«We continue to see strong interest into AI and think the theme is by no means over»

On Tuesday, 30.04.2024, I met Alexis Marinof and Johannes Kammann from WisdomTree Europe for a coffee at the «citizenM Zurich hotel», just next to the Paradeplatz. We agreed to talk for thirty minutes, but it turned out to be over an hour, that’s how interesting it was. I am impressed by the variety of their exciting products and the consistency and foresight with which they are operating in the market. Thomas J. Caduff, CEO, Fundplat LLC

• Caduff: Gentlemen, what are the particular strengths of your company for Swiss investors?

Marinof: We offer a comprehensive and differentiated range of exchange-traded products (ETPs), that have been built and structured with institutional investors in mind. We have a reputation as the European leader of commodity ETPs and, in recent years, have been recognized for our award-winning thematic equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Our approach to thematic ETFs leverages the subject matter knowledge of third-party experts in the index construction process ensuring these products provide pure and differentiated exposure to the respective investment theme. Our low-cost institutional grade physically backed crypto ETPs also leverage 20 years of expertise from building physically backed gold ETPs.

• Caduff: Which of your investment solutions are currently most in demand?

We see significant interest across several product ranges. Alexis Marinof

Marinof: We see significant interest across several product ranges. Our core equity ETF range, Quality Dividend Growth, continues to generate interest as an all-weather investment solution. Artificial Intelligence (AI) remains top of mind for investors, and we keep seeing strong flows in our expert-driven AI ETF, which provides pure exposure to the evolving value chain of this theme. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies continue to intrigue investors. There have been several catalysts for this, including a reduction of fees across our crypto ETP range, the launch of spot bitcoin ETFs in the US, the recent bitcoin halving event and bitcoin hitting an all-time high this year.

• Caduff: Everyone is talking about AI. Is this really the big topic or what do you see?

Kammann: In 2018 we launched an AI UCITS ETF and have seen strong levels of interest through the years. Interest has increased in the past 12 months or so as we’ve seen AI transitioning to a foundational innovation that looks set to drive growth across multiple megatrends. Software, healthcare, and the energy transition are three of the many frontiers already being transformed by AI. We are watching a revolution unfold and that is exciting for investors.

Marinof: Our core equity ETF range, Quality Dividend Growth, continues to generate interest as an all-weather investment solution.