To The Moon

That’s why this matters.

Eric Balchunas at Bloomberg has published his “26 ETFs to Watch in ’26”. I’m not treating this as a list of trade ideas. I’m treating it as a map of themes, structures, and macro pivots that are already being expressed through capital allocation.

I’m especially focused on this list given the scale of capital already moving. US-listed ETF inflows exceeded roughly $1.4T in 2025, which tells me these products are no longer passive wrappers. They are the primary instruments institutions are using to reposition size. When flows reach that magnitude, structure and theme selection matter as much as stock selection.

With that backdrop, I’m increasingly convinced that 2026 is the year institutional curiosity hardens into institutional conviction.

I’m using this as a capital-flow framework, not a buy list.

🌍📈 The Macro Pivot I’m Positioning Around

US exceptionalism is maturing, yield is returning as a portfolio input, and dispersion is once again driving outcomes across geographies, factors, and structures.

Capital is rotating quietly into real assets, international exposure, income engines, and thematic infrastructure tied to AI, electrification, and regulatory thaw. ETFs sit at the centre of that transition because they allow institutions to express conviction efficiently and at scale.

📊🧠 Momentum Leaders Carrying Into 2026

🟢 SPYM | 2025 Total Return +206.42% | Dividend Yield 0.30%

Moves of this magnitude rarely occur without deep factor alignment. Momentum of this quality tends to persist into early rebalancing cycles as allocators extend exposure rather than fade it.

🟢 COPJ | +120.90% | Yield 11.57%

This is yield scarcity colliding with real-asset demand. Copper exposure linked to AI data centres and electrification, combined with a double-digit yield profile, places this squarely in allocator territory.

🟢 CHAT | +48.23% | Yield 2.84%

This is not speculative AI exposure. It reflects enterprise adoption, communication infrastructure, and workflow integration moving from experimentation into operating budgets.

🟢 DFIV | +43.98% | Yield 2.93%

Dividend-supported value exposure tends to perform when growth moderates but capital still requires returns. This structure fits that environment well.

🟢 DEHP | +32.03% | Yield 1.72%

Defensive growth with momentum often signals institutional preference for earnings resilience rather than headline expansion.

🌐💵 Global and Diversification Signals

🌍 VXUS | +31.46% | Yield 3.18%

International exposure is regaining relevance as currency dynamics, valuation dispersion, and regional policy cycles re-enter allocation decisions.

🌍 CGDV | +25.53% | Yield 1.29%

Quality dividends without excessive leverage risk. These profiles attract steady inflows when durability matters more than speed.

🌱 GRNY | +25.09% | Yield 0.00%

Momentum here suggests sustainability themes are being selectively re-rated where policy support and balance-sheet credibility align.

⚡🏗 Infrastructure and Real Asset Resilience

⚡ UTES | +22.76% | Yield 1.41%

Utilities tied to modern infrastructure benefit from AI-driven power demand and grid constraints, providing a secular tailwind absent in prior cycles.

🏠 ITB | -3.53% | Yield 1.67%

Underperformance itself is informative. Housing often turns before macro confirmation. I’m watching this as a sentiment reset candidate if financial conditions ease.

🧬 Thematic and Structural Exposure

🧩 QBIG | +22.56% | Yield 0.00%

Narrative sensitivity is the feature here. These exposures respond quickly when thematic conviction accelerates.

🎓 LRND | +20.77% | Yield 0.66%

Education and workforce retooling remain slow-burn themes that can reprice rapidly when policy or labour constraints intensify.

🌿 MSOS | +18.01% | Yield 0.00%

Pure regulatory optionality. Repricing, if it comes, tends to be abrupt rather than gradual.

🧾 PCLN | +0.18% | Yield 0.07%

This functions more as a structure and positioning vehicle than an income play.

💰🛡 Yield and Defensive Structures

💵 QQQI | +17.26% | Yield 13.76%

Options-based income structures tend to thrive in range-bound environments but require respect for mechanics and volatility regimes.

💵 BINC | +7.27% | Yield 5.86%

This serves as portfolio ballast. Stability becomes increasingly attractive as cross-asset volatility rises.

🛡 DBMF | +12.46% | Yield 5.91%

Managed futures exposure becomes valuable when traditional correlations fail. I treat this as insurance rather than a return driver.

🏦 JPHY | +4.03% | Yield 3.31%

Credit income with rate-cycle sensitivity. Carry remains effective while defaults stay contained.

🧊 BOXX | +4.30% | Yield 0.00%

Cash-management innovation focused on efficiency and liquidity rather than yield maximisation.

🧯 BUFB | +13.51% | Yield 0.00%

Behavioural hedging designed to smooth outcomes rather than capture upside extremes.

🪙 OTGL | +14.36% | Yield 1.87%

Gold remains portfolio insurance when geopolitical risk and rate expectations diverge.

🧷 XOVR | +11.24% | Yield 0.00%

Hybrid exposure that attracts attention when dispersion reasserts itself.

🚨📉 High-Optionality Laggards

⚠️ TXBC | -10.97% | Yield 0.00%

Crypto index exposure in reset mode. Regulatory clarity would be the catalyst for a narrative shift.

⚠️ PXIU | -94.78% | Yield 0.00%

Extreme drawdowns tend to precede optionality. Conviction comes later, if at all.

🍽 UFOD

I’m deliberately keeping this unranked. For me, the signal will be whether flows validate the theme rather than headlines.

🧾 GRFT

This remains firmly on watch. Asset stickiness will matter far more than initial interest.

🧠📌 How I’m Distilling Conviction

I’m ranking these on three dimensions:

Momentum carryover from 2025.

Yield durability across volatility regimes.

Theme oxygen tied to tangible 2026 catalysts.

Where all three intersect, institutional conviction tends to form first. By that measure, COPJ, CHAT, and VXUS stand out as early allocator magnets rather than late-cycle trades.

🔍 My Bottom Line for 2026

I’m not using this roadmap to predict markets. I’m using it to prepare for them. When flows are this large and structures this deliberate, the edge comes from recognising where institutions can express conviction cleanly and early.

The shift rarely announces itself. It shows up first in flows, then in positioning, and only later in headlines. That sequencing is where durable 2026 alpha is built.

Before I wrap this up, I’m genuinely interested in how others are framing 2026 from an allocation perspective. Are you seeing the strongest opportunity set in AI-linked infrastructure, real assets and electrification, international diversification, or yield-focused structures designed for range-bound markets?

I ask because the best regime signals often emerge where independent frameworks begin to converge.

Markets rotate. They adapt. They remember. This framework is about preparation, not prediction.

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Trade like a boss! Happy trading ahead, Cheers, BC 📈🚀🍀🍀🍀

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