AI Off, Pen On: Where ETF Dollars Really Went in 2025

AI Can Crunch the Numbers. Your Voice Seals the Deal.

AI is great at heavy lifting. It can sift through thousands of ETFs, digest industry trends, and surface patterns in seconds. But for writers, the sentence-level craft-the cadence, insights, and point of view-still needs a human hand.

A recent snapshot from a high school classroom made that clear. Students leaned on AI to write essays. Teachers ran detectors. Then students used tools to hide AI use. The stalemate ended with longhand essays on paper. No shortcuts. Just the writer and the page.

Writers: What This Means for Your Process

• Use AI for research, data, and idea generation. Keep your voice for the argument and the narrative.
• Draft key pieces without a screen. Then edit with AI for clarity checks, fact prompts, and alternatives.
• Assume detectors can be fooled and can also false-flag. The only reliable "detector" is your audience's trust.
• Build a voice bank: phrases you use, structure you like, stories you tell. Reference it while you write.
• Set constraints: word count, structure, non-negotiable stories, and one clear takeaway per section.

The ETF Parallel: New Toys Sell Headlines, Old Basics Move Money

There are about 4,500 ETFs listed in the United States and counting. You can now package everything from digital assets to private credit to levered single stocks, in both index and active forms. As Dorothy said, we're not in Kansas anymore.

Yet "boring" still wins. Of nearly $800 billion in US ETF net inflows this year, a large share went to four classic categories: US large-cap equity, international large-cap equity, ultrashort bond, and intermediate core bond. That's almost half the new money flowing to fundamentals. Source: Morningstar.

Even as firms explore digital-asset capabilities (including potential tokenization) and ramp up alternative lineups, the inflow leaders are often large-cap value and international low volatility/high dividend funds. Translation for writers: experiments are useful, but clear ideas, structure, and consistency still compound results.

Practical Writing Framework: AI-Assisted, Human-Led

• Brief: Write a one-paragraph intent. Who is this for? What problem are you solving? What will the reader do next?
• Research: Use AI to summarize sources, gather stats, and generate counterarguments.
• Outline: 3-5 sections, each with one promise. If a section has two ideas, split it.
• Draft: Write the first pass unplugged. Keep paragraphs to 2-4 sentences for pace.
• Edit: Ask AI for clarity, stronger verbs, and tighter headlines. Keep your voice intact.
• Fact-check: Link to sources. Where data drives the point, cite it.
• Ship: Publish on a schedule that you can keep for a year, not a week.

Why This Matters for Your Career

• Your voice is the moat. Tools change weekly; trust takes years.
• Speed is a feature. Judgment is the value.
• Readers reward utility and consistency. Just like investors reward core exposures.

If You Want Help With AI Without Losing Your Voice

Curate your stack and keep control of your process. For vetted tools and workflows specific to writing, see this resource: AI tools for copywriting.

Endnotes

• Source: Morningstar as of September 19, 2025.
• Source: Ibid.

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal. Equity securities are subject to price fluctuation and possible loss of principal. Small- and mid-cap stocks involve greater risks and volatility than large-cap stocks. International investments are subject to special risks, including currency fluctuations and social, economic and political uncertainties, which could increase volatility. These risks are magnified in emerging markets. ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade above or below the ETF's net asset value. Brokerage commissions and ETF expenses will reduce returns. ETF shares may be bought or sold throughout the day at their market price on the exchange on which they are listed. However, there can be no guarantee that an active trading market for ETF shares will be developed or maintained or that their listing will continue or remain unchanged. While the shares of ETFs are tradable on secondary markets, they may not readily trade in all market conditions and may trade at significant discounts in periods of market stress. For actively managed ETFs, there is no guarantee that the manager's investment decisions will produce the desired results.

© Franklin Templeton