Expert-inspired ETFs gained real traction in 2025, but beneath the branding and big names, a clear pattern emerged: every major “superstar-led” ETF ultimately became a bet on technology and AI.
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The portfolios may be framed around investor acumen, but the exposure tells a more concentrated story about where conviction (and hence, opportunity) still resides in the market.
That alignment mattered in a year defined by narrow leadership. As a small group of technology stocks drove outsized returns, investors didn’t necessarily rotate away from concentration risk. Instead, they looked for more deliberate ways to express it.
Funds such as the VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF (NYSE:OMAH) and VistaShares Target 15 ACKtivist Distribution ETF (NYSE:ACKY) offered that structure by pairing tech-heavy equity exposure with income-generating options strategies.
VistaShares CEO Adam Patti said several forces converged to drive interest in the category.
“There were a few factors that drove investors to take a closer look at this category, including a growing interest in and comfort with actively managed solutions,” he told Benzinga. He added that investors increasingly understood “new ways in which investors can add core equity exposure mimicking the ideas and acumen of some of the most well-known investors on the planet alongside an attractive level of income.”
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In a market dominated by AI narratives, that combination resonated. Rather than chasing diversification, investors leaned into high-conviction exposures, especially in tech, while using the ETF wrapper to manage income and risk. Patti said what drew many investors to VistaShares’ ETFs was “the potential to gain exposure not only to a differentiated equity portfolio but the potential for attractive income via an active options overlay,” adding that “2025 provided some very clear proof points.”
The technology tilt across expert-led ETFs is less intentional design and more market reality.
“Tech has been the north star for investors seeking growth in recent years,” Patti said, pointing to why these portfolios naturally gravitated toward AI and platform companies with scale, liquidity, and visibility. Those same characteristics also make tech stocks easier to package into index-driven strategies that mirror expert holdings.
While the early phase of this ETF category has been overwhelmingly tech-centric, Patti suggested that may not always be the case. He said VistaShares is focused less on chasing individual experts and more on “creating products that meet a clear need in investors’ portfolios,” particularly those that combine differentiated equity exposure with income.
Still, the early popularity of funds like OMAH underscores how closely superstar ETFs are tied to today’s concentrated market structure. Despite an inception-to-date dip in fund prices because of the deep crests and troughs that tech faced this year, Patti pointed to OMAH’s rapid asset growth, which surpassed $650 million within months, as evidence that these products are becoming core holdings rather than niche trades.
Looking ahead, Patti emphasized the importance of investors understanding what they own.
“It is always wise for investors to look under the hood of any ETF,” he said, citing time horizon, income targets and correlation as key considerations.
For now, the takeaway from 2025 is straightforward: investors buying superstar-inspired ETFs weren’t just betting on famous names. They were making a focused call on tech and AI, using expert-led frameworks and income overlays to navigate one of the most concentrated markets in years.
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