Leveraged Equity Funds Surge While ProShares Leads $3.6B Weekly Outflow

Weekly Channel Summary

The Leverage & Inverse channel closed the week with $193.85B in total AUM spread across 799 ETFs from 28 issuers. Investors pulled $3,601M from the channel over the five-day period, a notable reversal that contrasts with a positive $4,831M YTD net flow and a stronger $10,179M gain over the trailing year. The weekly outflow was concentrated in equity-linked leveraged products, even as several category segments continue to show strong longer-term accumulation.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Leverage | Inverse – Equity led all categories this week with a WTD gain of 8.16%, followed closely by Single Stock products at 6.47% and Crypto-linked funds at 6.28%, reflecting broad risk-on momentum in underlying markets. Fixed Income leveraged/inverse products lagged the group, falling -3.65% WTD, while Commodity-linked funds also declined -1.72%. On a YTD basis, Single Stock strategies stand out with a 145.52% return, dwarfing the Equity category’s 75.44% YTD gain, though Crypto products remain deeply negative YTD at -36.85% despite this week’s bounce. Among individual funds, TXXS topped the tape with an 85.12% weekly gain, while SOXS was the week’s weakest performer, dropping -20.78% as semiconductor strength pressured inverse positioning.

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The top performers this week were dominated by crypto-linked single-stock leveraged products, with TXXS gaining 85.12% and SUIL close behind at 81.11%, both tracking Sui-related exposure. AVAZ and CRDX also posted strong double-digit gains, underscoring continued volatility in altcoin-linked leveraged products. On the downside, inverse semiconductor and AI-themed funds struggled as underlying sectors rallied, with SOXS and SMHD falling -20.78% and -17.46% respectively. KOLD rounded out the bottom performers, down -14.48% as natural gas prices moved against the inverse position.

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The channel saw net outflows of $3,601M over the five-day period, driven primarily by the Equity category, which shed $2,565M, and Single Stock products, which lost $943M. Commodity-linked funds also saw modest outflows of $154M. In contrast, Fixed Income and Crypto categories bucked the trend with inflows of $36M and $25M respectively, suggesting selective rotation rather than a broad-based retreat. Despite the weekly pullback in Equity flows, that category’s YTD flow remains deeply negative at -$11,078M, while Single Stock products have gathered $9,505M YTD, highlighting a persistent divergence in investor demand across segments.

Category Flows Summary

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

SOXS led all funds in weekly inflows with $660M, followed by SQQQ at $307M, both inverse products benefiting from investors positioning against continued sector strength. On the outflow side, TQQQ saw the largest redemption at -$1,544M, followed by SOXL at -$1,354M, indicating profit-taking or de-risking in leveraged bullish equity and semiconductor exposure. The pairing of heavy inflows into bear funds alongside outflows from their bull counterparts points to a tactical hedging or reversal trade playing out across the leveraged equity space this week.

Issuer League Table Update

ProShares remains the dominant issuer by market share at 44.97% ($87.17B AUM), followed by Direxion at 35.45% ($68.71B), together accounting for roughly 80% of channel assets. Volatility Shares led all issuers in weekly inflows with $16M, followed by T-Rex at $8M and Teucrium at $5M, reflecting more targeted demand for crypto and single-stock strategies. On the outflow side, ProShares experienced the largest weekly redemptions at -$2,132M, followed by Direxion at -$611M and GraniteShares at -$560M, consistent with the broader pullback from leveraged equity exposure observed across the channel this week.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow