According to @KobeissiLetter, net VIX futures positioning among asset managers has dropped to roughly negative $1.0 billion, marking the lowest level in at least 10 years. According to @KobeissiLetter, short volatility exposure has now surpassed the August 2024 peak that preceded a 280 percent surge in the VIX to 65. According to @KobeissiLetter, this positioning signals extreme bullishness from asset managers and echoes the buildup that came before the prior volatility spike.

According to @KobeissiLetter, net VIX futures positioning among asset managers declined to negative 36.6 million US dollars, the lowest since August 2024 [source: The Kobeissi Letter, Jan 15, 2026 tweet]. Excluding July and August 2024, this is the lowest reading in at least nine years, indicating an extreme positioning against volatility by institutional investors per the source [source: The Kobeissi Letter, Jan 15, 2026 tweet]. The source frames this as institutions betting against market volatility, a signal traders can track when calibrating risk exposure across assets [source: The Kobeissi Letter, Jan 15, 2026 tweet]. The post provides no crypto-specific metrics, but the cross-asset volatility context is relevant for cryptocurrency market monitoring and positioning decisions [source: The Kobeissi Letter, Jan 15, 2026 tweet].

According to Eric Balchunas, only 50% of 2025 ETF net inflows went into funds charging 10 bps or less, the lowest share in years, source: Eric Balchunas Jan 7 2026. He said this is not due to investors leaving ultra cheap funds, since the 50% slice still totaled about 750 billion dollars of flows, source: Eric Balchunas Jan 7 2026. He attributed the shift to an expanding ETF universe that includes legacy active strategies, buffer ETFs, hot sauce products, and BYOA, source: Eric Balchunas Jan 7 2026. He added that this is welcome news for asset managers after a period when cheap beta seemed poised to take everything, source: Eric Balchunas Jan 7 2026.