So Goldman just scooped up an ETF fund manager. What's the real play here? According to Aaron Brown, this isn't some altruistic move to revolutionize investing for the little guy. Nope.

It's the same old game—keeping those sweet, sweet fees channeling straight into Wall Street's pockets. Think about it: traditional finance giants aren't jumping into ETF management because they suddenly care about democratizing access. They're doing it because the fee structure, even if slimmer than old-school mutual funds, still prints money when you've got scale.

Brown's take cuts through the PR fluff. While retail investors celebrate "lower cost" products, institutions are quietly building empires on volume. Billions in assets under management? Even a 0.2% fee adds up fast. And who benefits most? Not the investors watching their portfolios inch forward. It's the firms collecting management fees like clockwork, quarter after quarter.

The ETF boom promised disruption. Instead, we're watching consolidation—old money adapting, not dying. Goldman's acquisition isn't innovation. It's adaptation. The fees might look different, but the destination stays the same: their balance sheet, not yours.