Bearish Bets on Tech and Commodities Drive Leveraged & Inverse ETF Inflows

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Weekly Channel Summary

The Leverage & Inverse channel finished the week with $180.96 billion in assets under management across 796 ETFs from 27 issuers. The segment attracted $584 million in net inflows over the past five days, contributing to a year-to-date total of $6.6 billion. Over the last twelve months, these tactical trading tools have gathered a cumulative $9.5 billion in new assets.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

All Leverage & Inverse categories posted negative returns for the week amid broad market declines. Crypto-focused products were the most resilient, falling only -0.57%, while Commodity-based funds suffered the most with a -4.03% drop. Despite a weekly loss of -2.73%, Single Stock ETFs remain the standout performers year-to-date, boasting a remarkable 99.41% gain.

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

Bearish sentiment in the biotechnology sector delivered strong returns for inverse funds this week. The Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X ETF (LABD) surged 15.19%, making it the top-performing fund in the channel. Conversely, its bullish counterpart, the Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X ETF (LABU), was one of the worst performers, declining by -13.92%. The Direxion Daily Pharmaceutical & Medical Bull 3X ETF (PILL) experienced the steepest loss, falling -14.01%.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
LABD Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X ETF 15.19%
YANG Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X ETF 12.64%
FLYD MicroSectors Travel -3x Inverse Leveraged ETN 11.21%
BIS ProShares UltraShort Nasdaq Biotechnology 9.06%
UCO ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil 9.01%
Bottom Performers
PILL Direxion Daily Pharmaceutical & Medical Bull 3X ETF -14.01%
LABU Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X ETF -13.92%
NAIL Direxion Daily Homebuilders & Supplies Bull 3X ETF -13.85%
UPAL ProShares Ultra Palladium K-1 Free ETF -13.58%
TBXU Direxion Daily Biotech Top 5 Bull 2X ETF -13.57%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The Leverage & Inverse channel saw net inflows of $584 million, with traders directing capital towards broad market and commodity positions. Equity-focused funds led the way, attracting $448 million, followed closely by Commodity funds which pulled in $323 million. In contrast, the popular Single Stock category experienced significant redemptions, shedding -$294 million for the week.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Leverage | Inverse – Equity 237 $135.02B $448M $733M $7,428M -$9,811M -$16,013M
Leverage | Inverse – Commodity 22 $4.92B $323M $626M $273M $6,345M $7,069M
Leverage | Inverse – Fixed Income 19 $2.99B $84M $99M -$51M -$1,198M -$2,138M
Leverage | Inverse – Crypto 28 $4.00B $23M -$4M $38M $1,355M $4,299M
Leverage | Inverse – Single Stock 489 $33.97B -$294M -$2,161M $2,536M $9,902M $16,235M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

Traders made a significant bearish bet on energy prices, pushing $263 million into the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil (SCO), making it the week’s top asset gatherer. On the other side of the ledger, investors pulled a substantial $317 million from the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (SOXL), marking the largest outflow. The Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3X ETF (KORU) also saw considerable redemptions, with outflows totaling -$181 million.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
SCO ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil $263M
SOXS Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X ETF $213M
TQQQ ProShares UltraPro QQQ $161M
PSQ ProShares Short QQQ $105M
SNDQ Tradr 2X Short SNDK Daily ETF $97M
Outflows
SOXL Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF -$317M
KORU Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3X ETF -$181M
SNXX Tradr 2X Long SNDK Daily ETF -$172M
METU Direxion Daily META Bull 2X ETF -$86M
MUU Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X ETF -$79M

Note: the following fund(s) were excluded from the flow totals above because the weekly flow exceeds 75% of the fund’s AUM and may be the result of a custom rebalance: SKDD ($48M).

Issuer League Table Update

The issuer landscape remains dominated by ProShares and Direxion, which command 46.55% and 34.05% of the channel’s market share, respectively. ProShares had a strong week, leading all issuers with $757 million in net inflows. Meanwhile, Tradr experienced the largest net outflows among issuers, with investors withdrawing -$186 million from its funds.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
ProShares 113 $84.24B 46.55%
Direxion 125 $61.62B 34.05%
REX Microsectors 35 $8.87B 4.90%
GraniteShares 44 $8.85B 4.89%
Tradr 83 $5.07B 2.80%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
ProShares $757M
Defiance $127M
T-Rex $81M
Outflows
Tradr -$186M
GraniteShares -$175M
Leverage Shares -$48M

For a deeper dive into these trends, access our FREE, in-depth Leverage & Inverse ETF reports in the right side panel of this page.

Disclosures

This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.