Charles Schwab said assets in its exchange-traded funds rose 16% since last year’s first quarter as flows into its biggest funds jumped. Schwab, which manages 33 ETFs, said in an April 17 statement that assets in its proprietary ETFs jumped to $398.2 billion from $342.9 billion at the end of last year’s first quarter. Since the previous quarter ended, assets inched up 1% from $395 billion, the company said. Assets gained year over year as broad equity indexes jumped, with the S&P 500 notching a 25% total return last year. Inflows slowed as markets dropped this year, however, as fears of recession and inflation sparked by President Donald Trump’s trade war have pushed the S&P 500 10% lower so far in 2025. Investors were met with “an increasingly uncertain environment” in the first quarter, Schwab Chief Executive Officer Rick Wurster said. As markets tumbled in the first quarter and investors moved money into safer investments, Schwab’s largest ETF, the $64.9 billion Schwab US Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD), pulled in $3.8 billion. That fund pulled in $12.1 billion since last year’s first quarter. It includes companies with 10-year histories of paying dividends, which are widely considered safer investments.
J.P. Morgan Asset Management’s new MD for Multi-Asset Solutions had served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen
J.P. Morgan Asset Management announced that Geng Ngarmboonanant will join the firm’s Multi-Asset Solutions business as a managing director specializing in global business and investment strategy. Based in New York, Geng reports to Zachary Page, Head of Multi-Asset Solutions for the Americas. In this new role, Geng helps shape investment strategy through macroeconomic and policy research, and partners with clients to design tailored investment solutions. He will also drive business strategy and product innovation as part of the business leadership team. Geng joins J.P. Morgan from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Secretary Janet L. Yellen. In this capacity, Geng served as a key advisor to Secretary Yellen on domestic and international economic policy issues, and played an important role in many of the Treasury Department’s top economic initiatives from 2021 to 2025. This includes the response to the pandemic and market events, U.S.-China economic relations, housing and insurance markets, and artificial intelligence. Multi-Asset Solutions is a $440 billion business, integrating a team of asset allocation specialists with the breadth and depth of J.P. Morgan’s global investment platform, with over 500 investment strategies across asset classes, geographies and investment styles. The group seeks to create portfolios that access opportunities and solve challenges across the ever-changing investing landscape – including customized solutions and well-known strategies such as J.P. Morgan Income Builder, J.P. Morgan Global Allocation and the J.P. Morgan SmartRetirement series of target date funds.
U.S. Bank has united its Global Fund Services and Global Corporate Trust teams into a single Investment Services division, to build on leading market share in the Corporate Trust markets
U.S. Bank announced that it has united its Global Fund Services and Global Corporate Trust teams into a single Investment Services division led by Jay Martin. As president of Investment Services, Martin leads a global team that offers customized services to middle market, large corporate, government and institutional clients, including fund administration, custody, investor servicing, trustee services and corporate escrow. Martin has led Global Fund Services since joining the bank in 2023. Stephen Philipson, vice chair of Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking, said, “We have the No. 1 market share in the Corporate Trust markets we serve, and our Fund Services business is thriving, with a steady drumbeat of new and enhanced capabilities to meet the evolving needs of clients. Bringing these two businesses together under a single leader will allow our clients to benefit from our combined scale, investments and more interconnected approach to serving them.”
Ally and other auto-lenders saw an uptick in auto originations and leasing volume in first-quarter, while credit performance largely improved
First-quarter bank earnings highlighted mixed results as some banks saw an uptick in auto originations and leasing volume, while credit performance largely improved. Ally Financial’s auto originations increased 4.1% year over year as lease originations were up 28.6% YoY. The bank’s retail auto delinquencies declined 9 basis points (bps) YoY to 3.79%. Across the regional banks, Huntington Bank’s auto originations rose 25% YoY, while U.S. Bank’s indirect loan and lease originations were down 27.3% YoY. Fifth Third Bank, PNC Financial and Truist joined several auto lenders in reporting declines in delinquencies and credit losses in Q1. Meanwhile, new-vehicle affordability hit the best level in 45 months in March but auto tariffs are expected to lead to price increases and contribute to lower sales in the coming months. Prolonged tariffs are also projected to contribute to a decline in auto asset-backed securitization volume and increased delinquencies across securitized auto loans.
Amex 1Q25: Total Card Member spending was up 6 percent, intends to stay invested in card refreshes and technology projects including integrating acquisition Center’s expense management tech with its corporate and small-business cards
With the economy bracing for a potential recession due to the trade war, American Express is plowing ahead with card refreshes and technology projects, saying it has room to adjust expenses if conditions warrant. “We’re not going to stop the refresh strategy,” CEO Stephen Squeri said. “From an ROI perspective I don’t think there would be a reason to do that.” Product refreshes take months to execute, Squeri said, and are based on a long-term view of demand and customer health. “It’s hard to stop them and we have confidence to put them out in the marketplace,” Squeri said. Amex also does not plan to change or downsize its technology. The company has boosted investment in B2B technology, and this week closed on an acquisition of Center, an expense management company. Amex plans to integrate Center’s expense management technology with its corporate and small-business cards, building upon a small-business strategy that grew out of Amex’s earlier acquisition of small-business payment company Kabbage. “We’re not going to veer off of our technology plan. It doesn’t make sense to start and stop our tech strategy,” Squeri said. Amex has flexibility to adjust its marketing and operational expenses depending on economic conditions, Squeri said, adding it does not currently plan to lower those investments. “What we won’t do is just cut expenses to make an EPS number,” he said. Boosted by spending from its high-end customer base, American Express reported strong results.
For the quarter ending March 31, Amex reported earnings per share of $3.63 on revenue of $16.97 billion. That beat Visible Alpha analysts’ estimates of $3.47 and $16.93 billion. Net income was $4.17 billion, better than the $4.10 billion estimate. In a release, Squeri said spending was consistent and in many cases better than what the company reported in 2024. Amex affirmed its full-year outlook of 8% to 10% revenue growth and EPS of $15.00 to $15.50 “subject to the macroeconomic environment.” Investors are looking for signs that the tariffs and subsequent trade war are weakening the economy, and thus depressing payments. That impact is not expected to show up in the near-term but could cloud longer-term projections for the full-year 2025 or 2026. “Investors are focused on the uncertain macro environment,” said analysts at William Blair in a research note, adding it reiterates its “Outperform” rating for Amex. “We believe American Express’s focus on the premium consumer, tight underwriting standards and fee-based revenue model should enable it to navigate a potentially more difficult macro environment, and we believe the company has multiple levers to sustain strong double-digit EPS growth under a variety of revenue environments. ROE has averaged over 26% over the last 20 years,” William Blair analysts said. Amex’s other recent moves include a partnership with Alipay that will let consumers link their cards to Alipay’s digital wallet to make payments at tens of millions of merchants on the Chinese mainland. The collaboration makes it easier for Chinese merchants to accept payments from foreign travelers. Amex was one of the first U.S. payment companies to gain approval to process payments inside China, where regulatory hurdles have held back most American firms, even before the recent tariff spat. Amex additionally is attempting to acquire Apple Card’s payment processing from Mastercard. Amex is offering to be both the issuing bank and network processor for Apple.
Pillar Security’s tech auto-maps all AI-related assets across the organization and uses real-world threat intelligence to address AI-specific risks such as evasion attacks, data privacy and intellectual property leakage
AI security startup Pillar Security has raised $9 million in seed funding to expand its research and development (R&D) and go-to-market efforts. Pillar Security’s solution is designed to meet the needs of a new age in which “software has gained agency and data itself has become executable,” Pillar Security CEO and Co-founder Dor Sarig said. “Pillar’s technology, backed by real-world AI threat intelligence, is built with this understanding, delivering a new class of protection designed explicitly for AI-related security risks,” Sarig said. “We are redefining application security to match the agentic and autonomous software of the Intelligence Age.” The company’s security platform is specifically designed for AI-integrated software systems and addresses AI-specific risk areas like evasion attacks, data poisoning, data privacy and intellectual property leakage. The platform integrates with an organization’s existing code repositories, data infrastructures and AI/ML platforms, automatically maps all AI-related assets across the organization, tests AI models and deploys guardrails that proactively prevent failures.
Etsy promotes ‘shopping domestically’ amid tariff concerns, offering curated shopping pages and local seller spotlights; sellers gain handbook on how tariffs are collected and the definition of the de minimis exception
Etsy is making it easier for buyers to find and purchase items from domestic sellers as a way to blunt potential tariff-related price increases on imports. These include features for customers such as curated shopping pages and local seller spotlights. For sellers, Etsy is providing an online tariff handbook that provides information such as how tariffs are collected and the definition of the de minimis exception. According to Etsy data, 89% of its sellers work from home by themselves without complex overseas production lines and fulfillment requirements, and most source supplies domestically, which can help them remain “agile and resilient” even when there are shifts to global supply chains. Etsy said it is also “elevating seller voices” to advocate for public policies that reflect the “unique needs” of small businesses and protect their ability engage in global commerce. Etsy has been attempting to improve its search experience for customers and sellers. The e-tailer recently began letting customers browse by curated collections on its app, based on trends, aesthetics and occasions. The retailer, which also provides set of creativity standards for products sold on its site, optimizes its search results to showcase a broader range of items from more sellers. Etsy has also launched a search visibility page that provides specific actionable tips, including insights on listing image quality and quantity, return policies, message response times, and shipping prices, for certain seller listings.
Brandlight’s tech measures and optimizes how brands are interpreted across reputation management, partnerships, content strategy and SEO to enhance their visibility in AI-generated search results
Brandlight, the first-of-its-kind AI Insights and Influence System, has emerged from stealth with $5.75 million in funding to help brands measure and shape their visibility in AI-generated search results. Brandlight provides businesses with the intelligence and tools they need to thrive in a digital landscape reshaped by AI-driven search. Brandlight’s system enables businesses to track, optimize, refine, and improve their AI-driven presence, ensuring they remain competitive in this new frontier. Brandlight’s system goes beyond traditional SEO. It is a strategic AI influence platform that enables brands to proactively shape AI-generated answers, ensuring their messaging accurately reflects and aligns with business objectives. The platform transforms AI search from a passive experience into a high-impact marketing channel, offering predictive insights that help businesses maintain a competitive edge. Imri Marcus, CEO of Brandlight says “Our system creates a baseline of how AI perceives a specific entity, giving you visibility into the AI black box, and actively improves on it.” In other words, it goes beyond surfacing AI-driven search results; it measures and optimizes how brands are interpreted across reputation management, partnerships, content strategy, SEO, and more. Underpinning this capability is a team of repeat entrepreneurs, marketing leaders, and top AI experts from the Israeli IDF’s elite tech units. Brandlight’s technology identifies the strategic data sources AI engines rely on, uncovering opportunities for optimization. It then refines this data for optimal AI processing, empowering brands to cut through the noise, gain visibility, and consistently deliver impactful outcomes.
Vanguard is launching the firm’s first dynamic asset allocation fixed income model portfolios with streamlined investment manager research and ongoing portfolio construction and monitoring
Vanguard is launching the firm’s first dynamic asset allocation fixed income model portfolios. Vanguard Fixed Income Risk Diversification and Vanguard Fixed Income Total Return join the firm’s lineup of model portfolios that provide financial advisors with access to broadly diversified, low-cost, and high-quality Vanguard-managed solutions. “Model portfolios empower financial advisors with streamlined investment manager research and ongoing portfolio construction and monitoring, so they can spend time on the things that really matter to their clients—like ensuring they’re meeting their investment goals,” said Brent Beardsley, Head of Advisor Solutions for Vanguard. Built to serve a variety of investment time horizons and risk profiles, Vanguard’s model portfolios support financial advisors’ portfolio construction needs so they can spend more time scaling their practice and deepening client relationships. Deeper client relationships lead to improved client loyalty and trust, according to Vanguard’s Advisor’s Alpha research, which can then assist with asset retention and referrals. Vanguard Fixed Income Risk Diversification and Vanguard Fixed Income Total Return model portfolios seek to outperform a market-capitalization-weighted benchmark—the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Index and Bloomberg U.S. Universal Index respectively—and allocations are recalibrated throughout the year to align with the Vanguard Capital Markets Model® (VCMM) 10-year forecasts. Vanguard’s Investment Strategy Group oversees the asset allocations for the models and Vanguard’s Fixed Income Group manages the fixed income funds included in each portfolio. The Vanguard Fixed Income Risk Diversification model portfolio features a weighted average expense ratio of 0.05% and is constructed for advisors and their clients in search of a highly diversified fixed income portfolio with exposure to global investment grade bonds intended to provide ballast against equity market volatility. Vanguard Fixed Income Total Return model portfolio is designed for advisors and clients seeking wealth accumulation and risk diversification from the fixed income sleeve of their portfolio. This model portfolio contains exposure to global investment grade and high yield bonds at a weighted average expense ratio of 0.08%.
VantageScore expands new open-banking credit score 4plus for lending to underserved borrowers enabling improved predictive lift, clearer risk segmentation and expanded decisioning opportunities
VantageScore announced the expansion of their groundbreaking VantageScore 4plus pilot program for lenders launched in partnership with Credit Builders Alliance. The pilot leverages the industry leading VantageScore 4.0 credit score with open banking data to deliver the new VantageScore4Plus credit score model. Initial data from the pilot show meaningful improvements in the ways nonprofit lenders can assess and serve potential borrowers. Key insights include: 1) Improved Predictive Lift: Applicants with new to credit, thin or inactive credit files, who make up 15% of participants in the pilot program, benefitted significantly from the addition of open banking data. 2) Clearer Risk Segmentation: Credit scores moved in both directions both up and down. There were nearly equal numbers of consumers seeing increases and decreases. The result signals better separation between higher- and lower-risk applicants. 3) Expanded Decisioning Opportunities: 44% of previously declined applicants could be reconsidered under a “second look” strategy using VantageScore 4plus, potentially unlocking credit while preserving underwriting rigor reducing risk.