Kirsten Chang, VettaFi

Yeah, sure thing. So I started out at CNBC. I got a job as a producer right out of college, and I spent more than a decade there, first on Squawk Box, which is the morning show. Then I moved on to work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with Bob Bizani, one and only, covering the stock markets and helping start up his weekly show, ETF Edge. So Bob and I used to attend this exchange conference every year, which of course used to always be in Miami. And we would kind of get together with the close-knit ETF community, sit down with CEOs, thought leaders, cover the latest, greatest trends in the business. So I became pretty close with Tom Lydon, of course, who started up Vetify, Dave Noddick,

I think I've started my day off for the last 20 years with Squawk Box. There you go. Joe, Becky, and Andrew. Joe, Becky, and Andrew. And I love when Joe and Andrew go after it, particularly during political. But it's, yeah, I'm so very familiar with the show. Yeah, colorful cast of characters. Yeah, it is. It's great. sit there with my coffee and turn on Squawk Box. It's like automatic for me. Well, thanks for watching. Yeah. So I have to ask, before we kind of get into the topic, which we're going to talk about the Exchange ETF Conference, it's coming up here in a couple of weeks. Any hobbies? What do you like to do when you're not working?

Oh, well, I love rock climbing. I like to do that when I can, although I am pregnant now, so I can't really be doing that these days. But I normally love rock climbing. I like to go skiing. I know you were just in Colorado. That's one of my favorite spots to go to hit the slopes there. I also really enjoy kind of hiking, which is a big reason I moved back west. I really wanted that exposure to nature and the outdoors. like karaoke and my free time. Yeah. And just kind of watching nerdy movies and things like that. How about yourself?

Oh, I, well, you're having a baby. I have two young ones. So my days are, basically making sure my little one doesn't have to go to the emergency room for busting his head on something, doing backflips off the couch and my daughter's in soccer and tennis and all the stuff. So it's great, though. It's great. Um, well, let's talk really briefly at first, because, um, at Vetify, you're not just putting on a conference, right? So what is Vetify kind of as a whole? What do they do? How do they help service clients? um, you guys have a big company. So if you could, um, just kind of give everybody a little bit about what they do outside of just putting on this wonderful conference once a year.

Great question. Vetify is a lot of things. It's, it's an index provider. We pair with index partners to launch actual ETF products. Um, we are a data company. We have all the latest data trends. We watch the flows carefully performance. We have a digital distribution company. So we do regular webcasts where we educate advisors, kind of bridge the gap between advisors and issuers, a lot of letting them know what's under the hood of these companies because they're in the funds because there's so many ETFs out there, 4,000. So we really have to kind of be careful and sifting through the noise and letting people know what's out there, what they can recommend to their clients, what makes sense in the current market environment.

Yeah, no, I've been on the website a handful of times. There's a breadth of information and you're kind of, the behemoth in the room when it comes to all things ETFs. And so, um, yeah, I, I use it as a resource often, but we're here to talk about the big one, the exchange ETF conference. It is the ETF conference, uh, of the year now in Vegas used to be in Miami. So big change this year. So really how did the, conference come about and like, what is the, the point of getting all of us together for a handful of days now in Vegas?

Yeah. So it's, it's the world's largest ETF conference. Um, it has been going on for a number of years, I think more than a decade now. I just joined Vetify last year, but I know it's been going on for long before that because I used to attend those on the other side of things. So it's kind of wild and wonderful to be on the, on the action, part of the action and the inside of it all. But kind of the idea is to offer advisors, you mentioned Vegas, they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. While that might be true, we're, we're hoping our advisors take away plenty of tangible advice home to their clients. We want them to, have actionable insights and analysis that includes updated

Um, so this conference is pretty unique. I go to a lot of conferences. What do you think kind of sets this apart from other financial conferences? Cause there's like 30 of them every year. And this one seems it has always been, a must go to and very well attended. So what do you think is kind of the main reason for that?

Yeah. Um, I think again, we, we kind of, we're supposed to be the, the one-stop shop for everything ETF. So we're, we're bringing all the biggest issuers and asset management provide, they're there, they're part of our partnership. Um, they're going to give us the greatest insights into what's going on with the latest products. We also have keynote speakers that always draw a lot of attention. David Kelly, people love listening to for the latest macro market analysis. Ian Bremmer is going to be there to help cap things off and kind of make some sense of what in the world is going on with, with trade wars, tariffs and geopolitics right now, which is certainly top of mind. And I think just the idea that, as, as students of the trade advisors always

Yeah, I agree. there's a ton of ETF issuers. There's a ton of service providers. There's all the different facets that attend this conference, but really as an advisor, there is so much, there's so much more than just ETFs, ETFs, ETFs. And I think as a financial advisor, given the fact that they get a massive discount for coming, right? Like it's a perfect conference for, for financial advisors to attend. And, um, but I think what are the big trends? What are the big themes this year that attendees can expect at this year's conference, both kind of within ETFs and kind of the broader investment landscape?

Yeah. So, the ETF industry has evolved and so has the agenda. A lot of the topics we'll be covering will range from hot button issues like private credit ETFs and hedge fund led multi-asset ETFs. And we'll also be talking about actively managed because, active management has been huge. It's been growing at an explosive rate in terms of equities and fixed income. So we'll be delving into that, especially with the federal reserve kind of keeping the markets guessing at the moment. I think we're pricing in three rate cuts. It was like one rate cut a couple of weeks ago. So you never know which way the market's going to turn. We have the jobs report that was weaker today. And just in terms of other topics broadly, thematics, we'll be talking about

Well, crypto was, excuse me, massive last year with the ETFs being launched. So I remember that being a huge theme. I also remember some giant booths from some of these crypto providers in the exhibit hall. I don't know how they get those things there and what they cost, but they were impressive. Yeah, they're shelling out the big bucks for those booths. Yeah, for sure. Sure. So I know you mentioned a few other than your own panel. What kind of panels or topics or keynote speakers are you particularly kind of excited about this year?

Yeah, well, I think one must see panel is led by my dear friend and mentor, Bob Bizani. He's going to be interviewing Rob Arnott of Research Affiliates, and they'll be talking about why you shouldn't reject value investing and, what's not to love there. Rob, of course, has been a pioneer of smart beta. He just launched his new kind of bottom feeders ETF, the research deletion ETF last year. So lots of characters there. We'll have State Street Global Advisors and Bridgewater, executives from both heavyweights and the asset management industry. They'll be on stage with my colleague Todd Rosenbluth to delve into their brand new all weather ETF that just launched yesterday. it's the first ETF that really offers that hedge fund strategy to the average retail

Well, there's definitely a lot there. I'll definitely be going to the sports betting and investing panel. That sounds fun. You mentioned Rob Arnault. He was just on the show. I believe he was either the last episode or the episode before. I could have talked to him for three hours. The guy is a wealth of knowledge. That would be one I would definitely want to go see. So, totally action-packed, a couple of days and not short on information. But you are on a panel this year. You didn't mention your panel. I know there's still some things out there as to, what that is going to be about. But if it's okay for me to ask you a personal question, I just sat on a panel.

Well, I think, yeah, it's kind of how I prepare for webcasts. I do a few vocal warm-ups, which nobody has to be privy to. But I will usually, chug a lot of hot water. I'll drink some honey tea. And then I'll do my vocal warm-ups, which involve a little bit of singing, a little bit of, just kind of tongue twisters, all the stuff you used to do in drama school. And then I'll just kind of go over my notes and go over the key points that I want to make sure come out in the discussion and be ready to kind of ad-lib from there with follow-up questions. Make sure I'm familiar with my panelists. Make sure they're comfortable with me. Have a little bit of a dynamic going with them.

Yeah, and you just led me perfectly into my next question, which is a major draw of this conference is always networking. But the ETF community seems to be so much more open to meaningful connections and community than really any other part of this industry. And I've been in most other parts in some way, shape or form. So, how do you guys think about, as you're setting up this conference, how to facilitate those meaningful connections among attendees, speakers and sponsors?

Yeah, great question. Well, one of the new ways that we are doing that to bridge that gap, we actually have these web-based tools now. We have an app, which we've always had, but this app in particular is going to be very special. It should roll out next week. It's called Exchange 2025. You can download it now, but it won't be of much use yet. But next week, you'll be able to use that and our website to book one-on-one appointments now to make it really easy to engage with attendees at your own leisure. So all registrants will get an invitation and announcement about this. a lot of our advisory council indicated they really prefer the freedom to set meetings for first thing in the morning or later in the afternoon.

Yeah, so it can be quite daunting when you attend this event for the first time because it is such a big event. There are so many sessions. There are so many things going on. There are so many different even places. just looking back at Miami, you could be out. There's places. The cabana is out by the pool. There's things upstairs. There's a giant, it's there's a lot going on, which is great. But if you were coming to this conference kind of as a first time attendee, how would you give them some advice on how to navigate not only the event itself, but also to keep up to speed with all the content that's going to be happening?

Yeah, that's a great question. first of all, we're at a new venue. As you mentioned, we're at a brand new, beautiful hotel, Virgin Hotels right off the strip. It's much more reasonably priced. We'll have a wonderful indoor-outdoor experience ready. So we'll have a campus kind of all spread out on a single level. So it'll be easier to kind of find who you're looking for. We want a freer, more interactive feeling, to this conference versus previous conferences. And I think, first off, just to familiarize yourself with the agenda, take a look at the topics or the speakers that kind of resonate with you and your business. Prioritize those. You can, again, use the appointment schedule in your app. Block off times for the sessions that you want to attend.

I guess. Yeah. So in addition to kind of the panels and lectures that we talked about, you guys always do some extracurricular type things, whether that's in the morning or... So anything on the agenda this year that really kind of enhances that community connection that you guys generally always kind of sprinkle in there?

Yeah, no, that's true. for one, Vetify has always held a charity event at Exchange to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Rest Cancer Foundation. And in the past, they've hosted 5K runs, but this year we're doing Putt for Pink. That's mini golf. So we'll have six mini putting greens spread throughout the campus. Attendees can play, engage, donate to a philanthropic cause throughout the week, which I'm really excited for.

Are you much of a golfer yourself, Brad? I am. If I'm allowed to leave for five hours, that is my hobby of choice. Well, there you go.

So hopefully it hit you seeing, putting your heart out there. Also, we have March Madness. It's going to be in full swing. So to mark the occasion, State Street will also be setting up a basketball hoop area. So it's going to be kind of like Basketball Connect 4, which will be fun. So, come on down, shoot your shot and see how you do.

Well, speaking of being March Madness, hopefully people are out of the sports books and in more of the lectures rather than on the strip placing sports bets, you know?

I know. That's true. Sunday might be a tough one to draw the crowd away from the screens, but we'll do our best. It happens.

So the other thing, too, you kind of sometimes always sprinkle in a little bit of a surprise. Last year was a drone show. Not saying you have to have one this year. Anything you got in and you guys are kind of keeping to the wayside that could be a fun little thing?

I'll be honest. If there is, I'm still in the dark about it. So it will be a surprise even to me. So the answer is probably, but I can't confirm or deny at this time.

That's fine. Well, look, I look forward to seeing everybody at the event this year. I'll be there. I'll be recording podcasts. As I told you before we got on, I think I did like 10 or 11 of them last year. And it's always fun to connect with people that have helped me, service providers. It's good to connect with Todd and everybody that I've known and they've been on the show and who are running around that conference. The energy they have to have for that week is intense. But look, I really, really appreciate you spending some time with me. I think it's going to be a great time. But before I let you go, if you haven't signed up already or if you're looking for the agenda,

So if you haven't yet, don't forget to sign up. We already have more than 1600 registrants and 700 plus advisors and counting. So you can go to our website, exchangeetf.com. We've also been hosting a number of webcasts throughout the month. You can find those on etftrends.com. If you stop by any of those, you'll be able to register for free using a special code. And, we just really want you to have fun networking and enjoying the content with a little bit of levity along the way. So we hope to see you there.

Well, Kirsten, again, thank you so much for your time. And I hope that I run into you while we're there.

Yeah, let's do it. I'll see you on the putting green.

Yeah.