Dan Ives, a well-known Wall Street tech analyst, has launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on the rapidly growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry. The IVES AI Revolution ETF aims to invest in 30 carefully selected tech companies that are positioned to lead the AI sector, based on Ives’ proprietary research. Ives, who is the managing director and global head at Wedbush Securities, believes that the AI revolution is the biggest theme he has seen in his 25 years of covering the tech industry.
“We’ve captured through our research the 30 companies in tech that best encompass this fourth industrial revolution across semi-software, infrastructure, and autonomous sectors,” he said. The ETF includes companies such as Microsoft, Palantir, Meta, Tesla, Palo Alto, and Nvidia, which are among the key players driving the massive wave of AI-driven spending. This trend started with the rollout of ChatGPT in 2022 and is bolstered by AI chip leader Nvidia.
Dan Ives’ new AI venture
Despite challenges like trade tensions between the U.S. and China, Ives remains optimistic about the potential of AI. “Tariffs are in the background and create uncertainty, but that doesn’t change our view that this is a fourth industrial revolution,” he added.
“Two trillion dollars is going to be spent over the next three years, and we’re still in the bottom of the first inning of this AI game.”
The IVES ETF will compete against larger players such as iShares, Fidelity, and First Trust, but Wedbush is confident in its edge. Cullen Rogers, Wedbush Fund Advisers’ chief investment officer, highlighted that their approach contrasts with others that follow arbitrary revenue hurdles or AI mentions in earnings reports. “We’re defining the trends through Dan’s insights,” Rogers explained.
This ETF marks Wedbush’s first entry into the ETF market, aiming to leverage active insights within a passive structure to differentiate itself from competitors. As the AI revolution continues to unfold, the introduction of the IVES AI Revolution ETF offers investors a new avenue to tap into this dynamic sector, driven by one of Wall Street’s most respected tech analysts.