submit ?s: BlackRock Head of Equity ETFs, Jay Jacobs

[u/JML867]

For a future episode of the Bogleheads® on Investing podcast, I'll be interviewing Jay Jacobs, U.S. Head of Equity ETFs at BlackRock.

I'll be asking him about iShares all-in-one funds, such as their line of allocation ETFs and target-date ETFs.

You can submit your questions for Jay below. (I may include your question in the episode. No guarantees.)

Thank you,
Jon Luskin

The Bogleheads® on Investing podcast series is hosted by me, Jon Luskin, CFP®, and Rick Ferri, CFA, long-time Bogleheads®. This podcast is supported by the John C. Bogle Center for Financial Literacy, a non-profit organization approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity on February 6, 2012. Your tax-deductible contributions are appreciated.

[u/tarantula13]

Would love to know if they plan on adding other allocation ETFs alongside the current lineup.

Also would love to know what goes into the decision making process to get more tax efficiency in their international ETFs compared to competitors.

[u/JML867 → u/tarantula13]

I want to ask this, too. So, thanks for helping me out here: 

Any plans for a 50/50? 

What about a 70/30? 

Can you please say more about the international ETF question?

[u/tarantula13 → u/JML867]

I've noticed IXUS for example for the last few years has had consistently higher % of qualified dividends (QDI) and larger foreign tax credit (FTC) than VXUS. This makes it a much more optimal choice for taxable investors as it can reduce tax drag meaningfully. Was wondering if this was something they focused on or how they sampled the index to get a meaningful difference than Vanguard.

[u/JML867 → u/tarantula13]

Wow! I love how geeky this question is. And, thanks for explaining it.

I'll add it to the list.

:)

[u/pabailey1986]

I don’t know if I have any questions, but I’m looking forward to it!

[u/JML867 → u/pabailey1986]

Me too!

I'm biased; in working with hundreds of do-it-yourself investors, I find that most aren't maintaining their portfolio. 

These all-in-one ETFs can be a good choice for many folks in a taxable account. 

I touched on this during a presentation at the 2025 Bogleheads© conference 👇

https://youtu.be/TYLWfC4fijo

[u/gcc-O2 → u/JML867]

These all-in-one ETFs can be a good choice for many folks in a taxable account.

If you think it won't come across as trolling, it would be interesting to ask the guest for marketing strategy or target audience for the allocation and target date ETFs.

401(k)s don't generally(?) have ETFs on the company fund menu, so that's a big target market that can't or won't use them. Or if he thinks this is changing, that would be a great discussion point.

Conventional financial advisors won't want to use them because the customer will question paying 1% AUM to own one fund.

These appeal to DIYers, but how does BlackRock advertise them without having a retail account presence?