Wedbush Files for Analog Economy ETF to Bet Against AI Hype

Wedbush has filed a preliminary prospectus for an Analog Economy ETF that will track an index of roughly 50 companies "whose business models depend on human labor, physical assets and tangible output."

The filing arrives as money keeps piling into the AI trade and warnings about that trade grow louder. Wedbush's pitch is simple: the real economy still exists, and it still generates returns. The open question is whether the fund's holdings can differentiate it from what is already on the shelf.

"It's a mix of the industrials and materials sectors, and there are plenty of ETFs out there that can give you exposure to those sectors," said Loren Fox, research director at Fuse Research Network. "If you really want one ETF that combines industrials and materials in one ticker, then that's a little more distinctive … For some investors and financial advisors, one of the questions will be: 'Do I really want all of these sectors in one ETF?' Because they're not necessarily driven by all the same trends."

Concrete, Not Compute

The fund will focus on companies in construction and materials, machinery, vehicle and equipment manufacturing, distribution, and environmental and commercial services, according to the prospectus. It will exclude companies whose primary business is connected to AI, semiconductors, data centers or power generation.

The strategy positions Wedbush against the dominant theme of this market cycle. Vinyl sales are up. The kids are using flip phones. Brands are leaning into IRL marketing. All things analog are making a comeback, and the ETF world is catching the wave.

Wedbush is not first to the trade. Its closest analogues are funds tracking the HALO index — heavy asset, low obsolescence — of which there are at least two.

The Roundhill HALO ETF (LOHA) launched in May and has about $50 million under management, per ETF.com. The Tuttle Capital Heavy Assets Low Obsolescence ETF (HALX) also launched in May and holds roughly $2.5 million. Both funds have climbed about 1.5% since inception.

A Hedge Waiting for a Selloff

Athanasios Psarofagis, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said HALO funds or Wedbush's Analog Economy ETF may need an AI rout before they see real inflows.

"I like it as a hedge towards all this AI stuff," he said. "At some point we're going to get waxed with some massive selloff, and I think people are going to reassess a little bit."

That is the bet in one sentence. The fund's target audience is the investor who wants insurance against concentration in AI-linked equities — or who simply believes that machinery, construction and manufacturing will keep compounding while the market chases compute.

The differentiation problem is real, as Fox notes. Industrials and materials are among the most heavily covered sectors in the ETF industry, with dozens of single-sector products competing for assets. Wedbush's edge, if it has one, is the packaging: one ticker, one thesis, and an explicit screen against AI, semiconductors, data centers and power generation.

The early HALO track record also tempers expectations. A 1.5% gain since May is modest by any standard, and LOHA's $50 million in assets is a fraction of what thematic ETFs typically need to reach profitability for issuers.

Wedbush has not yet disclosed an expense ratio or a launch date in the preliminary filing. Until the AI trade shows a crack — or the analog trade shows momentum — the fund's fate likely rests on whether investors see it as a genuine hedge or as a repackaged sector play.