Old Economy Wins: Energy & Metals Surge as Tech and Crypto Get Crushed

Weekly Channel Summary

As of March 27, 2026, the NT: Leverage | Inverse ETF channel encompasses 574 ETFs across 24 issuers, representing $131 billion in total assets under management. The channel recorded a net ($443M) in 5-day outflows, reflecting a week of meaningful repositioning as investors rotated aggressively between winning and losing themes. On a longer-term basis, the channel remains in positive territory for the year-to-date period with $2.37B in YTD inflows and a strong $6.06B over the trailing 30 days. However, the 1-year flow picture remains challenged at ($1.65B), highlighting the continued tactical nature of this channel. With 63 new ETF launches in just the past three months, product innovation remains a hallmark of this space.

This Week’s Performance Leaders and Laggards

The week ending March 27, 2026 delivered one of the sharpest intra-channel performance divergences of the year, with a clear “Old Economy vs. New Economy” fault line defining the results. Commodity-linked and defensive thematic categories dominated the leaderboard, while growth-oriented technology, disruptive innovation, and digital asset categories absorbed heavy losses — a rotation that precisely mirrors broader macro anxieties around trade policy, interest rate uncertainty, and a pullback in risk appetite.

At the top of the category rankings, Equity: Thematic – Precious Metals surged +7.05% as gold-related assets benefited from safe-haven demand, followed closely by Equity: Sector – Energy at +6.19% on the back of oil price strength. Equity: Sector – Materials added +4.58%, and Equity: Thematic – Natural Resources posted +4.09%. International exposure also found favor, with Equity: Region – Latin America rising +3.88%. Meanwhile, the carnage on the other end of the spectrum was pronounced: Equity: Thematic – FinTech fell -6.79%, Equity: Thematic – Disruptive Tech dropped -6.27%, and Digital Asset: Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin slid -5.77%. Large-cap growth equity also faced significant pressure, with Equity: U.S. Large Cap – Growth declining -3.45% and Equity: Sector – Information Technology down -3.81%. The dispersion between top and bottom categories exceeded 1,300 basis points, making this one of the more volatile weeks for this channel in recent memory.

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by Weekly Performance

The top individual performer for the week was OILU (MicroSectors Oil & Gas Exp. & Prod. 3x Leveraged ETN) with a blistering weekly gain of +20.87%, reflecting the energy sector’s outsized move. On the flip side, the two worst performers were DRNL (Defiance 2X Daily Long Pure Drone & Aerial Automation ETF), which collapsed -25.89%, and GDXD (MicroSectors Gold Miners -3X Inverse Leveraged ETNs), which fell -21.16% as the precious metals complex moved sharply against its inverse exposure.

Analyzing the Weekly Flows

The Leverage | Inverse channel posted a net ($443M) in 5-day outflows, driven almost entirely by a massive ($611M) exodus from the Equity category — the clearest sign that investors are stepping back from leveraged long equity exposure amid the market’s ongoing volatility. However, the story is not uniformly negative. The Commodity composite attracted $36M in fresh capital, consistent with the strong performance of energy and precious metals ETFs during the week. Fixed Income funds added $52M, reflecting a flight-to-quality mentality, while Single Stock products gathered $78M — the strongest individual composite inflow — suggesting continued retail and tactical interest in single-name leverage plays. Crypto drew a modest $2M, signaling relative indifference in the face of a -5.77% WTD loss for the Bitcoin category.

Category Flows Summary

Top & Bottom 5 ETFs by 5-Day Flow

The top inflow recipient for the week was SOXL (Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF), which attracted a remarkable $476M in fresh capital — a notable tactical dip-buying signal from investors despite the broader tech selloff. On the outflow side, the two largest drains were SSO (ProShares Ultra S&P 500) with ($775M) and QLD (ProShares Ultra QQQ) with ($621M), underscoring a broad de-risking from leveraged broad-market and Nasdaq long positions.

Issuer League Table Update

ProShares and Direxion continue to dominate the Leverage | Inverse landscape in terms of assets, commanding a combined 82.83% of total channel AUM. ProShares holds the top spot with $63.13B (48.32% market share) across 107 ETFs, while Direxion ranks second with $45.09B (34.51%) across 128 funds. GraniteShares is a distant third at $6.59B (5.04%). On the weekly flow front, Direxion was the clear standout among large issuers, gathering $590M in net inflows — largely driven by the SOXL semiconductor surge — while ProShares experienced the channel’s largest outflow at ($1,041M), as investors exited leveraged S&P 500 and Nasdaq long products (SSO and QLD). This issuer-level divergence highlights how differently market conditions can impact two firms occupying the same dominant tier of the same channel.

Top 5 Issuers by AUM

Top & Bottom 3 Issuers by 5-Day Flow