Key Takeaways
- The T-REX 2x Long GME Daily Target ETF, which uses derivatives contracts to double the daily performance of GameStop stock, began trading on Thursday.
- GameStop shares are widely known for their volatility, with the stock regularly popping and tumbling amid online speculation fueled by meme stock traders.
- Investors have piled into leveraged funds amid this year’s volatility, with inflows surging after President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement tanked stocks.
If GameStop (GME) stock isn’t volatile enough for you, starting today you have a way to crank it up even higher.
The T-REX 2x Long GME Daily Target ETF (GMEU) began trading on Thursday alongside a similar fund tracking shares of cloud computing data provider Snowflake (SNOW). The funds use derivatives contracts to double the daily performance of their underlying stocks. GameStop shares were up less than 1% in recent trading, while Snowflake rose about 7%.
GameStop stock is known for its extreme volatility. It was at the center of 2021’s meme stock craze, and has remained a favorite among supremely online traders. Shares soared nearly 50% in a day last June when retail trading influencer Keith “Roaring Kitty” Gill scheduled his first livestream in nearly three years. Several cryptic social media posts from Gill boosted the stock on multiple occasions in December.
Experts warn that leveraged ETFs amplify the risk inherent in all equity trading, and funds tracking unpredictable stocks like GameStop come with extraordinary risk. “An investor could lose the full principal value of his/her investment within a single day if the price of GME falls by more than 50% in one trading day,” the fund materials note.
The fund’s provider, REX Shares, also warns that its GameStop fund, which is meant to double the stock’s daily performance, is not right for buy-and-hold investors. “For periods longer than a single day, the Fund will lose money if GME’s performance is flat,” according to the fund materials, “and it is possible that the Fund will lose money even if GME’s performance increases over a period longer than a single day.”
REX Shares manages 20 leveraged ETFs—15 long and five short. The firm’s leveraged offerings started with retail investor favorites Tesla (TSLA) and Nvidia (NVDA) in October 2023 before expanding to other big tech names like (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT), and eventually cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTCUSD) and Ether (ETHUSD).
REX began experimenting with meme-stock funds when it launched a leveraged Trump Media & Technology (DJT) fund in early March. That fund’s assets under management stood at a modest $2.4 million as of Wednesday’s close.
Investors, seeking to recoup losses or turbocharge their buy-the-dip gains, have piled into leveraged funds amid this year’s market volatility. In the days after President Trump rattled stock markets with his “Liberation Day” tariffs, the top four most popular ETFs in the country were all leveraged funds, according to Bloomberg.