Episode summary
New ETFs to Watch: MANGOS, Tax Tricks and Boring Bitcoin | Trillions
Trillions
· · 19 min · Hosts: Joel Weber, Eric Balchunas · Guests: Isabelle Lee
Summary
The hosts and Bloomberg News cross-asset reporter Isabelle Lee walked through three ETF launches that point to bigger trends in the market: tax deferral, private-asset access, and the limits of packaging already volatile assets in a hedged wrapper. The biggest asset gatherer was the Investment House ETF, TIH, which Eric Balchunas said is structured as a 351 conversion, letting wealthy holders move appreciated stock into an ETF and defer taxes rather than triggering gains. Lee framed the strategy as a growing but still controversial business, with products that look ordinary on the surface but are built around tax planning.
The second theme was the Yorkville America MANGOS Plus Index ETF, ticker FRUT, a new AI-themed basket built around Meta, Nvidia, Google/Alphabet, OpenAI and SpaceX. Because two of those names are private, the episode focused on how ETFs may use special purpose vehicles to gain exposure before listings, and on whether a catchy acronym can turn into a durable branding trend. The hosts also discussed the Aura AI Photonix ETF, PHOX, as an example of how crowded the launch market has become.
Their final pick, HBIT, a hedged Bitcoin ETF, drew the most skepticism. Balchunas argued that Bitcoin buyers generally want pure upside and volatility, not a buffer, and said dynamic hedging strategies are hard to time and unlikely to attract much money.
Key takeaways
- Eric Balchunas said TIH is a 351 conversion product, showing how ETFs are increasingly being used for tax deferral rather than plain market exposure.
- Isabelle Lee said the tax-deferral trend is becoming a bigger business, with ETF architects and wealthy families using products that look like broad equity funds.
- The MANGOS ETF, ticker FRUT, tries to package the next wave of AI winners, but the inclusion of private names like OpenAI and SpaceX raises structure questions.
- Balchunas said HBIT is unlikely to catch on because Bitcoin investors usually want the full volatility, not a hedged version.
- The hosts argued that crowded launch activity means branding and ticker appeal matter more, but long-term flows still depend on whether the ETF solves a real investor problem.
Notable quotes
“there was six or seven launching a day this year. That's the pace we're at. It's mind-numbing and I can't keep up with them”
“Now, there's a way to work with an ETF issuer to diversify your portfolio and move those stocks into a diversified ETF and defer your tax on that”
“How many does Mango mean again? Mango stands for Metaanthropic, Nvidia, Google/Alphabet, OpenAI and SpaceX”
“the real one is the hedge hedged Bitcoin ETF, Hbit. The reason I picked this one is because it's again very late in the Bitcoin launching”
How the episode opens
Bloomberg Audio Studios podcasts radio news. Ah, — It's tough. You know, it's tough to be that small trying to come in on something where like the sixth or seventh photonics, but I do like the name aura. Um, this is something well cuz my 15-year-old loves using that world word all the time. I apparently have negative aura, but that's a whole another story. Welcome to Trillions. I'm Joel Wetter
And I'm Eric Baltunis. — Eric, you know what? The world does not have enough of — Restaurants that have kitty play centers. — Not expecting that. — Isn't it crazy? There's not more of those. — They took them out. — Chick-fil-A has one. That's why it's so
Used to have them. They don't have them anymore. Burger King all gone. — But yeah, need more of those. — Uh I was going to say exchange traded funds. — Okay, — That too. — There's thousands of them. Thousands. — No, there's too many honestly. But in August, there's been 128 new launches last month. We need more.
Yeah, there was six or seven launching a day this year. That's the pace we're at. It's mind-numbing and I can't keep up with them. But yeah, it it's pouring right now. — But we're back with new ones to watch because there's always some gyms out there. Yep. And joining us to walk through our three new ETFs to watch, Isabelle Lee, cross asset reporter at Bloomberg News. Welcome back, Isbel.
Thank you. Excited to be here as always. — This time on Trillians, new ETFs to watch. Okay, Eric, what's our big hit this episode? — So, I just sort them by assets and I look, okay, what was the one with the most asset so far this month?
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- new etfs
- ai investing
- tax deferral
- bitcoin hedging
- wealth planning
Companies and tickers mentioned
- TIH
- FRUT
- HBIT
- Investment House ETF
- Yorkville America MANGOS Plus Index ETF
- Bitcoin hedged ETF (HBIT)
- Bloomberg
Watch the episode
Watch “New ETFs to Watch: MANGOS, Tax Tricks and Boring Bitcoin | 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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