As I’ve emphasized over the last few weeks, we are in a clear grind-up environment, driven by excellent earnings and a host of momentum-triggered indicators driving everything up. The Iran war is still very much on, but as far as the market is concerned, it was over exactly when game theory predicted it would be over - in case you missed it, read it here.
The ETF market has absorbed over $600bn in 2026, but the most explosive growth is happening in the darkest corners of the income space. Aga Kuklińska of Tidal Financial Group notes that options income strategies have ballooned into a $150bn category. The danger is that retail capital is blindly chasing yield without understanding the mechanical trade-offs. Investors are trading away their upside potential and taking on complex path dependencies just to secure a monthly payout.
The latest data from the Asset TV Canada benchmarking report exposes a clear rotation in institutional focus. Franklin Templeton Canada seized the top spot as the most-watched company in April, driven almost entirely by their segment on global growth equities. This signals that Canadian wealth managers, including top viewers like CIBC and Sun Life Financial, are aggressively looking beyond domestic borders for yield and capital appreciation.
Options-income ETFs are rapidly becoming the hottest category in the ETF market. According to research from the Nasdaq, around a quarter of the 1,100 ETFs that were launched in 2025 used options as a core part of their investment strategy. Meanwhile, the broader category has now grown to well over $100 billion in assets.
The explosive growth has been fueled by a market environment defined by volatility, geopolitical uncertainty, and a growing investor appetite for income.
Actuarial firm Milliman FRM has turned the rising cost of healthcare into a tradable asset class. The firm just launched two novel ETFs on the New York Stock Exchange: the Milliman Healthcare Inflation Guard ETF ($MHIG) and the Milliman Healthcare Inflation Plus ETF ($MHIP). This is a rare, direct play on the structural inflation that plagues the American medical system.
The market has a remarkably short memory when it comes to geopolitical chaos. While rising oil prices and Middle East tensions dominate the headlines, the math suggests a rapid normalization. Kim Inglis of Raymond James notes that financial markets typically absorb the initial volatility within three months and return to their baseline trajectory. The current energy spike is driven by shipping disruptions, not a fundamental loss of supply, meaning the economic impact will likely remain muted.
Exchange traded funds are having another banner year. With more than $600 billion flowing to ETFs so far this year, investors continue to prefer the ETF wrapper for accessing investment strategies across asset classes.
But while flows remain strong—and are even on pace to break more records this year, there is more happening beneath the surface in the realm of innovation.
The structural decline of the traditional mutual fund is accelerating. Alan Hess of ISS Market Intelligence reveals that when advisors are given the choice between an open-end mutual fund, a Separately Managed Account (SMA), or an ETF for the exact same strategy, only 10% now choose the legacy mutual fund. A staggering 60% default to the ETF wrapper. This preference is consistent across almost all advisory channels, driven largely by the tax efficiencies that shielded ETF investors from the massive capital gains distributions that battered active mutual funds last year.
The S&P 500 has breached 7,000, driven almost entirely by genuine earnings growth rather than multiple expansion. Yet, the underlying sentiment remains fragile. Jamie Hopkins of Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors observes that consumers are feeling the bite of sticky inflation at the pump and the grocery store, regardless of the headline numbers. A midterm election year typically guarantees a volatile drawdown, but the current market is being whipsawed by geopolitical news cycles that change by the hour.
The market is dangerously concentrated in Information Technology, chasing a long-duration asset that may struggle if rates stay elevated. Matt Bartolini of State Street Investment Management warns that tech valuations are stretched, and the anticipated growth from AI capital expenditure remains over the horizon. Instead of buying the architects of the AI revolution, the smart money is moving toward the builders.
Healthcare is one of the largest expenses investors face as they age. According to the Milliman 2025 Retiree Health Cost Index, the average 65 year old couple retiring today is approaching $600,000. And last year, medical expenses cost $35,000 for a family of four—that’s nearly triple the $12,000 that same family would have spent in 2005. What’s more, the figures are more than a 6% increase over the consumer price index (CPI).
But despite decades of rising costs, most portfolios aren’t built to address that risk directly.
Examine how transparent, rules-based benchmarks can provide a reference point when evaluating both active and passive options-based products.
