Many investors say the financial crisis had no impact on their lives, rising market pushes hedge funds to hit all-time asset highs despite fund outflows in October, and brick-and-mortar stores saw a successful Black Friday.

“There’s been a shift in perception that maybe the S&P 500 isn’t the best game in town anymore”

The Impact Shares YWCA Women's Empowerment ETF is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2018, and enable people to invest with companies that promote women's interests and take strong stands against workplace harassment.

In a market increasingly characterized by passive investing, the index players can direct billions of dollars of investment flows by reclassifying a single country or company.

The Vanguard CIO raises a contrarian concern, warning that active bond funds could be more vulnerable in a down market.

Over the holiday break, there was a significant change in the price of oil futures, giving these ETF buyers a lot to be thankful for.

Flattening may fatten investors’ wallets.

“The fact that you couldn’t buy this on major brokerage platforms has likely hampered their ability to gain scale," said Todd Rosenbluth, director of ETF and mutual fund research at CFRA.

So far, there has been little uptake among advisors or clients for ESG funds. That’s an opportunity, says Nuveen’s Marcus Velasco.

The actively managed “iShares Evolved” funds will target major industry groupings: financials, healthcare, media, consumer staples, consumer discretionary and, of course, technology.