16 ETFs to Watch in 2026: Trillions Podcast

Spotlight on ETFs for 2026

• 🎯 The podcast "Trillions" highlights 16 ETFs to watch in 2026, moving beyond general trends to focus on specific investment tickers.
• 💡 This annual tradition, born from investor interest at conferences, aims to unearth interesting and potentially impactful funds for the upcoming year.

Active Bond and International Equity Opportunities

• 📈 BINC (iShares Flexible Income ETF) is noted as the fastest-growing active ETF, managed by a notable figure and outperforming bond indices with lower volatility.
• 💰 Active bond funds are seeing inflows, suggesting investor openness to active management in fixed income compared to equity stock pickers.
• 🌍 VXUS (Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund) outperformed the S&P 500 in 2025, attracting significant inflows, though its future performance and investor rebalancing remain key watchpoints.

Thematic and Niche Investment Strategies

• 💡 LRND (Large Cap R&D Spending ETF) focuses on companies investing heavily in research and development, a strategy that has shown strong performance and offers unique diversification.
• 🚀 OTGL (Latin America ETF) is highlighted for its exposure to countries shifting towards pro-business leadership, potentially benefiting from political and economic changes.
• ⚠️ PXUI (2X Leveraged ETF) and TXBC (10x BTC ETF) represent higher-risk, niche categories, with a warning about potential liquidations and the growing trend of crypto index products.
• 🌉 XOVR (Crossover ETF) demonstrates a strong demand for private equity exposure within an ETF structure, especially after adding SpaceX and seeing significant inflows.
• 🏛️ GRFT (Government Grift ETF) and BUFB (Ladder Buffer ETF) explore unique strategies, one capitalizing on political ties and insider trading, the other offering a popular, simplified approach to market buffering.
• 📊 BOXX (Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF) is recognized for its innovative tax strategy, allowing for long-term capital gains treatment on treasury bill returns.

Emerging Themes and Unique Concepts

• 💡 MSOS (Pure US Cannabis ETF) is watched for its potential to benefit from legislative wins and the long-term prospect of federal legalization in the US.
• 🏠 ITB (Home Construction ETF) is presented as a sentiment barometer for the housing market, with potential upside from falling rates and regulatory support.
• 🛡️ DBMF (Managed Futures Strategy ETF) offers uncorrelated exposure as a diversifier, performing well in down markets and representing alternative investment strategies.
• 👽 UFOD (UFO Disclosure AI ETF) is a speculative ETF focused on companies potentially involved with alien technology, driven by government disclosures and AI stock selection, pushing the boundaries of thematic investing.