What a year it has been. Whenever I retire I will surely look back on 2024 fondly.
The biggest news arguably was the launch in January of the first U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs. Thanks to Grayscale’s successful lawsuit victory in 2023, the firm and many others began offering exchange-based direct exposure to cryptocucrrency. Fast-forward, and the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has more than $50 billion in assets in under a year. There has never been a more successful first year for any ETF. Meanwhile, even the eighth- and ninth-most popular spot bitcoin ETFs each have close to $1 billion in assets.
Exchange Conference Brings the Community Together
However, the year really kicked into gear for me with the Exchange conference, at which VettaFi hosted approximately 1,900 people. The advisor community and many in the ETF industry gathered to share insights, network, and get a closing session surprise. That’s me dressed up as Elvis helping our team announce that the Exchange 2025 conference was going to be in Las Vegas.
If you have not registered yet, you should. The agenda looks great, and there’s going to be a lot of time for advisors to connect with one another.
Celebrating the ETF Industry in New York & Toronto
I live and work in New York City. This, along with VettaFi’s partnerships within the ETF industry, has allowed me to join many an ETF celebration in 2024. Many of these have occurred at the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
For example, I joined Vanguard in March 2024 to celebrate their then-recently launched active fixed income ETFs on the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, I was on hand in August when BlackRock rang the closing bell at the NYSE for the BlackRock Flexible Income ETF (BINC), which has gathered assets steadily in 2024. I even got to celebrate fixed income ETFs in Canada at TMX headquarters in Toronto. Overall, I attended more than 20 stock exchange bell ceremonies in celebration of ETFs.
Record Year for ETFs
The year will also be remembered as the first time the U.S. industry crossed the $1 trillion mark for net inflows, setting a new milestone. The success in 2024 will help spur growth for years to come. In the U.S., fixed income ETFs gathered a record $300 billion of new money as of mid-December.
We also have seen strong demand for actively managed ETFs in 2024. Advisors have increasingly turned to professionals to help navigate the markets.
A Growing, Successful Team
In 2024, my professional role also shifted. During the first half of 2024, VettaFi hired two excellent VettaFi Voices — Kirsten Chang and Cinthia Murphy — to work on my ETF research team with Roxanna Islam. In addition to writing daily expert insights pieces, the four of us helped VettaFi host more than 150 virtual events in 2024. In October, VettaFi proudly earned its third straight ETF Express award for “Best Research.”
Meanwhile, when a colleague departed over the summer, I assumed a leadership role working with an experienced and passionate editorial team. The daily discussions about ETF trends and content generation ideas has been exhilarating. VettaFi has a great team of writers, editors, and content curators.
I hope you had a 2024 worth remembering. I can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store for us all.
For more news, information, and analysis, visit VettaFi | ETF Trends.