Episode summary
Can You Put Sports Into an ETF Yet? | Trillions
Trillions
· · 17 min · Hosts: Joel Weber · Guests: Athanasios Psarofagis
Summary
The episode examines a wave of sports-themed ETF filings and asks why fund issuers are trying to package betting-like exposure inside an ETF wrapper. Athanasios Psarofagis says Volatility Shares’ newest idea would create 32 NHL-linked funds, one for each team, using CME futures and official performance data, effectively turning team analysis into a tradable instrument. He frames the core pitch as stock picking translated into sports: investors would be betting on a team’s strength, not a single game.
The discussion also covers prediction market ETFs and the subversive allseason sports ETF, an actively managed product that would make sports wagers on investors’ behalf. Psarofagis says the SEC could be more skeptical of some of these structures, especially the more binary prediction-market style funds, but he thinks the CME backing makes the NHL filings more likely to get approved. He also argues that the surge reflects a more speculative market culture, where investors want narrower, higher-octane exposures and ETF issuers are willing to test the boundaries.
A recurring theme is that the ETF wrapper may not actually improve the betting experience. Psarofagis points to liquidity, off-season gaps, roll costs, and the fact that sports betting apps already offer a simpler, more immediate way to gamble. Still, he says the filings show how far the ETF industry has moved beyond broad index funds into highly targeted, sometimes absurd, products.
Key takeaways
- Athanasios Psarofagis says the NHL filings would create 32 ETFs, one per team, tied to CME futures and official performance data.
- He argues the sports ETF trend is really “stock picking” applied to teams, with investors betting on roster strength, schedules and momentum.
- Psarofagis thinks CME backing gives the NHL products a better chance of SEC approval than the more novel prediction-market filings.
- He says the main drawback is practical: ETF liquidity, off-season inactivity and futures roll costs could make the products awkward to trade.
- The episode suggests sports betting apps may already do the job better than an ETF, even if the wrapper helps issuers reach a different audience.
Notable quotes
“these new ones, basically, think about it like stock picking, but you can actually bet on an NHL team”
“I think this is just feeding that behavior”
“That one I think could probably more likelihood than the prediction markets one”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts radio news. This is basically betting on how well the team is going to do. So in a way it's like it's just like sports betting but betting on the strength of these teams. I think looking at it through the lens of like stock picking essentially you're basically just team picking here.
Welcome to Trillions. I'm Joel Weber.
I'm Aanasio Sarah Vegas. There are a bunch of new ETF filings this year that have been all about sports. And now there's even more.
There's some new research from Bloomberg Intelligence about volatility shares, which is filed for 32 funds using CME futures that will be linked to official NHL performance data. 32 funds because there are 32 teams in the NHL. Every team could potentially have its own ETF.
Hope you like hockey. But that's not all. This year, we're seeing this convergence of the sports world and the ETF universe.
One biggie to watch, prediction market ETFs, which were filed earlier this year. We've talked about them on previous episodes if you want to go deeper. One that we haven't talked about as much, another sports related ETF filing with its own unique twist, the subversive allseason sports ETF, which is an actively managed exchange traded fund that aims to basically just win a bunch of sports bets.
Nothing is actually approved yet here. These are all just filings, but clearly sports betting and prediction market apps have shown ETF issuers what can happen when you do this space. Well, the question though is also why I do this in an ETF.
Eric Baltunis is off for this episode. So, we've tapped one of our favorite ETF regulars on Trillians, Athanasios, Saraphagus. He's an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence on Eric's team.
We'll be filling in for him.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- sports themed etfs
- nhl performance etfs
- prediction market etfs
- actively managed sports betting funds
- sec approval risk
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Volatility Shares
- Bloomberg
Watch the episode
Watch “Can You Put Sports Into an ETF Yet? | Trillions” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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