Apparently, Vanguard is looking to spend some quality bonding time with clients.

Last week, the world’s second-largest asset manager launched three government bond ETFs: the Vanguard Government Securities Active ETF (VGVT), the Vanguard Total Treasury ETF (VTG) and the Vanguard Total Inflation-Protected Securities ETF (VTP). That brings the total number of fixed-income ETFs it has launched this year to nine.

Vanguard isn’t alone in its efforts. Across the industry, issuers are racing to launch fixed-income products as the market environment becomes more fertile for bonds and Treasurys. “Just about every asset manager is pushing into fixed-income,” said Daniel Sotiroff, senior analyst for Morningstar, adding that fixed-income is a massive trend but isn’t talked about as much as active or options-based income strategies.

Fixer Upper

Fixed-income products have been a priority for the firm since Tim Buckley’s tenure as CEO, but up until recently, the opportunity just wasn’t there for those kinds of ETFs, Sotiroff told Advisor Upside. “It’s hard to sell a product when short-term yields are at near 0% like they were for much of the 2010s,” he said.

Today, however, interest rates are hovering near the historical average and equity markets are volatile, creating “a period where fixed-income has reemerged as a valuable diversifier in a balanced portfolio,” according to Sam Martinez, senior fixed-income product manager at Vanguard. The firm’s latest fixed-income ETFs include one actively managed product and two index funds:

• VGVT has about 60% of its portfolio exposed to US Treasurys, while roughly 35% is allocated to agency-backed securities. It has an expense ratio of 0.1%.
• VTG tracks the Bloomberg US Treasury Total Return Unhedged USD Index and has exposure to short-, intermediate- and long-term maturities. Its expense ratio is 0.03%.
• VTP attempts to mitigate inflation risk by investing in US TIPS securities across the yield curve. It has an expense ratio of 0.05%.

“Client value is our motivation for building out our fixed-income lineup,” Martinez said, adding that nine funds Vanguard has launched this year have garnered more than $2 billion in assets.

And They’re Off! Asset managers have launched nearly 80 fixed-income ETFs this year alone. While the list of issuers includes industry giants like Goldman Sachs and BlackRock, it also features smaller names like Stone Ridge Asset Management, Bluemonte and Cohen & Steers. “Everybody’s been throwing their hat into the ring,” Sotiroff said.

As if we needed more tariff turmoil.

Strategists from some of the world’s top asset managers are now cautioning investors about a possible market slowdown in the second half of 2025 as the effects of President Trump’s tariff policy spread through the broader economy. Experts from Vanguard, BlackRock, Allianz and Invesco are keeping a close eye on growth as the added costs from levies on foreign goods drive up prices in the US. While timing the markets is anyone’s guess, the potential of higher inflation could push investors into derivative-based products, like buffered ETFs, to hedge against a market dip, according to Charlie Ripley, vice president of portfolio management at Allianz.

“The impact from tariffs will be a meaningful pickup of inflation that has yet to show up in the hard data sets,” he said. “Our perspective on the direction of travel for equity markets, first and foremost, includes a wider range of outcomes.”

Big, Beautiful Buzzkill

Inflation is one thing, but it’s not the only issue keeping economists up at night. Trump’s recently passed tax and spending bill should have a marginally positive impact on the economy as Americans consume more over the next few years, Ripley said. “On the other hand, the increase in spending is going to have to be funded somehow and despite the run-up in rates we have already seen, the supply and demand picture for long-dated Treasurys could keep upward pressure on yields,” he told ETF Upside.

If tariffs do drive up inflation, the Fed will have its hands tied on any further interest rate cuts. Finding a consensus among a divided Fed could also prove difficult as long as inflation is looming, Ripley added. The good news:

• Employment data continue to be robust, which would likely translate to an environment of “normalized” returns for the stock market, he said.
• Allianz is “skeptical” overall of a meaningful slowdown.

“We recognize that things could change quickly with the current administration with global trade and geopolitics remaining as top risks,” Ripley said.

Let’s All Play Nice. There are other key global trends that could loom large over the second half, too, including restrictive immigration policies here at home and investments moving into the defense sector in Europe, said Brian Levitt, a global market strategist at Invesco. “These dynamics suggest a more inflationary environment and moderated growth outlook for the US in 2025, relative to earlier expectations,” Levitt said in a recent outlook, adding that global markets may also wane. However, a “constructive resolution of trade tensions” could sustain markets through the end of the year.

Here’s to hoping.

Cronos, XRP and Solana have entered the chat.

Trump Media filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a new fund, the Truth Social Crypto Blue Chip ETF, which would primarily hold Bitcoin but also Ether, Solana, Cronos and XRP. Its fees have not been disclosed, but the crypto exchange platform Crypto.com is slated to act as the fund’s digital custodian.

The move is the latest foray by President Trump’s media company into the increasingly deregulated, and saturated, world of crypto products.

Blue Chip Boom

The filing taps into increased demand for cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin, said Bryan Armour, Morningstar’s director of ETF and passive strategies research. “As more cryptocurrencies are approved for spot ETFs generally, I think there will be more appetite and significant product development around an indexed version of multiple cryptocurrencies,” he said, “so my guess is they’ll appear in different ways.” The problem is that Solana, XRP and Cronos aren’t yet available to trade as spot funds, which has slowed the launch of index-type crypto ETFs, Armour said. That leaves little room for Trump Media’s other two ETFs to differentiate themselves from existing funds.

It’s only a matter of time until the SEC’s approval of additional currencies opens the door for new players, however. “It’s a more level playing field because they’ll be starting alongside other asset managers and there’s potential to differentiate,” Armour said. “[Cronos] has a significant overweight, but that might appeal to some investors to get that type of mix.”

Trump Media, which operates Trump’s Truth Social platform, has now filed for three strategies with the SEC:

• The Truth Social Crypto Blue Chip ETF would have 70% of its assets allocated to Bitcoin, with 15%, 8%, 5% and 2% going to Ether, Solana, Cronos and XRP, respectively.
• The Truth Social Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF would have 75% of its assets allocated to Bitcoin and 25% to Ether.
• The Truth Social Bitcoin ETF would be a spot Bitcoin ETF, aiming to serve as a Bitcoin reserve for the US government.

The Blue Chip version will allocate about 5% of its holdings to Cronos — a currency developed by Crypto.com, an affiliate of the fund’s custodian, Foris DAX Trust Company. That’s of particular note, Armour said, because the product should have a 1% allocation based on market cap.

Name Brand? The main force behind Trump Media’s crypto ETFs at present is the Trump name itself, which may not be enough, said Roxanna Islam, head of sector and industry research at VettaFi. “They do appeal more to Trump fans or people that are anti-mainstream financial issuers. But that can only go so far,” she said, adding that fees will also play a role. “Will they even remotely catch up? It’s hard to say, because they’re over a year behind.”