In a world of instant communication, not to mention instant gratification, for investors, I do not believe much is the same as it used to be. And while I do not know if there’s any such thing as a “dirty little secret” in the year 2026, I am gradually finding evidence that the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry may have one.
I’m talking about the idea that while there are more than 4,000 U.S. ETFs, a large and increasing number of them move in sync. And the blame does not rest at the feet of product makers. It is the modern market environment. Yet, I do not think the era of trading dominated by passive index inflows and algorithmic trading has fully processed this yet.
