SPY, QQQ And SOXL Power ETF Trading To New Record
ETF volume hit an all-time high of 27.6%, according to IEX’s latest data. That’s up sharply from the high teens and low 20s that prevailed for much of the past decade.
The milestone points to a broader change in market behavior. Rather than trading individual stocks, many investors are now turning to ETFs, particularly leveraged and inverse funds, to make bullish or bearish bets on sectors, themes, or even single companies.
The rapid growth of leveraged single-stock ETFs has further accelerated the trend by allowing traders to gain amplified exposure without using margin accounts.
Leveraged ETFs Lead the Charge
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that the surge in ETF trading isn’t being driven by the industry’s largest buy-and-hold funds.
According to IEX, leveraged ETFs account for roughly 40% of total ETF trading volume, despite managing only about $175 billion in assets — roughly 1% of the $15.6 trillion U.S. ETF market.
The disparity shows how actively these products are traded. Unlike broad-market index funds that investors often hold for years, leveraged ETFs are designed to deliver multiples of a benchmark’s daily return. This makes them popular vehicles for tactical traders seeking short-term exposure.
The figures are based on shares traded, which naturally favors leveraged ETFs because many trade at lower share prices and experience rapid turnover. Even when measured by dollar value, leveraged funds remain a significant force. Leveraged and inverse funds accounted for roughly 16% of traded value among the 100 most-active ETFs on Monday.
Semiconductor ETFs Illustrate the Trend
Semiconductor-focused leveraged ETFs offer perhaps the clearest example of how traders are increasingly choosing ETFs over individual stocks.
The Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSE:SOXL) generated approximately $7.8 billion in dollar trading volume during Monday’s session, making it the third-most actively traded ETF in the market. Its bearish counterpart, the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares (NYSE:SOXS), ranked ninth with roughly $2.9 billion in traded value.
Remarkably, SOXL traded more dollars than the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO), the world’s largest ETF by assets, which recorded about $2.7 billion in trading. Only the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) posted higher dollar volumes, at around $19 billion each.
The trend reflects how traders are increasingly using ETFs as efficient instruments to express views on high-volatility sectors like semiconductors rather than buying individual chipmakers.
From Stock Picking to ETF Trading
The record ETF market share also coincides with a dramatic expansion in the number of available products.
In 2025, the number of U.S.-listed ETFs surpassed the number of publicly listed U.S. companies for the first time. While more listings alone do not guarantee trading activity, the IEX report suggests they have given investors access to an expanding menu of targeted exposures—from artificial intelligence and robotics to crypto, defense, and single-stock leveraged strategies.
As a result, investors who once traded individual names to capitalize on short-term opportunities are increasingly opting for ETFs that provide instant diversification, built-in leverage, or inverse exposure with a single trade.
The growing popularity of leveraged single-stock ETFs has only reinforced that shift, enabling traders to take amplified positions in widely followed companies without directly trading on margin.
A Structural Shift in Market Trading
The record 27.6% share of intraday market volume suggests ETFs are evolving beyond their traditional role as long-term investment vehicles. They are becoming central tools for price discovery, tactical positioning, and intraday trading across U.S. markets.
If the proliferation of thematic, leveraged, and single-stock ETFs continues, the line between stock trading and ETF trading may become increasingly blurred, cementing ETFs as one of the dominant vehicles through which investors express both long-term convictions and short-term market views.
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