Defiance CEO Matthew Bielski ties autism ETF launch to son's treatment search

Defiance ETFs CEO Matthew Bielski tied the launch of the Defiance Autism Impact ETF (ASD) to his family's experience with severe autism, according to ETF Trends coverage of a Bloomberg ETF IQ interview.

Bielski said his son Lev, now four years old, was diagnosed with severe autism. While searching for answers, he and his wife found emerging treatments. According to Bielski, the drug had completed a Phase 2 clinical trial and the company behind it reported a 53% efficacy rate among children in the study. Bielski said his family obtained expanded access, allowing Lev to receive it outside the usual clinical-trial enrollment process.

“Overnight he went from the least social kid, the least affectionate kid, to the most affectionate kid,” he said.

ASD launched in June 2026 and tracks the VettaFi Autism Impact Index, which holds roughly 40 companies and targets therapeutics, diagnostics and educational technology. Top holdings include Revvity (RVTY), Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) and AbbVie (ABBV). The fund charges a 0.79% expense ratio and managed approximately $1.35 million in assets at the time of the coverage. VettaFi receives an index licensing fee for ASD and is not the fund's issuer, sponsor, endorser or seller.

Defiance has pledged to donate 100% of ASD's net advisory profits during the fund's first two years and at least 50% thereafter to organizations supporting autism care, research and services. If that window is measured from the June 2026 launch, the full-donation period runs to roughly mid-2028. The 0.79% fee applied to $1.35 million works out to about $10,700 a year in gross fee dollars, and the pledge is written against a smaller base: net advisory profits.