CONTRIBUTORS
David Mann
Global Head of ETF Product and Capital Markets
Franklin Templeton
With two teenagers in the house, life is certainly busy these days between high school, middle school, soccer practice, tennis lessons and rooting for the Detroit Lions. Because of the madness of our schedules, we really try to make dinner each evening a family event. The TV is turned off, phones are put away, and we attempt to have actual conversations.
Recently, however, I’ve noticed that my kids are often speaking a completely different language. As much as I’d prefer that they update us on their schoolwork or ask about world events, I must admit it is pretty funny when my son says something, my daughter starts laughing hysterically, and my wife and I look at each other with puzzled expressions because we have no clue what they’re talking about!
As my kids started explaining some new terms to us, it dawned on me that we could perhaps swap out some dated financial parlance with teen lingo when it comes to our timely conversations about the exchange-traded fund (ETF) ecosystem. To that end, here are a few of the more recent ones:
Word: bet
What adults hear: a wager
What teens mean: “OK, sure” (as a response)
ETF example: “Do you want to hear more about the differences between active and index ETFs and how they might fit into a client’s portfolio?” Response: “Bet.”
Word: bussin’
What adults hear: a way to get kids to school via a yellow bus
What teens mean: something really good
ETF example: “Wow. The growth of that ETF is straight bussin’ as I had no idea that its assets under management has almost doubled over the last three months.”
Word: cap
What adults hear: a type of hat
What teens mean: lying, a lie
ETF example: “You think that average trading volume is the only way to measure the ability to buy or sell larger notional amounts of an ETF? That’s cap.”
Word: glaze
What adults hear: a popular donut flavor
What teens mean: to compliment someone excessively
ETF example: “That was a really strong explanation of how the creation/redemption process can help facilitate healthy ETF arbitrage and the fund’s tax efficiency,” Response: “Whoa…such glaze!”
Word: lowkey
What adults hear: a deep musical note/voice (usually a noun, two words i.e., play in a low key)
What teens mean: subtle, not obvious (usually an adjective, one word)
ETF example: “This turned out to be a lowkey great month for our ETF business as there were not any huge wins but almost all of our funds had at least one day of net inflows.”
Phrase: What the sigma?
What adults hear: …. (huh?)
What teens mean: I am still not quite sure, but I think it is mostly used as “what the heck?”
ETF example: “What the sigma? We just received a large inflow into one of our ETFs out of the blue and have not seen any shares print on exchange?”
Whether you resist or embrace generational linguistic changes, they are bound to continue evolving, just like our ETF ecosystem. Hopefully, this guide helps you keep current—or at least better understand our younger generation!
{Editor's note} David's kids read this blog post and think it’s bussin.’
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal.
Equity securities are subject to price fluctuation and possible loss of principal.
For actively managed ETFs, there is no guarantee that the manager’s investment decisions will produce the desired results.
ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade above or below the ETF’s net asset value. Brokerage commissions and ETF expenses will reduce returns. ETF shares may be bought or sold throughout the day at their market price on the exchange on which they are listed. However, there can be no guarantee that an active trading market for ETF shares will be developed or maintained or that their listing will continue or remain unchanged. While the shares of ETFs are tradable on secondary markets, they may not readily trade in all market conditions and may trade at significant discounts in periods of market stress.