SoFi Launches AI-Themed ETF Amid Growing Market Skepticism

SoFi launches new AI-themed ETF as skepticism grows

Sept 3 (Reuters) - SoFi Technologies (SOFI.O), opens new tab jumped back into the exchange-traded fund business on Wednesday with its first launch in nearly two years, betting on artificial intelligence, the hottest theme in retail investing. The new fund, SoFi Agentic AI ETF, will target what SoFi calls "next-generation AI" companies, such as those developing self-driving vehicles, autonomous technology and cybersecurity networks, as well as AI stalwarts such as semiconductor and cloud computing firms. The debut comes as enthusiasm for all things AI faces a test, with investors asking tougher questions about sky-high valuations of AI leaders like Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Palantir Technologies (PLTR.O), opens new tab, as well as AI's ability to generate outsize productivity and profitability gains. SoFi's ETF will track the performance of a new tailor-made index from Solactive, the BITA USA Agentic AI Select Index, and will levy a fee of 0.69%. Brian Walsh, head of advice and planning at SoFi, told Reuters that the index's current 30 components range from some of the most-owned AI investments, such as Nvidia, to more unusual ways to play the theme, such as Intuitive Surgical (ISRG.O), opens new tab and Deere & Co. (DE.N), opens new tab, firms which are integrating AI into robotic surgery products and farm equipment. Solactive screens potential holdings to identify companies that derive "a meaningful portion of their revenue" from deploying AI. "This goes above and beyond what first-generation AI exposure can provide," said Walsh, adding that he expects the composition of the underlying index to alter as the theme evolves. SoFi, a digital financial services platform, has backed five other ETFs, the most recent of which, the SoFi Enhanced Yield ETF (THTA.P), opens new tab, debuting in November 2023. Roxanna Islam, head of sector and industry research at VettaFi, noted the AI-themed ETF market is becoming "crowded", as asset managers rush to roll out more products. Some 190 single-stock leveraged and inverse ETFs now offer investors a way to bet on outsize moves in underlying stocks like Nvidia, Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab and Palantir that are linked to the AI theme. "It's going to be hard to stand out from the crowd and gather assets at this point," she said. The most recent AI-themed ETF to launch was the Janus Henderson Global Artificial Intelligence ETF (JHAI.O), opens new tab on August 19. That fund has seen inflows of $1.9 million since its debut. Steve Sosnick, market strategist at IBKR, said that in spite of the profit-taking on big AI stocks like Nvidia in recent days, "the enthusiasm for this theme is still driving the bus." Reporting by Suzanne McGee, Editing by Nick Zieminski Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

SoFi Debuts ETF to Target Companies Focused on AI | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The ETF, dubbed AGIQ, will invest in American companies that are part of the BITA US Agentic AI Select Index, SoFi announced Wednesday (Sept. 3). "Emerging market themes can be challenging to capture, especially for new or casual investors -- but with the SoFi Agentic AI ETF, investors can easily tap into the next evolution of AI," Brian Walsh, head of advice and planning director at SoFi, said in a news release. According to the release, the BITA US Agentic AI Select Index tracks businesses engaged in developing, providing, or utilizing agentic artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, and includes companies like Salesforce, Tesla and Nvidia, though holdings are subject to change. More broadly, the index monitors companies involved in developing things like self-driving transportation, AI scheduling assistants, cybersecurity networks, autonomous industrial machinery, or with enabling technologies such as semiconductors and cloud computing. "The emergence of agentic AI -- autonomous systems capable of making decisions, initiating actions and collaborating with other agents or humans -- is marking a paradigm shift for its potential to drive real-world productivity gains across sectors," SoFi said in a news release. The release cited data from the World Economic Forum projecting that the market for agentic AI will "expand significantly" by the end of the decade. And by 2035, PYMNTS wrote earlier this week, the corporate world could witness the rise of the "AI treasurer," personified by an artificial intelligence avatar. Even a well-staffed human team, that report said, has its limitations, while things like "spreadsheets and enterprise systems" can only do so much. "This is where agentic AI treasury systems could enter," PYMNTS wrote. "Rather than functioning as silent engines behind a dashboard, next-generation AI treasurers may appear as interactive, explainable agents. They can tell a CFO why a swap was executed, walk through alternative scenarios, and even adjust tone and detail depending on the audience, whether it's a risk committee or a junior analyst. The once-invisible treasury function suddenly becomes a visible, conversational partner." As for the avatar, the report argued that while it may call to mind a cartoonish image, it's less about theatrics and more about fostering human trust. "Avatars serve as the interface for increasingly complex decision-making systems. When an algorithm moves $200 million across jurisdictions, executives want to know not only what happened but why," PYMNTS wrote. "A face, realistic or stylized, can become a conduit for explainability."