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Former Bridgewater exec Bob Elliott warns the AI stock rally is an "expectations mania" built on unrealistic growth assumptions.
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As investors face September market jitters and historical seasonal volatility, AI-focused ETFs present a diversified, lower-risk approach to capturing the AI industry's rapid growth. With global AI spending projected to reach $2.59 trillion by end of 2026, three prominent AI ETFs—BAI, AIQ, and CHAT—offer broad exposure to 49-88 AI companies across infrastructure, intelligence, and applications, with CHAT leading year-to-date gains at 44.6%.
The Japanese yen strengthened sharply against the U.S. dollar on September 3, 2026, driven by hawkish comments from Bank of Japan officials and expectations of rate hikes. A coordinated U.S.-Japan intervention on July 30, 2026 supported the yen while using FIMA repos to avoid Treasury selling pressure. The stronger yen benefits currency ETFs but pressures export-heavy Japan equities and could eventually hurt U.S. Treasury ETFs if BOJ rate hikes trigger capital repatriation.
The WisdomTree Japan Opportunities Fund (OPPJ) is reviewed as a smart beta ETF providing exposure to Japanese companies with year-to-date returns of 27.21% and 12-month returns of 45.55%. With $287.39 million in assets and a 0.58% expense ratio, it offers reasonable diversification with 92 holdings. However, alternatives like JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF (BBJP) and iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) provide lower expense ratios and larger asset bases for investors seeking cheaper options.
The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF (HEDJ) is reviewed as a smart beta ETF with $1.82 billion in assets and a 0.58% expense ratio. While it has delivered 9.11% returns year-to-date and 17.4% over the past year, the article suggests it is not suitable for investors seeking to outperform the European Equity ETFs segment. Cheaper alternatives with lower risk profiles are recommended, including iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU) and Vanguard European Stock Index Fund ETF Shares (VGK).
VOO led ETF inflows with $3.3B. Investors also poured money into Treasury and gold ETFs; total ETF flows reached $5.3B on Thursday.