JPMorgan reports a dramatic jump in AI-themed ETF launches. The same report notes these funds just had a rough quarter. Wall Street created more of something people are losing money on. That's the headline.
Picture the meetings. Returns are down. Investor enthusiasm is cooling. The smart move would be to wait. Instead, asset managers saw red numbers and thought, "Let's make twelve more of these."
This is the financial equivalent of a restaurant chain expanding during a health code violation. The kitchen's on fire. Better open three new locations.
Retail traders will buy them anyway. They always do. Some guy in Ohio who just discovered what an expense ratio is will read "AI" and "ETF" in the same sentence and think he's early to the party. He's not early. He's late. He's so late the party ended and now he's helping the hosts take out the trash while they make pointed comments about needing to get up early tomorrow.
JPMorgan Asset Management released this data with a straight face. They tracked the launches. They tracked the performance. They published both facts in the same document. No irony detected. No self-awareness visible. Just numbers on a page that, when placed side by side, form a perfect portrait of how asset management works.
The funds had a rough quarter. That means they'll have a rougher year. That means the people who bought them will have a rough conversation with their spouses. But there are more funds now. More tickers. More prospectuses. More ways to lose money on the same underlying bets.
Wall Street solved the problem of declining AI ETF performance by creating more AI ETFs. Next quarter, when those new funds also eat shit, they'll launch a dozen more.
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