October was a big month in cryptocurrency land. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of nearly $67,000, and the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) focused on bitcoin began trading. The rapid rise in the price of bitcoin has had a polarizing effect on many investors. Some investors remain very optimistic about bitcoin and cryptocurrency investments in general while others see cryptocurrency investments as speculative or dangerous…

Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker once remarked that the ATM was the only financial innovation he could think of that has improved society. It’s true that big, important changes in finance do not come around all that often. The advent of the Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) was one of them. Now some suggest direct indexing will be the next big thing and will supplant both mutual funds and ETFs.