##  [# Cash, Chips, and Chaos: What’s Really Driving ETF Flows ](/sections/podcasts/cash-chips-and-chaos-whats-really-driving-etf-flows-0) 

 

# Cash, Chips, and Chaos: What’s Really Driving ETF Flows 

 

 

The ongoing popularity of the AI trade proved a central driver of semiconductor chip outperformance and even surprising leveraged ETF gains this year. However, under the flashy surface, are there overlooked opportunities that investors may be sleeping on? Tune into this episode of the ETF Zoo for an update on everything from crypto to small-caps and international ETF flows.



 

 

 

 

 [![ETFZooLogo](/sites/default/files/styles/author_image_icon/public/2025-11/ETFZooLogo.png?itok=cteL2eHH "ETFZooLogo")](/authors/etf-zoo-podcast) 

[By ETF Zoo Podcast](/authors/etf-zoo-podcast)

 Jul 27, 2026

 Edited by: ETF.com Staff

 

 

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ETF.com hosts Dave Nadig, President &amp; Director of Research, and Sumit Roy, Senior ETF Analyst were joined in this ETF Zoo episode by Eric Balchunas, Senior ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, and Tony Dong, CETF, Lead ETF Analyst at ETF Central. The Zoo crew covered everything from surprising gains in leveraged ETFs to the stickiness in memory-chip ETF assets even when the fund tanks 40%.

Prefer to watch this conversation? You can do that [**here**](https://www.etf.com/sections/podcasts/etf-zoo-leveraged-lunacy-surpasses-65b-gains) or on our [**YouTube**](https://youtu.be/FKEF-ubMotQ).

- **Boring beats flashy, but only on the surface.** Nearly $200 billion has streamed into plain-vanilla funds like [**VOO**](https://www.etf.com/VOO) and [**VTI**](https://www.etf.com/VTI) this year, even while everyone's buzzing about semiconductors and AI plays. Having money tucked into lower-risk, cheap is what gives people the stomach to gamble on everything else.
- [**DRAM**](https://www.etf.com/DRAM) **broke records, then got crushed and nobody blinked.** This memory-chip ETF beat iShares' Bitcoin fund for fastest to $10 billion, then dropped 40% in price while barely losing any assets. The believers are betting this AI-driven memory cycle is different this time but the skeptics aren't so sure.
- **Leverage ETFs aren't the villain everyone assumes.** Balchunas dropped a stat that proved shocking: leveraged funds like [**TQQQ**](https://www.etf.com/TQQQ) have generated $65 billion in real investor gains, not losses. Turns out the degens” do know exactly what they're doing, riding the highs and cashing out before the crash.
- **Trump accounts could quietly reshape generational wealth.** The Zoo crew sees ultra-wealthy families using these accounts to pass down stock tax-free to kids, sidestepping traditional philanthropy entirely. It's a fascinating experiment but don't be surprised if the name changes before the concept sticks.



 

 

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 [ ETF Zoo Podcast ](/authors/etf-zoo-podcast) 

 

 

  Welcome to ETF Zoo, the podcast where we check into recent happenings in the wild world of ETFs. Hosts Dave Nadig, President and Director of Research…   [View Bio](/authors/etf-zoo-podcast)

 



 

 


 Related Topics  [Equity](http://www.etf.com/topics/equity) 

 [S&amp;P 500](http://www.etf.com/topics/sp-500) 

 [Fixed Income](http://www.etf.com/topics/fixed-income) 

 [Leveraged](http://www.etf.com/topics/leveraged) 

 [Crypto](http://www.etf.com/topics/cryptocurrency)