Wedbush Launches AI Revolution ETF: Dan Ives' Tech Picks Go Public

Wedbush's Dan Ives Joins ETF Wave

Wall Street tech analyst Dan Ives is lending his personal brand to power a new ETF riding the artificial-intelligence boom, joining a growing pack of finance names looking to monetize their industry renown with retail-friendly investment funds. Wedbush Fund Advisers is launching a product tracking the investment picks touted by Ives, whose high-conviction tech calls have earned him a sizable following among the likes of retail investors. The Dan IVES Wedbush AI Revolution ETF is launching Wednesday with the ticker IVES, and is focused on Ives' "proprietary research." It comprises 30 names in AI sectors, including semiconductors, cybersecurities and robotics, among others. (Source: Bloomberg)

Wedbush, Dan Ives launch new ETF to capture the AI boom

Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives is putting his theory of the artificial intelligence boom to the test with a new fund that will allow his audience to follow along and invest in his favorite ideas. The Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF is set to begin trading on Wednesday under the ticker "IVES." The fund will track an index that consists of the companies from Wedbush's Ives AI 30 research list. "It's based on our research. So as new companies come in, then some companies could come out. This is a living organism, in terms of this AI 30. It's not static. And that's a key part of the theme here, because the theme will continue to evolve," Ives told CNBC. The current index includes many of the biggest tech funds in the market, such as Nvidia , Microsoft , Alphabet , Amazon and Tesla , according to a Wedbush report last month. Smaller names in the index include SoundHound AI and CyberArk Software . The index will be reconfigured quarterly and can be changed more often in the event of a corporate action, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing for the fund. Cullen Rogers, chief investment officer at Wedbush Fund Advisers, is in charge of the ETF's day-to-day operations. The fund is technically a passive investing product. "We're kind of walking this line between active and passive. ... We're just looking to leverage Dan's ideas as well as we can in an institutional framework, in this index, that kind of gives investors a consistent, predictable structure," Rogers said. AI-themed ETFs have been something of a puzzle for fund issuers given the fast-developing nature of the industry, the obstacle of some large players like OpenAI being private firms , and the fact that the biggest public companies, like Nvidia, are already widely held by investors through other vehicles. The Wedbush team thinks their fund is launching as the AI boom is expanding beyond those initial big winners. "The AI revolution theme is now going from semis to software, to infrastructure, to consumer and the other derivatives," Ives said. There are some notable competitors for the Ives fund, however, including the Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ) , which has more than $3 billion in assets under management. That fund has gained 22% over the past 12 months, which is well above the S & P 500 but basically in-line with just holding Nvidia alone. The Ives fund comes with a management fee of 0.75%. The Ives fund comes with a management fee of 0.75%. That is higher than the cost of many popular thematic ETFs, but it's lower than the equal-weighted average fee of about 1% for active U.S. equity funds, according to Morningstar . For comparison, the AIQ has a fee of 0.68%.

Dan Ives' Wedbush ETF tracking AI stocks launches

Dan Ives, a tech analyst known for his bullish calls on Nvidia (NVDA), Tesla, and the generative AI boom, is offering investors a way to buy into his thesis -- literally. On Tuesday, Wedbush Securities, where Ives is the managing director, launched the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF (ticker: IVES), a portfolio of 30 U.S. tech companies selected by Ives and his team for their exposure to AI. The fund trades on the NYSE Arca and carries a 0.75% expense ratio. The ETF includes familiar names such as Nvidia, Microsoft (MSFT), Tesla (TSLA), and Palantir (PLTR) -- companies Ives has championed as foundational to the next phase of digital transformation. The ETF tracks what Wedbush calls the "Ives AI 30," a list of companies the company sees as best positioned to commercialize and scale AI across sectors -- from semiconductors to cloud platforms to next-gen software. "It's based on our research," Ives told CNBC. "As new companies come in, then some companies could come out. This is a living organism, in terms of this AI 30. It's not static. And that's a key part of the theme here, because the theme will continue to evolve." That puts the fund into what Wedbush executives say is a bit of a hybrid category. "We're kind of walking this line between active and passive," said Cullen Rogers, chief investment officer at Wedbush Fund Advisers, who is overseeing the ETFs day-to-day operations. "We're just looking to leverage Dan's ideas as well as we can in an institutional framework... that gives investors a consistent, predictable structure." Ives has been among Wall Street's most vocal AI bulls, describing the moment as a generational investment opportunity. In recent client notes, he's called AI "the biggest tech transformation in over 40 years" and likened AI chips to "the new gold and oil." "The AI revolution is the biggest tech theme we've ever seen," Ives told Yahoo Finance. He said he started the ETF "because it's about the second, third, fourth derivatives of AI playing out, and that's the important thing for investors." The launch lands at a time when AI-related stocks are surging. But whether or not the market stays this hot is a big question. "Dan's track record speaks for itself," Wedbush CEO Gary Wedbush said in a press release. "He's been identifying the drivers of tech disruption for years, and the IVES ETF gives investors a chance to follow that insight in a disciplined, transparent way." Wedbush is betting that the AI rally is far from over -- and that the company's strategy can stand out as the space matures.

Wedbush Launches AI Revolution ETF Backed By Dan Ives' Proprietary Tech Picks Wedbush Launches AI Revolution ETF (IVES), Backed By Dan Ives' Proprietary Tech Picks - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Tidal ETF Trust Fundstrat Granny Shots US Large Cap ETF (ARCA:GRNY)

Wall Street tech guru Dan Ives is making an entrance into the ETF space with a bang and his own ticker. One of Wall Street's best-known tech analysts, famous for his brash predictions on Apple AAPL and Tesla TSLA, Ives is now making his market calls tradable with the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution ETF IVES, reported Bloomberg. The ETF, which debuted Wednesday, looks to catch the current boom in AI. It's centered around Ives' "proprietary research" and holds 30 of his favorite companies with connections to artificial intelligence. Think semiconductors, cybersecurity companies, robotics, and so on -- essentially, the kinds of stocks Ives has been pounding the table about for years. Also Read: VistaShares Unleashes WILD, A 2x Leveraged ETF Powered By Animal Spirits And Market Momentum Ives believes AI will be the biggest tech theme in 50 years. He believes Wedbush has been early in tracking the AI revolution and has identified the winners. Ives has become a go-to name for retail investors hunting for tech insights on social and digital media. Now, fans of his market views can literally invest in them, no decoder ring required. The IVES ETF is the latest addition to a growing trend of finance personalities establishing funds constructed around their names. Fundstrat's Tom Lee and economist Nouriel Roubini recently introduced ETFs, and even Donald Trump's media entity is considering its own set of funds. Lee's ETF, in particular, Fundstrat Granny Shots US Large Cap ETF GRNY has already notched more than $1 billion in inflows since debuting in late 2024, noted Bloomberg But the ETF universe is crowded. The American market is chock-full of more than 4,200 ETFs, and AI funds are reproducing quicker than ChatGPT requests. Some have succeeded, and many have not, so the stakes are high. Nevertheless, Wedbush is wagering big on Ives' name value and analysis. This new ETF can be worth watching for individual investors seeking a one-click means of playing the AI megatrend and who have confidence in Ives' instincts. Read Next: Why Victoria's Secret's Breach Is A Wake-Up Call For Cybersecurity ETF Investors Photo: Shutterstock AAPLApple Inc$204.270.49%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members Only Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum40.44Growth32.93Quality79.03Value8.75Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewGRNYTidal ETF Trust Fundstrat Granny Shots US Large Cap ETF$21.250.19%IVESWedbush Series Trust Dan IVES Wedbush AI Revolution ETF$25.40-%TSLATesla Inc$333.74-3.06%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

The Best ETF to Invest in the AI Boom Without Betting on Just One Stock | The Motley Fool

The AI revolution is here. Over the next decade, many experts believe that the artificial intelligence market will grow from a few hundred billion dollars in value to nearly $5 trillion. Fortunes will be made throughout this growth journey, and one new ETF from popular analyst Dan Ives seeks to give investors a one-stop shop for investing in AI. Looking to add AI exposure to your portfolio? There are three reasons to consider the Dan IVES Wedbush AI Revolution ETF (NYSE:IVES). Many investors love to do their own research and select their own individual investments. But when it comes to investing in AI stocks, having some experts along for the ride can help a lot. Right now, there are many popular AI stocks that growth investors are flocking to. But the winners during the next phase or two of these cycles may not be the winners of today. "I've started this ETF because it's about the second, third, fourth derivatives of AI playing out, and that's the important thing for investors," Ives recently explained. "The AI revolution is the biggest tech theme we've ever seen," he added."There are plenty of other great vehicles out there, but there's only one that encompasses my investing team and the research that investors have trusted me to deliver." There are several new AI ETFs out there, but many invest in companies that aren't directly tied to AI. Amazon, for example, is exposed to AI through its AWS cloud infrastructure division. But that division contributes less than half of its total revenue. The movement of Amazon's stock, therefore, may be unduly influenced by its e-commerce division, not its AWS division, which provides it with its most direct AI exposure. The IVES ETF, meanwhile, aims to maximize your AI exposure by investing in just 30 companies handpicked from Ives's "AI Revolution Theme," which only aggregates stocks with meaningful exposure to AI infrastructure, deployment, and monetization. That includes AI stalwarts like Nvidia, which produces most of the industry's GPUs, and Microsoft, which has a much higher raw AI exposure than Amazon. The beauty of ETFs like this is that they let you scale up your exposure quickly. Yes, you are getting expert stock selection. You're also making sure your invested capital is as exposed as possible to the actual AI themes you're attempting to target. But by outsourcing your picks to an ETF, you also give yourself the ability to scale up your exposure at a moment's notice without needing to do a bunch of research on individual selections. In short, vehicles like the IVES ETF let you get quick exposure earlier than you would have if you needed to complete all of your own research and allocation decisions. "Two trillion dollars is going to be spent over the next three years," Ives estimates. "Now, I believe we're still in the bottom of the first inning in terms of this non-inning game for AI. And the second, third derivative beneficiaries of tech are just starting to focus on AI." If you agree with Ives -- that is, if you think that we are still in the very early innings of the AI revolution -- then getting your money to work today rather than tomorrow may give you a chance to lock in early cycle valuations before the rest of the market catches on. The IVES ETF isn't perfect. It comes with a very high 0.75% expense ratio, which will cut into your profits. It also has no historical track record, adding some level of uncertainty for its performance potential. Plus, Ives himself has said that he doesn't care much for valuations. "I've never been too focused on valuations," Ives recently said. "It's about the themes, the best places, and the disruptors. That's all the work we do in the field." Investors looking to do their own research, limit fees, and focus on valuation should likely look elsewhere. But for those willing to get instant exposure to expert AI stock selections, the IVES ETF is a promising new investment vehicle for aggressive growth investors.

This AI-Focused ETF Just Launched -- Here's What's Inside and Why It Matters | The Motley Fool

Not too many Wall Street analysts have name recognition, but Wedbush's Dan Ives is one of the best-known commentators and AI cheerleaders. Ives is a frequent guest on CNBC and other financial news outlets, as well as social media, typically wearing a bright-colored jacket and a loud shirt. He's known for his bullish commentary on stocks like Nvidia and Palantir. In fact, Ives recently said that Palantir would hit a market cap of $1 trillion within three years. Now, the Wedbush analyst has taken the next logical step, creating an exchange-traded fund (ETF). On Wednesday, Wedbush Fund Advisers launched the Dan Ives Wedbush AI Revolution (IVES 1.28%), which trades on the New York Stock Exchange and is based on his picks and research in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. The ETF holds 30 stocks, ranging from semiconductors to hyperscalers to cybersecurity, robotics, and other industries. Ives says he is more focused on themes and disruptive impact, rather than valuation, and the ETF features many of the best-known names in AI. The top 10 holdings in the IVES ETF are as follows: That list shouldn't come as a big surprise. It includes the "Magnificent Seven" and three other well-known AI stocks, Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Palantir. Combined, those stocks make up nearly half of the fund. As of June 4, the fund had net assets of $26.4 million, and its expense ratio is 0.75%, meaning investors will pay $0.75 out of every $100 invested in the fund to Wedbush to manage it. The launch of the IVES ETF matters to investors for a few reasons. First, if the fund serves as a big draw, bringing billions into the fund, it will funnel that money to the stocks it holds, helping them rise further. The fund is also contributing to a greater proliferation of AI ETFs, potentially making it easier to invest in AI stocks. We're about 2.5 years into the AI boom, which kicked off with the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, and some AI ETFs have been created. However, the formation of AI ETFs has generally lagged in the sector, and many of the funds that purport to track AI stocks don't invest in the household names that investors might expect an AI ETF to hold. For instance, the Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF holds little-known stocks like ABB, Keyence, and Fanuc, which are focused on robotics and automation, among its top five holdings. The IVES ETF gives investors exposure to the more traditional AI stocks that have become associated with the AI boom. If you backtested the IVES ETF over the last year or two, it would have outperformed the S&P 500. The ETF doesn't get credit for that, but the top holdings are many of the stocks that Ives has been publicly bullish on during that time. If the AI boom continues, the IVES ETF is likely to be a winner as it offers exposure to a range of stocks driving the "AI revolution." With an expense ratio of 0.75%, the IVES ETF is more expensive than most ETFs, but on par with actively managed funds. For investors looking for easy exposure to a range of AI stocks, investing a bit of money into the IVES ETF is a good way to do it.