| | Good morning and happy New Year's Eve. ETF record exhaustion is not a recognized medical condition. But here at ETF Upside, we are all too familiar with it. Conditions include blurry visions of upward pointing arrows and SEC filings haunting us in our dreams. This past year, even more so than others before it, set a dizzying pace for new products and asset levels. We did our best to keep up. More about that below, as well as a look at the ETFs financial advisors have favored in 2025. Let's get to it. | | | | | | | | For all things ETF, there's no time like the present. There have been an astounding 1,000-plus ETF launches in the US this year. About $1.25 trillion flowed into those funds year to date through November, putting sales on track to surpass $1.4 trillion for the year. And assets are now well over $13 trillion. All of those, if it's not obvious, are records. It's been a popcorn-worthy event. While there have been plenty of bread-and-butter funds coming to the market (large blend, large value, etc.) there have been far more niche products that increasingly are pushing boundaries. In the Doge House If there's a new fund that sums up 2025's ETF trends, it might as well be the 21Shares 2X Long Dogecoin ETF (TXXD). That checks several boxes: It's focused on a single asset; it's crypto; and it's leveraged. And of course it's built around the quintessential memecoin. That fund is tied with the Roundhill MSTR WeeklyPay ETF (MSTW) as the unenviable winner of Morningstar's worst ETF of the year. After just a month of trading, TXXD is down 35%, Morningstar's Bryan Armour wrote this month. "It simply holds Dogecoin futures and cash collateral yet charges a high fee of 1.89%," he said. "Nothing sticks it to the man like high intermediary fees." With the year closing out, here are some of the highlights in ETF launches and flows: - About half of all ETFs debuting in 2025 were single-stock focused, crypto, derivative income or defined outcome strategies, per Morningstar.
- Of the more than 1,000 launches, 213 were leveraged equity, 96 were derivative income, 83 were defined outcome and 70 were digital assets, the report noted.
- Thematic funds have also seen significant growth, taking in $19 billion during the first three quarters of the year, with 332 such ETFs on the market.
- With so many new products hitting the market and an increasing number in the registration process, it's possible that many could fail to attract sufficient assets in the near term, leading to a wave of closures within several years.
  There Are Actually Some Limits: The SEC has been friendlier to asset managers this year than during the Biden administration, but that didn't mean it let anything and everything fly. After a raft of fund companies filed for 3X leveraged and even 5X leveraged ETFs (mostly focused on single securities), the regulator put a halt to those at the beginning of December, stating that it was concerned about anything offering more than 200% leverage. At least we know what's on some ETF issuers' wish lists for next year. Written by Emile Hallez | | | | | | Many investors are increasingly turning to Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) for access to a variety of diversified exposures; in doing so benefiting from the transparency, tax efficiency and lower cost that ETFs provide. Goldman Sachs Asset Management offers actively managed options strategy ETFs that seek to meet the needs of investors. GPIX and GPIQ provide differentiated access combining diversified index exposure with an actively managed options strategy may offer lower volatility and a high level of consistent income. The Goldman Sachs Active ETFs give you access to decades of expertise and a relentless drive to help your clients achieve their desired outcomes. Learn more about the Goldman Sachs Premium Income ETFs.  | | | | | If this year made anything clear, it's that advisors are crazy about ETFs. ETFs have become a staple in advisors' portfolios, so it's worth taking a look at what performed especially well this year and what next year might bring. AI strategies and crypto stood out, as well as defense tech and fixed-income products. All in all, there were 168 ETFs with more than 90% growth this year in terms of advisor adoption, according to AdvizorPro data specifically compiled for ETF Upside. The research highlighted the appeal of ETFs' tax efficiency, but also that issuers still have plenty of work to do to hold advisors' attention. "While [advisors] overall are comfortable with ETFs, an ETF issuer cannot just create an offering and then presume it will naturally grow an investor base," said Hesom Parhizkar, cofounder of AdvizorPro. Cream of the ETF Crop Two of the top five ETFs in terms of RIA adoption this year track artificial intelligence and crypto, specifically Ethereum. Funds focused on fixed income and high-income opportunities outperformed as well, Parhizkar said. "When you reflect on that, given that AI has only recently permeated people's everyday consciousness and similarly with crypto, that says a lot about investors' desire to be engaged in these areas and the market's adoption of these investments," Parhizkar said. A defense ETF in the top five also shows that this was a key part of strategies this year, as conflicts roiled in Europe and the Middle East. Performance among the top five strategies, however, was mixed as of the early market close on Dec. 30: - The iShares AI Innovation and Tech Active ETF (BAI) ended the year up 23%.
- The Global X Defense Tech ETF (SHLD) increased 75% this year.
- The iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) lost 15%.
- The NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF (QQQI) finished the year up 4%.
- The BondBloxx Bloomberg 10 Yr Tgt Duration US Trsy ETF (XTEN) returned 3%.
Other products that topped advisors' wish list included Fundstrat's Granny Shots ETF (GRNY), which uses research to pick stocks themes that the company has identified as market drivers; VanEck's Uranium and Nuclear ET (NLR), which tracks nuclear energy companies; and Defiance's Quantum ETF (QTUM), which follows quantum computing stocks.
Not So Fast. Still, there were 325 ETFs that did not see any increased adoption from the fourth quarter of 2024 through the third quarter of 2025, according to Parhizkar. That's about 8% of the 4,000 ETFs AdvizorPro tracks. "Targeted and effective marketing to asset managers and firms is still very much required to ensure ETFs don't fall to the bottom of the list," Parhizkar said. "Four percent of ETFs saw 90% [or more] growth in adoption compared to double that literally seeing no increase in adoption whatsoever — that's also quite telling." Written by Lilly Riddle | | | | | | | | | Artificial intelligence was definitely the word on the street in 2025. As AI capabilities continue to improve, advisors are inevitably going to have to grapple with it (if they haven't already) and put it to use in their practices. Notetaking apps and marketing material generators are already reshaping client communications, not to mention those bots that claim to pick stocks, meaning advisors will need to understand how the technology will evolve in the new year and how they can leverage it to their advantage. "What are those client moments that I can elevate because I was smarter, because of AI?" said Dan Zitting, CEO of Nitrogen. "Can I create more of those catalyst moments, more of those times where the client's eyes light up because I said something impactful?" New AI Heights Chatbots, as well as the resulting deployment of company-specific LLMs, are expected to take center stage next year, said Patrick Hunt, CEO of Smartria, a compliance software company. If firms don't provide advisors with the tools they're already using, they will "BYOAI," or "bring your own AI," he said. But the SEC's lack of overarching guidelines when it comes to AI's deployment could become problematic. "It's incumbent upon advisory firms to arm their employees with the latest and greatest AI tools that have been properly vetted for data security, bias and other challenges," he said. Still, policy gaps haven't stopped advisors. According to a recent Advisor360° survey: - In 2025, 85% of advisors referred to generative AI as a "help" to their practice, up from 64% in 2024.
- Just 8% of advisors called AI a "threat" in 2025, a significant drop from 21% in 2024.
A Personal Touch: For advisors, most of 2025 was dedicated to learning to use AI tools, primarily in their chatbot form, Zitting said. But next year, they'll start to use them in more specific ways, as targeted tools get approved by their RIA or broker-dealer. Chatbots are expected to improve client relations, synthesize meetings and open up planning options that advisors may not have noticed. "Historically, I would have gone back to my notes and thought about: 'Okay, remind me. Where are these clients' kids, what's their situation?'" Zitting said, adding that AI can do that while also suggesting next best actions. "If AI can help me do all of that more quickly … I am, as the advisor, better prepared to show up and create those connections." Written by Lilly Riddle | | | | | - Safety Net. The rise of the buffer ETF.
- Mind the Gap. Why ETF investors persistently miss 1%-2% of potential returns.
- It's Part of the Game. Matt Tuttle on closing ETFs and looking to the stars.
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