How First Trust Became a Quiet Force in ETFs

In this episode of Trillions, Joel Weber and Eric Balchunas are joined by Emily Graffeo and Max Abelson to discuss their Bloomberg Businessweek story on First Trust, a quietly successful ETF issuer. The discussion revolves around First Trust's unique business model, which emphasizes personal relationships with financial advisors through extensive networking and entertainment, including steak dinners. This approach allows them to maintain higher expense ratios compared to competitors like Vanguard. The conversation explores First Trust's sales tactics, its focus on underserved markets, the composition and performance of its ETF offerings, and a FINRA investigation into the firm's sales practices, highlighting the gray area between relationship building and potentially crossing regulatory lines.