Episode summary
Astoria’s 10 ETFs for 2026 and Vanguard’s Approach to Active Equity ETFs
ETF Prime
· · 48 min · Hosts: Nate Geraci, Simeon Hyman · Guests: John Davi, Ryan Barksdale, Kim Gailun
Summary
John Davi argued that 2026 favors a broader, more diversified portfolio than a pure U.S. large-cap growth bet. He said Astoria is constructive because of tax cuts, tariff cuts, and expected Fed rate cuts, but he also warned that stocks are showing bubble-like behavior and that investors should rotate into areas like international equities, mid-caps, financials, industrials, and utilities rather than stay concentrated in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-style mega-cap exposures.
He highlighted several implementation ideas from Astoria’s 10 ETFs for 2026, including ACWX for international stocks, PYLD for more active fixed income management, ALLW for Bridgewater-style risk allocation, CAIE for structured income, BITW for Bitcoin exposure, and HCOM for commodities. Across those picks, his core theme was that inflation remains sticky, the dollar may weaken, and investors need tools that better protect purchasing power and manage nonlinear risk.
The second half of the episode shifted to Vanguard’s first active equity ETFs, launched in November in partnership with Wellington Management: VSV, VUSG, and VDIG. Ryan Barksdale said the launch is a natural extension of Vanguard’s active ETF capabilities and its long Wellington relationship, while Kim Gailun emphasized Wellington’s philosophy-led process and the importance of enduring edge. Both said the new products are meant to give investors core building blocks in a low-cost, transparent, tax-efficient ETF wrapper.
Key takeaways
- John Davi expects 2026 to reward diversification away from the U.S. mega-cap complex and toward international equities, mid-caps, and selective cyclical sectors.
- Astoria’s ETF list is meant as 6- to 12-month satellite ideas, not short-term trades, and the firm says it never goes to cash.
- Davi said fixed income needs more active management because rate and credit risk are nonlinear, which is why he likes PYLD and other idiosyncratic bond exposures.
- Davi views weak-dollar conditions as supportive for international stocks, gold, emerging markets, and developed markets, citing ACWX as a core expression of that view.
- Vanguard and Wellington framed VSV, VUSG, and VDIG as core active equity building blocks designed to bring proven mutual fund-style strategies into an ETF wrapper.
Notable quotes
“this is a pretty good cocktail for for owning stocks”
“we are constructive. There's really sort of three reasons. One is tax cuts, tariff cuts is second, and then um uh you know, rate cuts”
“international stocks by nature tend to be more cyclicals like industrials, more financials. They are more rate sensitive”
“you know, we just think that Pimpkco's got a deep, you know, ex credit expertise, deep bench, you know, they can sort of manage that risk, you know, very very well”
“the ETF is not magic in terms of delivering alpha”
How the episode opens
You know, I think the Fed does cut rates another, you know, 50 75 basis points. So, we already cut close to 200 basis points in the last two years. So, this is a pretty good cocktail for for owning stocks.
All right. Joining me will be John Dobby, founder and chief investment officer at Atoria Portfolio Advisors, who every year Atoria publishes a list of 10 ETFs they're tracking heading into the new year. And I love this list because they're essentially trying to identify what they think will be key themes in the financial markets every year and then they're providing real actionable ways to play these themes.
And so John and I are going to walk through a number of the ETFs on this list for 2026 and he'll give us his rationale for each of these. And if you haven't heard John before, I'll tell you he's always such a breath of fresh air because he's not afraid to put himself out there and actually operate with some conviction. I feel like he always calls it like he sees it, which I certainly appreciate.
So, in any event, he'll join me uh momentarily to walk through those ETFs for 2026. And then later, I will be joined by both Ryan Barkstdale, who is head of active equity product at Vanguard, and Kim Galen, who is head of equity boutiques at Wellington Management. So, back in November, Vanguard actually launched its first active equity ETFs.
There are three of these ETFs in all. These are all in collaboration with Wellington management. And I think this will be an interesting conversation because we're going to discuss this longstanding relationship between Vanguard and Wellington.
Uh we'll then get into how Vanguard is approaching actively managed ETFs overall and how they're attempting to meet investor needs and expectations in this category.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- etfs 2026
- active equity etfs
- vanguard partnership
- equity boutique strategy
- etf product launch
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Astoria Portfolio Advisors
- Vanguard
- Wellington Management
Watch the episode
Watch “Astoria’s 10 ETFs for 2026 and Vanguard’s Approach to Active Equity ETFs” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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