2025 → 2026? Eight predictions for the financial news coverage in the new year 

Here are a few stories we expect to see on repeat in 2026:

1. The rise of ETF share classes is an emerging story as the SEC granted exemptive relief late in 2025 to the long list of firms that applied. So much is still unknown, but we’re curious to see the details as ETF share classes come to market and how it might change the standard ETF launch playbook.
2. Improved global market performance in 2025 is driving discussions about portfolio diversification in 2026. Emerging markets and small caps may finally get their day in the sun.
3. The AI story is likely to continue to play out. On the investment side, maybe we’ll start hearing more about a broader array of companies such as those introducing new AI applications or the needed energy infrastructure instead of a few tech giants dominating AI and the stock market. On the business side, we expect an acceleration in coverage of ways advisors, asset managers and investors are adopting AI tools.
4. The new tax law (OBBBA) brings expanded deductions and new write-offs that will fuel many tax planning stories. But even beyond the tax law, multiple years of strong markets has meant many investors are sitting on huge gains and looking for tax-efficient ways to reduce exposure to appreciated assets. We expect continued interest in direct indexing/custom SMA strategies that advisors can use at scale to address these issues for clients. We’ve seen a growing number of ETFs coming to market via Section 351 exchanges and expect to see more of these structures that allow investors to transfer appreciated stocks/ETFs for shares of a new ETF, diversifying their exposure and deferring gains for a later date.
5. The outsized growth of spot Bitcoin ETFs will lead to a proliferation of new Bitcoin investments. As investable Bitcoin products expand beyond the wildly popular products like IBIT, we’ll see more stories on the role Bitcoin can play as part of a diversified portfolio. There remains a group of dedicated crypto-first investors, many of them younger, who believe in the primacy of digital assets despite volatility and regulatory uncertainty. And the Trump family’s own dedication to digital assets means the story will likely continue.
6. Despite the move toward ETFs, traditional mutual funds, especially bond funds, will continue to play an important role in many investors’ portfolios, especially 401(k) accounts. Retirement investors with longer time horizons, less of a need for daily liquidity and a lot of inertia are unlikely to move away from the traditional mutual funds that populate 401(k)s menus. And with most active bond managers beating their indexed peers, the arguments for passive ETF products aren’t as compelling.
7. Growth in alternatives such as private credit, PE/VC and hedge funds will be a focus for advisors and the media that cover them. Interval funds, liquid-alternative funds and direct investments in private equity and hedge funds have been a focus as advisors look for non-correlated sources of alpha and ways to help their clients diversify concentrated stock portfolios. While there was a lot of excitement by the private equity and hedge fund industry around the Trump Administration’s executive order opening the door to these products in 401(k) plans, only a small portion of well-heeled investors are likely to be interested with the bulk of 401(k) participants sticking to their core target date fund holdings.
8. Despite reports of their impending demise, values-based and impact investing will muddle along and continue to capture a portion of client dollars. While we saw a drop off in requests for stories about sustainable and impact investing in 2025, there remains interest in niche strategies such as faith-based, impact and community development investing. And there remains a core group of investors interested in sustainable and values-based investing even if they no longer use the term ESG. US SIF’s 2025 Trends Report confirmed that far from dropping off, these assets remained essentially flat in the US at roughly 11% of the total market AUM while reaching new highs outside the US. Might this story see a comeback in 2026?
9. The ongoing wealth industry consolidation will fuel interest in the tech supporting those growing firms. We expect more reporting on the rise of technology platforms that help those growing enterprise firms offer products and services at scale. Industry publications are likely to see numerous beneficiaries of this consolidation and a changing vendor landscape.
10. National elections are always a big story that moves markets, but the Trump administration has been a juggernaut in terms of setting and executing the agenda on everything from deregulation to trade policy to, most recently, an appetite for carving up the globe into spheres of influence. As such, this year’s midterms seem especially consequential and likely to roil markets until the outcome is clear.