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5 Leveraged ETFs That Gained More Than 30% in March

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After tumultuous trading in the first two weeks of March, Wall Street staged a nice comeback and has risen for two consecutive weeks following the Fed’s decision to hike interest rates for the first time since 2018, with more to come.

This has resulted in huge demand for leveraged ETFs as investors sought to register big gains in a short span. We highlight a bunch of the best-performing leveraged equity ETFs from different corners of the market that gained more than 30% in March. These include Direxion Daily Metal Miners Bull 2X Shares , Direxion Daily S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Bull 2X Shares (GUSH - Free Report) , Direxion Daily Utilities Bull 3X Shares (UTSL - Free Report) , ETFMG 2x Daily Alternative Harvest ETF and Direxion Daily Transportation Bull 3X Shares (TPOR - Free Report) .

These funds will continue to be investors’ darlings, at least in the near term, provided the sentiments remain bullish.

The central bank raised rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 0.25-0.50% and signaled hikes in all the six remaining meetings this year to tackle the fastest inflation in four decades even as risks to economic growth mount. Fed Chair Jerome Powell showed confidence that the American economy is strong enough to withstand tighter monetary policy. This has renewed investors’ interest in riskier assets (read: ETFs to Buy on Latest Fed Rate Hike and More Hereafter).

Additionally, investors have become optimistic that the economy can withstand the escalating war in Ukraine.

We have profiled the ETFs in detail below:

Direxion Daily Metal Miners Bull 2X Shares – Up 65%

Direxion Daily Metal Miners Bull 2X Shares provides two times (2X or 200%) leveraged exposure to the S&P Metals and Mining Select Industry Index, which is designed to measure the performance of the equity securities of companies in industries of aluminum; coal & consumable fuels; copper; diversified metals & mining; gold; precious metals & minerals; silver; and steel.

Direxion Daily Metal Miners Bull 2X Shares has accumulated $19.6 million in its asset base since its inception in late December. It charges 95 bps in annual fees and trades in an average daily volume of 33,000 shares.

Direxion Daily S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Bull 2X Shares (GUSH - Free Report) – Up 58.1%

Direxion Daily S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Bull 2X Shares offers two times exposure to the daily performance of the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index (read: Here's How to Play Rising Energy Sector With Leveraged ETFs).

Direxion Daily S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Bull 2X Shares has accumulated $973.9 million in its asset base, and the average daily volume is solid at around 2.1 million shares. The ETF charges 94 bps in annual fees.

Direxion Daily Utilities Bull 3X Shares (UTSL - Free Report) – Up 38.1%

With AUM of $19.9 million, Direxion Daily Utilities Bull 3X Shares offers three times exposure to the performance of the Utilities Select Sector Index.

Direxion Daily Utilities Bull 3X Shares charges investors an annual fee of 95 bps and trades in a lower average daily volume of 53,000 shares.

ETFMG 2x Daily Alternative Harvest ETF – Up 36.4%

ETFMG 2x Daily Alternative Harvest ETF seeks two times the performance of the Prime Alternative Harvest Index, which offers exposure to companies within the global cannabis ecosystem bene¿¿¿ting from medicinal and recreational cannabis legalization initiatives.

ETFMG 2x Daily Alternative Harvest ETF has amassed about $0.8 million in its asset base since its inception in July 2021 while charging 95 bps in fees per year. Volume is paltry as it exchanges 11.000 shares per day on average.

Direxion Daily Transportation Bull 3X Shares (TPOR - Free Report) – Up 32%

Direxion Daily Transportation Bull 3X Shares targets the transportation sector and seeks to deliver three times the daily performance of the Dow Jones Transportation Average Index.

Direxion Daily Transportation Bull 3X Shares has AUM of $58.7 million and charges 95 bps in fees and expenses. It trades in modest volumes of about 45,000 shares per day.

Bottom Line

As a caveat, investors should note that these products are extremely volatile and suitable only for short-term traders. Additionally, the daily rebalancing — when combined with leverage — may make these products deviate significantly from the expected long-term performance figures (see: all the Leveraged Equity ETFs here).

Still, for ETF investors who are bullish on U.S. stocks for the near term, either of the above products can be an interesting choice. Clearly, a near-term long could be intriguing for those with high-risk tolerance and a belief that the trend is the friend in this corner of the investing world.

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