Oct 12, 2026 · 4 min listen · Last updated October 12, 2026
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief. Mason here, October 12th. The market read in five — let's start with the headline number. Let's get into it. First, from Bloomberg Technology. IT Distributor Asbis Targets Data Centers and AI to Sustain 476% Stock Rally.
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Daily Finance & Markets Brief · October 12th
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ETFs on Track to Outnumber Mutual Funds Early Next Year
There are currently about 5,718 ETFs and 6,202 mutual funds, but that’s set to change. By February 2027, ETFs are projected to outnumber mutual funds for the first time. Investors have poured $9.6 trillion into ETFs over the past 25 years, while mutual funds have seen $319 billion in outflows.
The shift towards ETFs is driven by their tax efficiency and lower costs, especially as advisors increasingly favor index-based investing. ETF clones, like the Fidelity Total Bond Fund’s version, are attracting significant net new flows, highlighting this trend.
However, some advisors caution against hastily liquidating mutual funds, as it could trigger tax implications. Instead, they suggest a smoother transition through new allocations and rebalancing.
For listeners who want low-fee crypto exposure, our markets partner Kraken supports Bitcoin — link in show notes.
Diesel has become the “global” focus, rather than “just” the price of oil. We believe that is the correct focus, though we still see too much of the conversation focused on oil and too little attention given to the other distillates and downstream products, but let’s not quibble. It is worth checking out the U.S. National Average Price of Diesel since 2022 so we can encompass both the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the start of this iteration of the conflict in the Middle East, primarily between the U.S. and Iran (with heavy involvement from Israel).
3 Cents On The Dollar: Hedge Funds Gorge On LA Fire Claims As Sacramento’s Crackdown Goes Up In Smoke
Nearly two years after the Eaton and Palisades fires torched an estimated $40 billion in insured property, nobody has figured out who ultimately pays. Wall Street has decided that's the perfect time to buy. Hedge funds are stepping up purchases of subrogation claims tied to the January 2025 Los Angeles fires now that the political push to curb the trade has stalled, Bloomberg reports. Prices range from as little as 3 cents on the dollar to around 60 cents.
Welfare State Meets Mr. Bond Market: Rising Yields Put Socialism's Promises On Borrowed Time
All-In Podcast hosts Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg recently discussed the "socialism point of guaranteed return," a troubling threshold at which economic deterioration drives voters to reject socialist policies and embrace free markets. They pointed to rightward shifts in South American presidential elections as evidence of that political shift, with Brazil likely to flip right in the runoff election later this month.
Imagine you run a pension fund in Toronto. You have $100 million to park somewhere safe for a few years. Option 1 is to lend it to the US government. A 10-year Treasury (that’s what US government bonds are called) pays about 5.3% now. It’s a good option because your money stays in dollars. You don’t lose sleep over it. Option 2 is to lend it to the Indian government. The yields are higher; a 10-year G-sec (the moniker for Indian government securities) pays about 7.3%. You’ll make a little more money and that’s always an enticing proposition.
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