Daft Punk isn’t the only one cashing in on random access memories.

Roundhill Investments, which launched its Memory ETF (DRAM) just last month, has already pulled in a record $6.5 billion in assets. The feat took just 36 trading days, making DRAM the fastest product to reach that milestone, surpassing the mighty iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). Roundhill’s fund grew by an additional $1 billion on Friday alone, per Bloomberg data. Its success is the latest sign of ballooning investor confidence in ETFs and the influence of artificial intelligence and data center construction on markets.

“I’m stunned, frankly,” Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a post. “Regardless of what happens from here, this was one of the most heads-up, best-timed ETF launches I’ve ever seen.”

Up All Night to Get Lucky

DRAM is a thematic fund that tracks companies involved in computer memory hardware, investing in companies like Samsung, Sandisk and Micron. These companies’ stocks have skyrocketed, alongside the booming AI industry, with shares in Micron up 75% year to date as of Monday. About three-quarters of DRAM’s portfolio is split between Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix, a South Korean semiconductor manufacturer. Part of what makes the product appealing to investors is its exposure to South Korean stocks, said Todd Rosenbluth, head of research and editorial at TMX VettaFi, who added that pent-up demand for memory exposure has rivaled early interest in bitcoin. “Two of [DRAM’s] holdings are international securities not typically found in US ETFs, which is likely a significant factor in its growth,” he said.

The next-fastest funds to reach the $6.5 billion mark after DRAM, according to Yahoo Finance data, are:

• BlackRock’s IBIT, which accomplished the feat in just 43 days.
• Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which took 51 days.
• The iShares AI Innovation and Tech Active ETF (BAI), which took 352 days.

Not Enough Bytes. Still, DRAM’s heavy concentration in just a few holdings might make it volatile. The fund slid almost 7% on Tuesday after a South Korean official’s comments prompted speculation the country might impose new taxes on AI profits. (The government later clarified that it isn’t planning to do so.) The concentration could be a problem for the fund in the long run, Dan Sotiroff, senior manager research analyst for Morningstar, told ETF Upside. “You box yourself into a corner,” he said. “You’re talking about a niche of a niche of a niche here.”

You say “to-may-to,” I say “to-mah-to,” Kevin Warsh says “higher for longer?”

Tomatoes have become the new eggs, meaning orange is the new yellow when it comes to surging prices in the grocery aisle. Prices for the fruits (or vegetables — it’s not a debate we’re wading into here) soared nearly 40% in April from a year ago, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Cold temperatures in Florida, poor weather and diseases in Mexico, where an estimated 70% of tomatoes we eat here in the US are grown, tariffs and the rising cost of jet fuel moving through the supply chain are to blame.

Inflation Figures and the Fed

If only foregoing a BLT and ketchup were all it took to bring down bills. Groceries aside, consumer prices overall jumped 3.8% last month from April 2025, the largest increase in nearly three years. Higher energy costs due to conflict in the Middle East are among the culprits, climbing 3.8% from the previous month and roughly 18% from a year ago. But if you eliminate volatile food and energy prices, it’s still a dreary picture for our wallets: The core consumer price index (CPI) jumped 2.8% in April compared with a year ago, an uptick from 2.6% in March.

“I’m looking for anything where I can say, ‘Here’s some relief,’ and that’s not very easy to do in this report,” Michael Reid, chief US economist at RBC Capital Markets, told The New York Times. “Generally, inflation is moving in the wrong direction.”

So what’s this all mean for the Federal Reserve, whose policymakers are closely watching inflation figures for hints about where interest rates should head next?

• Eric Winograd, chief US economist at AllianceBernstein, said he expects the higher prices will keep the Fed from cutting rates further for the time being, barring a “dramatic change in thinking” spurred by Warsh, who’s expected to become the new Fed chair. “I do not expect him to push for near-term rate cuts and expect the Fed to be on hold for the foreseeable future,” Winograd added.
• Skyler Weinand, chief investment officer at Regan Capital, said that the current inflation being driven by oil prices rather than broader economic pressure doesn’t change the fact that consumers are paying the prices. “As a result, we expect the Federal Reserve to be on hold through the summer on interest rates.”

Can of Worms: Meanwhile, manufacturers of tin cans that hold everything from beans to tuna to pineapples are getting hit by tariffs when they import the steel. The result? You guessed it: higher food prices.

You get what you pay for.

Life insurance policies with low premiums are naturally attractive to clients. They seem like a good deal compared to more expensive options, but there’s a big reason why they cost less. Simply put, policies with low annual premiums are priced that way because they have a low probability of paying out, generally because they are structured as term insurance that has a set expiration date set well in advance of the purchaser’s actuarial longevity projection. Conversely, policies with what seem to be very steep relative premiums have a higher (or even effectively guaranteed) probability of paying out, generally because they are structured as permanent whole life insurance. It’s critical for financial planners to understand this dynamic, and even more importantly, to communicate these differences to clients.

This isn’t to suggest term policies don’t have value, said Bobby Samuelson, executive editor of the Life Product Review. Term life insurance provides affordable, temporary coverage for a set period, which can be helpful for covering debts like mortgages. Permanent life insurance, on the other hand, offers lifelong protection with a cash value component that can provide liquidity along the way, generally costing significantly more. In other words, term insurance is considered best for income replacement protection during working years, while permanent policies better suit long-term retirement and estate planning.

Insurance as an Asset Class

Within this general framework, financial planners are better off positioning high-premium permanent policies more as a long-term asset class to which one is making contributions, as opposed to a more traditional understanding of insurance categories like health, home or auto. In fact, Samuelson said, there’s a solid argument to be made that appropriately priced and structured permanent life insurance policies can supplement, or even replace, a fixed-income allocation in a long-term retirement portfolio.

“The inclusion of permanent whole life policies changes the efficient frontier,” Samuelson said. Essentially, including permanent whole life insurance shifts the efficient frontier of a retirement portfolio:

• The strategies can offer a low-volatility, tax-advantaged cash position, potentially allowing for increased equity exposure.
• Assuming it is held over long periods, a permanent policy functions as a true non-correlated buffer asset, reducing sequence-of-returns risk and enhancing sustainable income.

“With big questions about whether bonds are really working as a non-correlated asset in today’s markets, it’s worth considering what role life insurance can play,” Samuelson said.

A Big Growth Market. Financial professionals who can effectively tell this story and distribute more life insurance policies as part of a retirement strategy stand a chance of significant growth. “Today, the total amount of cash value in all fixed life insurance policies is about $1 trillion,” Samuelson said. “There are some Vanguard funds out there today with more than that. It’s a huge opportunity to build a business and differentiate yourself.”