Episode summary
ETFs to Watch: POETs, HALOs and Corgis | Trillions
Trillions
· · Hosts: Eric Balchunas, Joel Weber · Guests: Isabelle Lee
Summary
The episode focuses on how fast the ETF market is still expanding: Isabelle Lee says May has already seen 104 launches and that the year is on pace for about 1,300 launches, with assets in the industry around $750 billion and still climbing. The hosts frame that growth as evidence that the “fish are biting” and that issuers are rushing out ever more niche products to capture trading demand.
The biggest example is Defiance Daily Target 2X Long Poet ETF, ticker POEL, which the hosts say has been out only 15 days and is already up 261%. Isabelle Lee argues that leveraged single-stock ETFs now work best when they hit the market at the right moment, and that traders are chasing 2x exposure to obscure or “quantum semi” names just as eagerly as they once chased Nvidia or Tesla. She also notes a fast-moving pattern around IPOs, pointing to a 2x Cerebrus product that launched just 24 hours after the IPO.
The conversation also spotlights Corgi’s Lithography and Semi Photonic ETF, ticker EUV, which Isabelle Lee says is part of a record 34-theme launch day and has already gathered $89 million. A third niche product, Hexis Active Nicotine Engagement ETF, ticker NICO, gets a skeptical reaction despite the hosts noting that nicotine stocks have historically performed well. As an honorable mention, they discuss Roundhill Halo ETF, ticker LOHA, a “real world assets” fund aimed at transportation, oil and gas, electrical equipment, metals and mining, chemicals, and machinery.
Key takeaways
- Isabelle Lee says ETF launches are running at 104 in May so far and could reach about 1,300 for the year, with industry assets around $750 billion.
- The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long Poet ETF, ticker POEL, is already up 261% after 15 days, showing strong demand for leveraged niche-stock exposure.
- Lee says the 2x Cerebrus ETF launched just 24 hours after the IPO, illustrating how quickly issuers are now reacting to new listings.
- Corgi’s Lithography and Semi Photonic ETF, ticker EUV, has already pulled in $89 million, despite being one of dozens of themed products from a new issuer.
- Hexis Active Nicotine Engagement ETF, ticker NICO, is viewed as a highly speculative niche play even though the hosts note nicotine stocks can perform well.
- Roundhill Halo ETF, ticker LOHA, targets “real stuff” sectors like transportation, oil and gas, and metals and mining as an AI-resistant contrast play.
Notable quotes
“So, of May launches, by the way, there's been 104 launches”
“This ETF is at the time I'm telling you this is 15 days old. It's up 261%”
“What it basically means, it's like real stuff”
“I think that came from City. So it raises a question of are these actually helpful”
“It's 70 basis points. It's active, and Hexus isn't a big name”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts, radio, news. — Welcome to Trillions. I'm Joel Weber. — And I'm Eric Balchunas. — We're back with another special episode. We started doing these more frequently. This time we're going to do ETFs to watch. Joining us again is Belle Lee, who's a cross-asset reporter with Bloomberg News. What is the big hit?
The big hit. So, of May launches, by the way, there's been 104 launches. — That's a lot. — It's probably heading to about 120. That's about five or six a day. So, — Are we going to break the record this year?
Yeah. Yeah, probably about 1,300. — And we're going to — That's prediction market-style bet right there. — Yeah. — Okay. — Going to break triple crown, too. That was your prediction, right?
The flow record cuz they're at 750 billion now. That's halfway to the record last year and it's still May. So, yeah, probably another triple crown, but the the flow record, by the way, is why the launch record will be broken.
The fish are biting and so there's just more people throwing lines in the water. Anyway, the number one by assets, so the big launch, we're basically quantitative we're determining this by the new launch this month with the most assets is a shocker. It's the Defiance Daily Target 2X Long Poet ETF.
Poet? — Yeah, poet like Longfellow. — Ticker is — It doesn't go long poets. That wouldn't make much money cuz there's not a lot of indus- you know, that that industry is roughed up. — This is a shocker. The ticker is p o e l. I guess p o e t is taken. Why wouldn't you just do p o e t? Oh, maybe the stock is taken.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- etf launches
- thematic etfs
- leveraged ipos
- reddit skepticism
- real world assets
Companies and tickers mentioned
- POEL
- EUV
- NICO
- LOHA
- Defiance
- Corgi
- Hexis
- Roundhill
Watch the episode
Watch “ETFs to Watch: POETs, HALOs and Corgis | Trillions” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
More from Trillions
-
Quit Your Job, Live Off an ETF? | Trillions -
Godzilla vs. King Kong, Degen Dip-Buyers and Anthropic | Trillions -
The ETF Graveyard: This Has Been a Record Year for Closures | Trillions -
New ETFs to Watch: A $2.5 Billion Launch, Anthropic and S&P 10,000, Anyone? | Trillions -
Wall Street’s Plan to Make Sports an Investable Asset | Trillions -
Can Corgi Become the Walmart of ETFs? | Trillions
Trillions, this episode and its artwork belong to Bloomberg. Octagon is not affiliated with the show; this page is an independent summary.
