The Battle for the Last Mile, or the Future of Retail Investing

Quite a few years ago, back in 2008, I had the following conversation with one of my MBA students, Billy Ruck:

Billy: Why aren’t ETFs more popular now? They are great…

Alexey: Yes, ETFs are great! It’s a conspiracy, man!

As outlandish as my response may have seemed, it was absolutely true. Since this interaction, it’s been fascinating to see how both parts, the ETFs and the conspiracy, have been playing out. But, before we break out the tin foil hats, let me expand a bit on my 2008 answer…

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