The rapidly expanding ETF marketplace gives financial advisors more ways than ever to customize client portfolios, but the proliferation of strategies also makes it increasingly difficult to determine which products provide meaningful client value and which introduce unnecessary cost, complexity, or risk. In this webinar, Dave Nadig examines how the ETF landscape is evolving and offers a framework for evaluating whether higher-cost, more specialized ETFs deliver benefits that justify their use in client portfolios. Dave explores developments including active ETFs, return-stacking and leveraged strategies, options-income and buffered ETFs, direct indexing and other tax-management strategies, Section 351 contributions, thematic funds, and ETFs incorporating private assets. He also examines emerging concerns involving speculative investment products, sports betting and prediction markets, declining regulatory enforcement, and reduced market transparency that may increase the due-diligence responsibilities placed on financial advisors.
Learning Objectives:
- Differentiate among broad-market exposure, active management, and specialized-payoff ETFs to determine when additional costs may provide meaningful value for clients.
- Evaluate leveraged, return-stacking, options-income, and buffered ETF strategies based on their structure, risks, costs, and potential role within a client portfolio.
- Assess direct indexing, tax-aware long-short strategies, Section 351 contributions, and ETF share-class conversions to determine when their potential tax benefits may justify their costs and complexity.
- Analyze thematic and private-asset ETFs by examining their underlying holdings, implementation, liquidity, and alignment with the exposure or outcome a client is intended to receive.
- Apply enhanced due diligence and risk-management practices when evaluating increasingly complex or speculative investment products in an environment of reduced regulatory enforcement and market transparency.
Accessing the webinar:
You can find your custom link by accessing the email confirmations that have been sent to you via email from webinar.host@bigmarker.com. You can also find your individual sign-on link within the downloadable calendar invite for the webinar.
Continuing Education (CE): 1.5 Credits
For attendees who want to receive CE credit for designations managed by the CFP Board, IWI, and American College, we will report your attendance directly to these organizations within 72 hours as long as you enter your certification numbers during registration and attend the live session for at least 75 minutes.
For attendees who want to receive CE credit as an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR), we will report your attendance directly to FINRA within 72 hours as long as you enter your certification numbers during registration and attend the live session for at least 75 minutes. Additionally, Kitces Members must have purchased the IAR Add-on to have their CE reported to FINRA as an IAR.
NASAA does not endorse any particular provider of CE courses. The content of the course and any views expressed are my/our own and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASAA or any of its member jurisdictions
For attendees who want to receive CE credit as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), you must attend the live session for at least 75 minutes and complete all polls presented at the live event. A certificate will be provided to you for self-reporting to NASBA.
All attendees who meet the minimum attendance requirement of 75 minutes will also receive a completion certificate that you can use to report CE to other organizations. We don't report for state-level insurance licensing although some states may accept completion certificates if you self-report.
Recordings:
Non-Members: Those who are NOT Kitces.com Members will have access to the recording for 30 days. Though continuing education is available for the live session, the recording is not CE eligible.
Kitces.com Basic & Premier Members: The video presentation and a recording of the live Q&A will be available on the Webinars page in the Members Section. Note: If you were not able to attend the live session for the full 50 minutes, successful completion of a quiz will be required in order to receive CE for viewing the RECORDED VERSION posted to the Members Section.
