the most important trends in 2026.

Alpha roars into the spotlight

Active ETFs are launching three times more frequently than passive ETFs, as investors look beyond simple beta. According to the panel, the "wrapper revolution" is democratizing ever more esoteric instruments like complex derivative income.

Asked about how to think about alpha for active management, Chang said it speaks to a desire investors have for products that go above and beyond. “We can all do a better job speaking to advisors and trying to achieve, and then aim to overachieve.”

Abbet added, “The conference is happening at an important time,” sharing that AI is impacting investing in huge ways, including helping to inject more juice and earn more alpha in asset management strategies. 

“Today it's about finding smarter, more consistent ways to deliver beyond traditional active management,” said Lundy. She shared that in today’s volatile market, “managing downside risk is almost more valuable than picking winning stocks.”

Mutual fund to ETF conversions to shake up the ETF space 

ETFs continue to gain popularity, outpacing mutual funds at a surprising rate. “There can be some meaningful benefits for clients. The best way I heard it described was as a slow-moving avalanche,” Lundy said. Despite everything else happening in the market, the big pivot towards ETFs might be one of the most important stories of 2026.

Abbott offered that “it forces traditional active managers to look at the ETF wrapper.”

Digital assets a key 2026 ETF story

Digital assets continue to make headway, and the panel sees that trend as likely to persist. Lundy noted that there is a huge demand for more digital asset diversification, which could lead to more investors accessing digital assets beyond bitcoin and etherium. 

Covered calls and defined outcomes

Abbott touched on covered calls and defined outcome ETFs, noting that investors are very focused on yields, sometimes even at the expense of total return. “I think these strategies are discovering unique ways to get income.” These products are popular, but Abbott cautioned that investors need to think about what they are actually looking for in their portfolios.

Thematics

Islam noted that “fairweather fans” exist in some crypto and thematic strategies. These investors will jump in as the market is going up but are quick to abandon products when the market turns sour.

“The challenge is volatility,” Lundy said. High-beta investments in emerging technologies like AI and other industries are interesting to advisors, but they tend to be more satellite than core positions. “The ETF wrapper has made it easier to implement these strategies,” Ludy explained. “These strategies require thoughtful positioning and risk management.”

Product differentiation remains top of mind

With 1000 products launched in 2025 and 300 new issuers, standing out is more challenging than ever. “There are more ETFs than publicly listed stocks,” Lundy said. ”In such a crowded space, [advisors] are looking for brands they can trust.”

Abbott noted that “performance is going to be a key differentiator.”

AI uncertainty and geopolitical stress

The markets in 2026 have been marked by uncertainty on a number of fronts. AI threatens to crack, but Lundy noted that it hasn’t yet. “I do think there is a broadening of market leadership happening in the markets.” The picture is further complicated by ongoing geopolitical tensions, which add some degree of uncertainty and chaos into the market environment.

Chang offered that “the way we think about 2026 and beyond is really simple: keep doing the things we do.” She stressed delivering on your promises and never surprising clients. “That’s one of the most important things for asset managers — to be very clear and stick to your knitting.”

ETF press takes the spotlight

The final panel of the industry conclave focused on the ETF media. As issuers try to help their products stand out, media coverage can be a differentiator. Knowing what the press is looking for and why they choose to cover one product launch over another is vital. 

Chase Kosinski, account executive at Craft & Capital, moderated the panel, which unpacked how the ETF media thinks about approaching stories.

What determines coverage?

The panel featured a host of different responses to the fundamental question of what determines coverage, speaking to the diversity of the media ecosystem. Ponte shared, “A lot of times it comes down to interest, it comes down to buzz.”

According to Grybowski, With Intelligence considers both their own ability to contextualize and whether or not it is proprietary. If others aren’t covering it, it's an interesting opportunity that can help their outlet stand out and fill in a niche. If everyone else is already chasing the story, it could be less compelling.

Rodgers noted that timing also matters, as there are breaking daily stories that have to be juggled against other things. If you launch happens on a busy news day, it could be buried.

In media, no rest

For some outlets, coverage has utility beyond simply sharing the story. Caruso Fitzgerald noted that VettaFi, as a differentiated index provider with a media arm, leverages their data to determine what investors are interested in. She also articulated an awareness of today’s unique media environment. “There is such fragmentation in the ways that people are getting their news today. We want to meet them where they are.”

The panel concurred, with Zhang saying social media is more important than ever, and that many investors get their news from what’s trending rather than seeking it out on a particular website.

AI and media

AI remained a hot-button topic, even in the media panel, where Rodgers said, “On one hand, it's the biggest existential threat to journalism as we know. On the other hand, it's a tool we have to use.” He doubled down on the importance of having "a human touch,” noting that nobody is interested in reading something that hasn’t touched human hands.

Grybowski noted that With Intelligence uses the tool to sort through filings, adding that, “journalists are becoming more data gatherers.”

GEO and AEO are also leaving a mark and determining how outlets think about presenting stories. “Creating data driven stories with a lot of numbers are more likely to be picked up by AI and used in their responses,” Caruso Fitzgerald added. 

Filings vs. Launches

Filings tend to generate more coverage than launches, despite not being actionable for readers. Additionally, for PR, SEC regulations mean that issuers can’t discuss filings, but they can discuss launches. Grybowski shared that, “none of us are out for a gotcha moment. We’re all very aware of the quiet period.”

Some outlets push against the norm and prefer to cover launches over filings. “Our audience is financial advisors and investors, and we find that announcing new funds is most effective on launch day — not before,” Fitzgerald Caruso said. "Waiting for launches helps ETF Trends inform how a particular fund that is currently investable can help investors overcome a problem."

Closing thoughts

As issuers build the innovative products and solutions of tomorrow, Exchange’s industry conclave highlighted the importance of thorough research, preparation, and strategy. With the ETF space becoming increasingly crowded, the products that rise to the top will be the ones that take the time and spend the energy to position themselves for success.

Some key takeaways included:

  • Have a plan for how you will navigate the data overload.
  • When you market to investors, ensure that you are meeting them where they are at and solving their actual problems — not simply pushing a product.
  • As you plan a launch, ensure you have the right partners to help you set your distribution up for success.
  • Take advantage of expanding markets, but make sure you have a plan and that you don’t lose sight of what your firm does best.
  • Keep an eye on the stories driving the market and make sure you are prepared for how investors could react to your product.
  • Build products with a plan for how you want them to be covered by the ETF media.

Interested in learning more about how you can help increase your product’s chance of success? Talk to our team.

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