In a recent episode of “Behind the Ticker,” Springer Harris, the author of Get ETF’d: An Insider’s Guide to Starting and Running an ETF, shared his extensive experience in the ETF industry and the inspiration behind his book. Harris, who has spent his entire career at Teucrium, initially entered the finance industry without even knowing what an ETF was. After a brief stint in corporate PR, he found his passion for ETFs and has spent over 14 years as a portfolio manager and chief operating officer at Teucrium. As he engaged with aspiring ETF creators over the years, Harris found himself answering the same questions about launching and managing ETFs, which ultimately led him to write his book as a comprehensive guide for future ETF entrepreneurs.
About Springer Harris and Get ETF'd
Harris explains that Get ETF’d is aimed at educating asset managers and entrepreneurs about the intricacies of launching an ETF. His book walks readers through the entire process, from understanding industry terminology to selecting the right service providers, regulatory structures, and marketing strategies. He emphasizes the importance of planning, particularly the need for a three-year business plan to ensure the sustainability of a new ETF. Harris stresses that simply launching an ETF is not enough—entrepreneurs must be prepared to invest in marketing, build their brand, and stay committed for the long haul.
Investment Strategy and Approach
One of the key insights Harris provides is the distinction between different paths to launching an ETF. He discusses the advantages and drawbacks of building your own ETF business, partnering with a white-label provider, or creating a hybrid approach. While white-label solutions offer a faster and more cost-effective way to launch an ETF, they also come with trade-offs in terms of control and profitability. Harris advises entrepreneurs to evaluate their long-term goals and business plans before deciding which path to take.
Throughout the conversation, Harris emphasizes the importance of perseverance and adaptability in the ETF industry. He acknowledges that not every strategy will succeed, and closing an ETF can be a difficult but necessary decision. However, he encourages entrepreneurs to view such setbacks as learning experiences and to remain focused on their long-term vision. For more information on Harris’s book and his insights into the ETF industry, readers can visit his website at howtostartanetf.com or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Deeper Dive: Insights from the Full Conversation
Beyond the headline strategy, the full conversation between Brad and Springer Harris covered several additional themes worth highlighting for advisors and investors.
On Process and Philosophy
That was one piece, right? And we've done a really good job at as an industry, educating end users on the features of ETFs, how they were, why you would use them. But let's be honest, right? That was pretty self-serving education. And we did that so that more people would adopt the ETF as an investor, and we would all have more investors and our funds, right? And we needed to do it and there's still a lot of education left to do, which is why you still see ETF issuers hosting regularly about, how does an ETF work?
But now all of a sudden, the ecosystem for your customer is anybody with a brokerage account, right? As long as you can get your fund on the platform, as long as a person can sign into their brokerage account, type in your ticker, and click by, they're a potential customer. And so it changes the landscape of who you can market to, I mean, let's be honest, in the ETF space, when we're marketing, you're marketing to everyone all the time.
Market Context and Positioning
They want to focus on what they do best. They want to manage their strategy. They want to go out and market their fund, right? And if that's all you want to do, then the white labels great for you. You have to recognize that you're going to get those efficiencies, but on the other side, you're paying a whole team of people to do all the work for. And so when you do less, you make less, right? You don't know your own lawn.
So I'm lucky enough to have spent basically my entire career in the ETF industry and rare enough that I've actually spent that whole time at the same firm. Out of college, I was actually invited to join two cream at that point. I didn't even know what an ETF was and two cream hadn't even launched its first fund. And so I wanted to have a little bit more stability in life and so I started to go down the corporate route.
What are the different paths? How long does it take? How much does it cost, right? And I found myself just sending hours answering the same questions for folks, which struck me as an opportunity. And so I was invited onto a podcast back then to talk about how to start in old ETF. And it spent a lot of time framing out how I was going to talk about that, how I was going to present it. And I thought like great, this is this awesome piece of evergreen content that I'm going to be able to make and help people start ETFs, right?
Notable Insights
"And I lay out basically how you can build a small team or the biggest team internally, right?"
"And so the biggest piece of advice that I can give there is really choose your business partners, your service providers, as if you were choosing business partners and employees."
Key Takeaways
- He emphasizes the importance of planning, particularly the need for a three-year business plan to ensure the sustainability of a new ETF.
- One of the key insights Harris provides is the distinction between different paths to launching an ETF.
- Throughout the conversation, Harris emphasizes the importance of perseverance and adaptability in the ETF industry.
What This Means for Advisors
For financial advisors evaluating options for client portfolios, this conversation with Springer Harris highlights important considerations around etf structure. Understanding the strategy behind each fund—not just the ticker—helps advisors make more informed allocation decisions and better communicate the rationale to clients.
Listen to the Full Episode
This article is based on an episode of Behind the Ticker, hosted by Brad Roth, Founder and CIO of THOR Financial Technologies. For the full conversation with Springer Harris, including additional nuances and details, listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or watch on YouTube.