Traders Bet Against Tech With SOXS Inflows as Leveraged Gold Miner ETFs Surge

Share

Weekly Channel Summary

The Leverage & Inverse channel encompasses 780 ETFs from 25 issuers, with total assets under management standing at $183.23 billion. This week, the channel experienced net outflows of $704 million. Despite the weekly redemption, year-to-date flows remain positive at $7.22 billion, and the one-year total shows net inflows of $5.71 billion.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

Leveraged and inverse single stock products led performance this week, surging 16.69%, followed closely by the broader leveraged and inverse equity category which gained 13.80%. In contrast, fixed income strategies posted the most modest returns, rising just 1.68%. On a year-to-date basis, the single stock category maintains its significant lead with an 80.53% gain, while crypto-focused products have struggled, showing a 51.22% loss.

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

A rally in precious metals miners drove significant gains for leveraged products, with the MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETN (GDXU) soaring 73.88% to lead all funds. Similar bullish gold miner funds, including JNUG and NUGT, also posted returns exceeding 45%. Unsurprisingly, the inverse versions of these strategies were the week’s worst performers, as exemplified by the MicroSectors Gold Miners -3X Inverse Leveraged ETNs (GDXD), which plummeted 48.58%.

Ticker Fund Name WTD Performance
Top Performers
GDXU MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETN 73.88%
JNUG Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bull 2X ETF 49.57%
NUGT Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X ETF 45.14%
DRNL Defiance 2X Daily Long Pure Drone & Aerial Automation ETF 42.69%
CRDX Volatility Shares 2x Cardano ETF 36.78%
Bottom Performers
GDXD MicroSectors Gold Miners -3X Inverse Leveraged ETNs -48.58%
JDST Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 2X ETF -36.58%
DUST Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 2X ETF -34.17%
AIQD MicroSectors -3x Short Artificial Intelligence (AI) ETNs -31.07%
FNGD MicroSectors FANG+ Index -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN -22.70%

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The Leverage & Inverse channel saw net outflows of $704 million for the week, driven by significant redemptions from single stock and broad equity strategies. The single stock category shed the most assets, losing $559 million, while the equity category saw outflows of $183 million. Bucking the trend, commodity-focused products were the only group to attract net new assets, pulling in a modest $62 million.

Category Flows Summary

Category Fund Count AUM 5 Day 30 Day 90 Day YTD 1 Year
Leverage | Inverse – Commodity 22 $4.05B $62M $277M $3,269M $5,633M $6,483M
Leverage | Inverse – Crypto 28 $2.89B -$8M -$53M $275M $1,349M $4,980M
Leverage | Inverse – Fixed Income 15 $3.04B -$15M $185M -$339M -$1,291M -$2,433M
Leverage | Inverse – Equity 235 $139.17B -$183M $6,772M $4,665M -$10,683M -$21,650M
Leverage | Inverse – Single Stock 479 $33.99B -$559M -$1,916M $8,085M $12,209M $18,325M

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

Traders made a significant bearish bet on the semiconductor industry, pouring $405 million into the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X ETF (SOXS), making it the week’s top asset gatherer. Conversely, popular bullish funds tracking major U.S. indices faced substantial outflows. The ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) led redemptions with $295 million in outflows, followed by the Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3X ETF (SPXL), which shed $217 million.

Ticker Fund Name 5-Day Flow
Inflows
SOXS Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X ETF $405M
SNXX Tradr 2X Long SNDK Daily ETF $219M
AMDL GraniteShares 2x Long AMD Daily ETF $106M
SSO ProShares Ultra S&P 500 $102M
SSPC Leverage Shares 2X Short SPCX Daily ETF $94M
Outflows
TQQQ ProShares UltraPro QQQ -$295M
SPXL Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3X ETF -$217M
MSFU Direxion Daily MSFT Bull 2X ETF -$207M
NVDL GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF -$173M
KORU Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3X ETF -$156M

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: SNK ($82M).

Issuer League Table Update

ProShares and Direxion continue to dominate the Leverage & Inverse landscape, commanding 45.92% and 36.09% of the market share, respectively. In terms of weekly flows, Tradr led all issuers by attracting $223 million in net new assets. On the other end of the spectrum, Direxion experienced the largest outflows for the week, with investors pulling a net $689 million from its suite of products.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Brand Fund Count AUM AUM Market Share
ProShares 113 $84.13B 45.92%
Direxion 125 $66.12B 36.09%
GraniteShares 44 $8.72B 4.76%
REX Microsectors 23 $7.93B 4.33%
Tradr 76 $5.29B 2.89%

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow

Brand 5-Day Flow
Inflows
Tradr $223M
Leverage Shares $139M
Roundhill $13M
Outflows
Direxion -$689M
GraniteShares -$268M
T-Rex -$69M

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.