Amid heightened market volatility triggered by the war in Iran, investors poured over $967 million into major leveraged ETFs in just one month, signaling a shift toward more aggressive strategies in uncertain conditions.
Data covering March 4 to April 3 shows the most heavily purchased position was the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares ETF, known as SOXL, with net purchases totaling $358.9 million. The ETF tracks the ICE Semiconductor Index at triple leverage, covering major names including Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom, Micron, and TSMC.
Investors also directed $162.44 million into the Direxion Daily MSCI South Korea Bull 3X Shares ETF, which provides triple-leveraged exposure to the South Korean stock market following a sharp decline in the index. TQQQ and QLD, offering triple and double leverage on the Nasdaq 100 respectively, saw combined inflows of $446 million. The Nasdaq 100 itself dropped roughly 8% in the wake of the conflict.
The surge in high-leverage products marks a notable shift from the prior month, when net purchases were dominated by large-cap individual tech stocks including the so-called Magnificent Seven. Analysts note that as broader investor interest has pulled back, remaining capital is increasingly concentrated in high-risk, high-leverage instruments. A senior researcher at the Korea Center for International Finance noted that investors have doubled down on aggressive strategies, with increased allocations to leveraged ETFs alongside a sharp decline in big tech preferences and a modest uptick in fixed-income positioning for risk mitigation.