Episode summary
Autism Impact Investing, Quantum ETF, and Dynamic Allocation
ETF Prime
· · 51 min · Guests: Sylvia Jablonski, Wayne Penello
Summary
Defiance ETFs used the show to frame two very different thematic products: the new Defiance Autism Impact ETF (ASD) and the much larger Defiance Quantum ETF (QTUM). The host said ASD is the first autism-focused ETF and is designed to own companies involved in therapies, diagnostics, educational tools, behavioral support, digital health, and assistive technologies tied to autism and related neurodevelopmental needs. The guest said the launch is personal to the firm and that the ETF will donate 100% of net profits in its first two years to autism-focused nonprofits, then at least 50% of annual net profits after that.
The guest also argued that autism-related drug development, AI, and biotech investment could create a new wave of specialized public-market opportunities, even though the current investable universe is limited. She described QTUM as one of Defiance’s biggest successes, with assets close to $6 billion and gains of roughly 40% to 45% this year and more than 80% over the past year. Her case was that quantum computing is still early but increasingly commercial, with use cases in drug discovery, defense, cryptography, and financial services, and that a diversified quantum ETF can balance pure-play names with larger firms such as Nvidia, IBM, and hyperscalers.
Later, NextGen EMP discussed EMPB, a long/short ETF built around a proprietary algorithm that shifts among U.S. sectors and asset classes. The guest said he built the strategy after concluding that investors need risk managed at the portfolio level, not just through diversification, and he emphasized that the fund uses monthly rebalancing, short exposure through ETFs, and cash from shorts to help offset fees. He said the goal is to target a market-competitive return with a much smaller drawdown profile than the S&P 500.
Key takeaways
- Defiance says ASD is the first autism-focused ETF and will donate 100% of net profits in its first two years to autism charities, then at least 50% thereafter.
- The guest said QTUM’s appeal is that it combines pure-play quantum names with larger companies like Nvidia and IBM to reduce single-stock risk in an early-stage theme.
- The host said QTUM is now close to $6 billion in assets and has gained about 40% to 45% this year and over 80% over the past year.
- NextGen EMP’s EMPB uses a rules-based long/short process, with the guest saying the strategy is designed to seek roughly market-like returns with materially smaller drawdowns.
- The guest said the ETF wrapper matters because it lets ordinary investors access a risk-managed allocation strategy without requiring a hedge-fund minimum.
Notable quotes
“we donate 100% of the the the profits to um autism related charities and stuff too”
“I think this is like an early stage, you know, tech tech play, right? This is going to be the future of pharma”
“I would rather have exposure to a quantum ETF than kind of a class classic tech fund”
“our algorithm is right about twothirds of the time. and um and when it and overall it it creates about 1% alpha a month”
“So, we basically we we're the head coach of a Super Bowl team with some of the most premier players in the industry”
How the episode opens
The only free lunch is a diversified portfolio. All right, joining me will be Sylvia Jablonsky, chief investment officer of Defiance ETFs, who just last week they launched the very first autism focused ETF. It's the Defiance Autism Impact ETF.
The ticker symbol is ASD. And as you might gather, this ETF is designed to provide exposure to companies developing therapies, diagnostics, technologies, etc. that help support individuals with autism along with their families.
And so we are going to talk about that ETF and the motivation behind launching this, which there is a personal connection to this at Defiance. So, Sylvia will give us the backstory on that and we'll of course get into the construction of the ETF itself. And then from there, we will completely switch gears and spotlight the Defiance Quantum ETF, ticker QTUM, which has been absolutely on fire this year.
It's now close to $6 billion in assets. It's up about 40 45% this year, over 80% uh over the past year. And so Sylvia will give us a rundown on what's been going on across that space.
Now later I'll be joined by Wayne Panel, founder and CEO of NextGen EMP, who is behind the efficient market portfolio plus ETF, ticker EMPB. This is a long short strategy where they are using a proprietary algorithm to determine which asset classes or sectors of the US market are likely to outperform along with areas they believe are likely to underperform and this ETF holds other ETFs to get exposure including inverse ETFs. So, we'll dive fairly deeply into that strategy, which I should note, this is actively managed.
And so, we'll talk about the algorithm, how much active discretion there is within this strategy. And I'm also curious to hear what the current holdings are telling Wayne about the markets right now.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- autism impact investing
- quantum etf
- dynamic allocation
- long short strategy
- etf product innovation
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Defiance ETFs
- NextGen EMP
Watch the episode
Watch “Autism Impact Investing, Quantum ETF, and Dynamic Allocation” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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