The $9.1 Trillion Question

Today is Friday, August 13, 2021.

A Record $9.1 Trillion In ETF Assets

Total assets in exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, have reached $9.1 trillion. Morningstar said Thursday that $705 billion have been invested in them so far this year.

Definition: An ETF is a collection of securities that track an underlying index but are traded like a stock. The securities can be certain types of stocks, bonds, or other commodities.

Context: Investors deposited nearly $737 billion in ETFs last year, so 2021 is likely to surpass it at this rate. This shows how popular ETFs have become in recent years.

The Good: ETFs can be advantageous to investors because they offer a diversified portfolio of holdings with low fees. It can be bought and sold exactly like a stock.

The Bad: Not all ETFs are alike. Some have higher costs, dividend yields that are lower than stocks and exposure to certain markets can be limited.

Final Thoughts: Investment firms are attempting to create cryptocurrency ETFs, which will make ETFs more popular.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Honest Company (Nasdaq: HNST), Diversey Holdings (Nasdaq: DSEY).

Notable IPOs Today: Dermata Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: DRMA), DatChat, Inc. (Nasdaq: DATS), RenovoRx, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNXT).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: 4th Ave Market (Wefunder), QwikLeaf (Fundanna).

Notable Economic Events Today: Import Price Index (8:30 a.m.), Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (10:00 a.m.).

Disney Stock Pops After Successful Earnings

Shares of Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) were up 5% in after-hours trading due to stronger earnings on Thursday.

By the Numbers: Disney recorded $17 billion in revenue and reached earnings per share of 80 cents - both beating analyst expectations.

Streaming: The number of subscribers for Disney+ reached 116 million in the last quarter, which also beat expectations.

Parks: Disney recorded its first profitable quarter in its theme parks segment since the start of the pandemic, an incredible feat considering that international travel has been shut down.

Headwinds: The pandemic is still a concern for the company, as is the recent lawsuit from actress Scarlett Johansson.

Final Thoughts: Disney’s stock is still down 1.7% this year.

Dogecoin’s Success Depends On The Government

The success of cryptocurrency Dogecoin in 2021 was considered to be good for the digital currency industry, but it is starting to draw negative interest from governments.

Global View: India, Nigeria and China are among the countries that have either initiated a crackdown or have a proposed a ban against cryptocurrency.

The Feds: As of May, both the White House and central bankers have explored ways to look into the challenges of cryptocurrency.

Popularity Downside: The growth and wild volatility for Dogecoin has fueled more speculation of regulation into the entire crypto market.

Final Thoughts: As of now, there’s no ban against Dogecoin in the United States, but new regulations could potentially factor in the future of this meme coin.

Trends to Watch

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