Episode summary
From AI to Healthcare Inflation: A New Wave of ETFs
ETF Prime
· · Guests: Kirsten Chang, Adam Schenck
Summary
The episode covers a fast-moving batch of new ETF launches, with the host and an analyst focusing on AI infrastructure, memory, rare earths, space, crypto, factor investing, and buffered products. The discussion argues that ETF innovation is becoming more granular: instead of broad thematic exposure, issuers are now packaging narrower bets on the power grid, data centers, semiconductor memory, and supply chains tied to AI and space commercialization.
The first segment also highlights how crowded the launch pipeline has become, with nearly 370 new ETFs this year and strong early flows into products like the ProShares Genius Money Market ETF, the Roundhill Memory ETF, and several crypto and space-themed funds. The analyst said the regulatory environment is especially favorable for crypto ETFs, while the host questioned whether smaller tokens will draw enough advisor demand.
The second half turns to the Milliman Healthcare Inflation Guard ETF (MHIG) and Milliman Healthcare Inflation Plus ETF (MHIP), two first-of-their-kind funds built to track healthcare inflation using claims data, equities, gold, and Treasuries. The guest argued that healthcare costs are rising faster than general inflation and that investors need a dedicated sleeve to help save for retirement health expenses.
Key takeaways
- The host said nearly 370 ETFs have launched this year, underscoring how crowded and competitive the product pipeline has become.
- Kirsten Chang argued that AI investing is moving from broad semiconductor exposure to narrower plays on power, cooling, and memory bottlenecks.
- The analyst said crypto ETF launches are being driven by the friendliest regulatory backdrop for digital assets and by issuer demand to secure first-mover positions.
- Adam Shank said Milliman built MHIG and MHIP to target healthcare inflation directly, using claims data to inform a monthly portfolio process.
- Shank said MHIP is designed to target roughly 200 basis points above the current healthcare inflation trend, while MHIG aims to track that trend more closely.
Notable quotes
“the engine of ETF innovation is alive and well”
“the bottleneck of the AI buildout has shifted from chips and memory shortages to power and energy infrastructure”
“this is the friendliest regulatory environment we've seen for digital assets”
“we wanted to create these these products because we see that our clients are experiencing, uh, you know, the the, um, cost pressures of covering health care”
How the episode opens
Uh, look, I think right now any issuer interested in putting out a crypto product is going to do it because this is the friendliest regulatory environment we've seen for digital assets. You know, now's the time to throw everything at the dart board and see what sticks. I think there what something like 150 crypto ETF filings out there.
Is that right? All right. Joining me will be Adam Shank, principal and managing director at Milleman Financial Risk Management, who just a couple of weeks ago, they entered the ETF space by launching two firstofkind ETFs.
These hadn't existed before, the Millin Healthcare Inflation Guard ETF, ticker MHIG, and the Millin Healthcare Inflation Plus ETF, ticker MHIP. And in a nutshell, these are obviously designed to help solve for rising health care costs, which we all know health care costs have risen much faster than the general rate of inflation. Now, Millleman, if you're not familiar, this is a global consulting and actuarial firm that works with 24 of the 25 largest commercial insurers.
They also serve as actuary for a large number of state Medicaid plans and they have the majority of Medicare advantage plans as clients. So they clearly know the health care space. And then within that is Milleman Financial Risk Management or Millin FRM as they're referred to and they advise on approximately $242 billion in assets including some 30 billion in ETF assets.
I would say primarily buffer ETFs. So the asset management side is where these new ETFs reside and Adam is going to introduce us to these two new ETFs and we'll talk much more about the healthc care affordability dilemma overall. Now to start this week I'll be joined by Kirsten Chang, senior industry analyst at Vetify.
And speaking of new ETFs, we're actually going to look at several recent launches that have caught our attention.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- ai etf launches
- healthcare inflation
- healthcare affordability
- crypto etf
- space etf
Companies and tickers mentioned
- VettaFi
- Milliman
Watch the episode
Watch “From AI to Healthcare Inflation: A New Wave of 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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ETF Prime, this episode and its artwork belong to Nate Geraci. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
