Billions in Wrong-Way ETF Bets Placed Just Before Thursday Rout
- Largest VIX fund was ditched before biggest jump in 5 months
- Investors had bought ARKK, TQQQ among other funds before slump
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For a measure of just how brutal Thursday’s reversal was in U.S. equities, take a look at where cash was moving in the ETF market earlier in the week.
In the three days through Wednesday, investors added $426 million to the ProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF (ticker TQQQ), a leveraged product that delivers three-times the return of the Nasdaq 100 Index. Caught in the tech stock selloff, it tumbled 15% for both the biggest drop and lowest close since 2020.