Dec 11 (Reuters) - Direxion said on Wednesday that it
has launched new leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds
tied to two stocks, Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) and Warren
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) that offer traders a
chance to get twice the daily upside movement of each stock or
capture the inverse of a daily decline.
Analysts described the launches as an odd couple: while
Palantir ( PLTR ) resembles other stocks that have been the basis of
runaway successes in the rapidly growing leveraged ETF space,
such as Nvidia ( NVDA ), MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) and Tesla
in recording big gains in tandem with outsize
volatility, Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) has very low volatility.
"Palantir ( PLTR ) is very, very actively traded, and very, very
volatile, so that's going to appeal to the people who trade
these leveraged ETFs," said Todd Sohn, ETF analyst at Strategas.
"Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ), while it's large and has done better than
the market, just doesn't offer that extra excitement."
But Ed Egilinsky, head of sales and distribution, said he
expects Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) also to appeal to the day traders who
make up the target audience for this kind of ETF product.
"It may not have the same kind of volatility associated with
some other names, but it's very widely held and there might be
other reasons why people might want to trade around it rather
than treating it only as an investment," Egilinsky said.
For instance, if the coming year brings any news about the
94-year-old Buffet stepping away from the helm of his company,
Egilinsky says investors could have strong views about whether
his chosen successors would be able to perpetuate Buffett's
long-term track record.
Leveraged ETFs have exploded in size this year as the bull
market has extended its run. The number has more than doubled in
2024, rising from 20 to 48, while inflows have exploded from $83
million in November 2023 to $2.38 billion last month.