logo
episode-header-image
Feb 26
31m 29s

Freedom Has Paid Off For this Indie ETF

bloomberg
About this episode

The Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM) is having a moment. Launched seven years ago as a way to filter out autocratic emerging market countries and invest more in ones that have more freedom, it took a while to get going but it hasn't recently caught fire with a five year return of over 100%, which is 5x better than the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and even more than the Nasdaq 100.

On this episode of Trillions Joel and Eric speak with Perth Tolle, founder at Life + Liberty Indexes and the creator of FRDM, about the ETF's methodology, her experience growing up in China, how her life has changed with all the recent success and comparing and contrasting the US' freedom score with other developed countries.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
Feb 12
Metal Mania
Gold and silver exchange-traded funds just experienced eye-popping trading volumes, with sharp price swings that drew in speculators chasing the momentum. The frenzy has cooled a bit, but the underlying forces haven’t disappeared. So what’s really behind the surge in precious met ... Show More
40m 30s
Jan 29
How to Invest in Future Unicorn IPOs
Cathie Wood is best known for exchange-traded funds, especially her flagship ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK). But ARK also runs a less familiar product: the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX), an interval fund that holds stakes in private companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic—firms expe ... Show More
49m 52s
Jan 15
The Venezuela Factor: Why High-Yield, Emerging-Market Debt Is Having a Moment
Venezuela bonds were up 100% even before the US ousted President Nicolás Maduro. Then they went up another 30%. And one actively-managed exchange-traded fund was positioned perfectly after buying the bonds in 2025. On this episode of Trillions, Eric Balchunas and Joel Weber speak ... Show More
35m 22s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
What Spotify Wrapped can reveal about the music industry
Both Spotify and Apple Music recently published their annual lists of the most listened to artists and songs. Unsurprisingly, Taylor Swift dominated. But delve deeper, and you can also start to see the influence of social media and strength of growing international audiences. Plu ... Show More
7m 29s
Sep 2025
The music industry is broken: OpenWav’s new app aims to change that
Grammy Award-winning musician, composer, and producer Wyclef Jean says the music industry is broken, which is why he’s now involved with a startup, OpenWav, that’s looking to give the power back to the artists. Through the OpenWav app, launched over the summer, artists can drop n ... Show More
6m 49s
Feb 2020
“Warner Music is Venture Capital for musicians” — Uber’s profit shocker. Ericsson/Nokia 5G awkwardness. Warner Music’s IPO.
Warner Music filed to IPO because streaming saved the music industry. Uber shares surged 10% before the weekend on word it’s actually planning to become profitable by the end of this year (*depends how you define “profits”). And Europe’s telecom giants Ericsson and Nokia woke up ... Show More
19m 23s
Jun 2024
“Most people would have just quit!” Jason Derulo on Being Overlooked by the Music Industry
“I had sold 250 million records, and I couldn’t believe the response that I was getting when I was a free agent.”Music superstar Jason Derulo opens up about one of the darkest periods of his life, why he almost quit, being overlooked by the music industry despite global success, ... Show More
38m 24s
Dec 2024
The Year AI Broke Into Music
2024 was the year AI broke into the music industry. Record labels that had fought AI-generated songs at every turn started to consider how they might want to use AI tools. But as the technology creeps into more parts of the music production process, not everyone agrees on where t ... Show More
16m 11s
Dec 2024
Auto-Tune always and forever
Popular music changes all the time, but there’s been one consistent element in practically everything released in the last two decades: Auto-Tune is everywhere. What started as a simple audio processing tool in the 1990s has become the dominant force in music. Artists are trainin ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 2024
Can Charli XCX save Australia's music festival industry?
Brat summer is officially coming to Australia.  Superstar singer Charlie XCX will headline Laneway in 2025. The excitement is palpable – but the story of the last few years of music festivals in this country has not been a good one, with countless examples of big-ticket headlinin ... Show More
14m 3s
Nov 2025
Ed Sheeran: Music Mogul Makes Waves from Spotify to Schools
Ed Sheeran BioSnap a weekly updated Biography.Ed Sheeran has been making international headlines over the past few days, blending music, advocacy, and business in ways few artists manage at his level. Perhaps the biggest headline comes from his high-profile appearance at Spotify’ ... Show More
3m 1s
May 2025
How do musicians make money?
From Taylor Swift to Michael Jackson, there’s been countless superstar musicians who have called out their record labels for how much they’re being paid for their music. For musicians at the start of their careers it can be even more challenging to make money. The emergence of st ... Show More
10m 59s
Aug 2024
Has the Music Industry Peaked?
Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to discuss whether it's time to panic for the music industry after shares of Universal Music Group tanked due to a deceleration in streaming subscription revenue growth. Matt and Lucas wonder whether this is a crisis or just a blip and off ... Show More
32m 24s