U.S. ETF Short Selling Recap August 2022

Author:

Ihor Dusaniwsky

Managing Director of Predictive Analytics, S3 Partners

Matthew Unterman

Director of Predictive Analytics, S3 Partners

August 10, 2022

We cover 3,401 ETFs and Funds with active shares shorted, with $238 billion of short interest. Average Short Interest % of Float is 19.51% and S3 SI % Float (which includes synthetic longs created by every short sale in the Float number) is 14.80%, while the average stock borrow fee is 0.90%. As a comparison, U.S. equities have an average SI % Float of 5.08%, S3 SI % Float of 4.55% and average stock borrow fee of 0.98%.

U.S. ETF Short Interest (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Fee

Short Interest

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

20.63%

17.10%

0.30%

$ 77,039,799,928

INVESCO QQQ TRUST ETF

QQQ

12.84%

11.38%

0.57%

$ 22,390,007,455

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

37.55%

27.30%

0.94%

$ 20,748,744,577

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

57.07%

36.33%

2.57%

$ 8,118,389,586

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

11.14%

10.03%

0.57%

$ 3,955,275,197

ISHS MSCI EAFE ETF

EFA

8.21%

7.59%

0.30%

$ 3,841,348,325

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

40.52%

28.83%

0.82%

$ 3,436,267,172

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

10.25%

9.30%

0.30%

$ 3,092,034,097

ISHS S&P 500 ETF

IVV

0.95%

0.94%

0.30%

$ 2,908,696,645

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

21.14%

17.45%

0.57%

$ 2,854,798,968

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

19.20%

16.10%

0.30%

$ 2,780,953,464

SPDR ENERGY SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLE

7.80%

7.24%

0.30%

$ 2,712,618,223

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

9.47%

8.65%

0.30%

$ 2,465,860,631

SPDR SP OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

55.56%

35.72%

1.07%

$ 2,458,303,503

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

35.07%

25.97%

0.82%

$ 2,374,519,345

VNGRD S&P 500 ETF

VOO

0.82%

0.82%

0.30%

$ 2,239,541,713

SPDR HEALTH CARE SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLV

5.28%

5.01%

0.57%

$ 2,089,578,330

SPDR CONS STAPLES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLP

11.99%

10.71%

0.30%

$ 1,888,601,359

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

6.47%

6.08%

0.57%

$ 1,648,697,898

SPDR DJIA ETF

DIA

5.67%

5.37%

0.30%

$ 1,613,569,691

ISHS DJ US R.E. ETF

IYR

35.58%

26.24%

0.57%

$ 1,539,452,329

SPDR GOLD TR ETF

GLD

2.61%

2.55%

0.57%

$ 1,505,331,362

SPDR S&P REGIONAL BANKING ETF

KRE

43.73%

30.43%

1.19%

$ 1,431,251,156

VNGRD REIT ETF

VNQ

3.36%

3.25%

0.30%

$ 1,388,013,655

INVESCO S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT ETF

RSP

4.16%

4.00%

0.57%

$ 1,320,969,999

Total U.S. ETF\Fund Short Interest

-

19.51%

14.80%

0.90%

$ 238,230,861,102

Overall ETF short exposure increased from $229.4 billion to $238.2 billion, an increase of $8.8 billion, or +3.83%, over the last 30 days. Change in short interest is comprised of mark-to-market price changes of existing shorts and short selling and covering. Over the last 30 days we saw a $12.3 billion increase in the market-to-market value of existing short positions which was slightly offset by $3.5 billion new net short covering. As the value of their assets declined, increasing the size of short-side hedging or Alpha positions, ETF short sellers bought-to-cover into market strength but not enough to totally offset the mark-to-market increase. This indicates that ETF short sellers were satisfied in seeing a slight increase in short exposure as the markets rallied, either increasing their outstanding portfolio hedges or increasing short-side risk (Alpha generating) positions.

The $3.5 billion of net ETF short covering over the last 30 days saw the biggest moves in the “hedging ETFs” with the Spider S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corp Bond ETF (HYG) having $9.7 billion of new short selling over the last thirty days and the iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corp Bond ETF (LQD), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) and iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) with $4.2 billion of short covering. We have been seeing more fixed income ETF activity recently, with half of the ETFs in the top ten most shorted and covered ETFs being fixed income ETFs.

Largest Increase in Short Selling (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Short Interest

30D Change Shares Shorted

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

20.63%

17.10%

$77,039,799,928

$9,122,748,932

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

57.07%

36.33%

$8,118,389,586

$610,287,823

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

35.07%

25.97%

$2,374,519,345

$342,578,642

VNGRD EUROPEAN ETF

VGK

5.15%

4.89%

$795,868,745

$339,365,718

ISHS JPM $ EMERGING MARKETS BOND ETF

EMB

8.16%

7.54%

$1,281,796,026

$286,187,358

SCHWAB US TIPS ETF

SCHP

2.38%

2.32%

$376,986,262

$219,732,100

SPDR INTERMEDIATE TERM TREASURY ETF

SPTI

7.52%

6.99%

$295,651,770

$195,215,485

ISHS FALLEN ANGELS ETF

FALN

8.30%

7.67%

$206,010,608

$187,924,488

VNGRD REIT ETF

VNQ

3.36%

3.25%

$1,388,013,655

$186,143,591

ISHS SILVER TRUST ETF

SLV

8.32%

7.68%

$830,862,233

$179,376,551

Largest Decrease in Short Selling (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Short Interest

30D Change Shares Shorted

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

11.14%

10.03%

$3,955,275,197

$(2,266,413,682)

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

9.47%

8.65%

$2,465,860,631

$(1,098,208,872)

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

37.55%

27.30%

$20,748,744,577

$(826,113,278)

VNGRD ST CORP BOND ETF

VCSH

1.67%

1.65%

$731,110,269

$(791,089,522)

SPDR BBERG HIGH YIELD BOND ETF

JNK

10.24%

9.29%

$922,034,947

$(773,496,324)

INVESCO SENIOR LOAN ETF

BKLN

16.09%

13.86%

$688,388,678

$(671,452,575)

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

10.25%

9.30%

$3,092,034,097

$(635,365,268)

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

6.47%

6.08%

$1,648,697,898

$(633,934,106)

VNGRD S&P 500 ETF

VOO

0.82%

0.82%

$2,239,541,713

$(596,111,694)

ISHS TIPS FUND ETF

TIP

2.00%

1.97%

$601,345,725

$(513,751,560)

Sometimes it is valuable to see not just the absolute change in the numbers surrounding shorted ETFs, but which specific ETFs rose or fell out of the top twenty-five most shorted ETFs to see the tone of the short-side of the market. There are six ETFs that fell out of the 12/31/21 top twenty-five league table and six ETFs that jumped into the 8/9/22 top twenty-five league table. Two inflation based fixed income ETFs (TIPS & MBS), an emerging market ETF and three growth\tech ETFs dropped out of the top twenty-five while an energy ETF, semiconductor ETF, consumer staples ETF, gold ETF and two real estate ETFs joined the top twenty-five.

Change in Most Shorted ETFs

U.S. ETF\Fund Short Int 8/9/22

Tkr

U.S. ETF\Fund Short Int 12/31/21

Tkr

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

INVESCO QQQ TRUST ETF

QQQ

INVESCO QQQ TRUST ETF

QQQ

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

ISHS MSCI EAFE ETF

EFA

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

ISHS S&P 500 ETF

IVV

ISHS S&P 500 ETF

IVV

ISHS MSCI EAFE ETF

EFA

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

SPDR SP OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

SPDR ENERGY SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLE

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

SPDR HEALTH CARE SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLV

SPDR SP OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

VNGRD S&P 500 ETF

VOO

VNGRD S&P 500 ETF

VOO

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

SPDR HEALTH CARE SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLV

ISHS TIPS FUND ETF

TIP

SPDR CONS STAPLES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLP

SPDR S&P REGIONAL BANKING ETF

KRE

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

SPDR DJIA ETF

DIA

SPDR DJIA ETF

DIA

ARK INNOVATION ETF

ARKK

ISHS DJ US R.E. ETF

IYR

SPDR BBERG HIGH YIELD BOND ETF

JNK

SPDR GOLD TR ETF

GLD

INVESCO S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT ETF

RSP

SPDR S&P REGIONAL BANKING ETF

KRE

VNGRD FTSE EMERGING MRKT ETF

VWO

VNGRD REIT ETF

VNQ

ISHS N AMER TECH-SOFTWARE ETF

IGV

INVESCO S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT ETF

RSP

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 GROWTH ETF

IWO

ETF short interest as a % of Float is a much more fluid metric than it is for equities and ADRs as ETFs are constantly created and\or redeemed which changes their shares outstanding\float numbers sometimes daily. The following are ETFs with the highest SI % Float with overall short interest greater than $50 million.

ETFs: Traditional Short Interest vs. S3 Short Interest (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund SI % Float & S3 SI % Float

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Short Interest

SPDR S&P RETAIL ETF

XRT

216.04%

68.36%

$1,231,320,922

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

57.07%

36.33%

$8,118,389,586

ISHS US HOME CONSTRUCTION ETF

ITB

56.71%

36.19%

$841,613,024

SPDR SP OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

55.56%

35.72%

$2,458,303,503

SPDR S&P HOMEBUILDERS ETF

XHB

52.20%

34.30%

$539,074,252

IPATH SERIES B SP 500 VIX ST FUT ETN

VXX

51.20%

33.86%

$301,787,480

SPDR S&P REGIONAL BANKING ETF

KRE

43.73%

30.43%

$1,431,251,156

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

40.52%

28.83%

$3,436,267,172

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

37.55%

27.30%

$20,748,744,577

ISHS DJ US R.E. ETF

IYR

35.58%

26.24%

$1,539,452,329

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

35.07%

25.97%

$2,374,519,345

XTRACKERS HARVEST CSI 300 CHINA A ETF

ASHR

35.06%

25.96%

$638,512,274

SPDR METALS & MINING ETF

XME

25.25%

20.16%

$503,333,649

US NATURAL GAS FUND ETF

UNG

23.35%

18.93%

$122,673,877

ISHS MSCI MEXICO ETF

EWW

22.99%

18.70%

$205,436,548

PROSHS BITCOIN STRATEGY ETF

BITO

22.96%

18.67%

$182,924,060

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

21.14%

17.45%

$2,854,798,968

VANECK OIL SERVICES ETF

OIH

21.01%

17.36%

$458,804,839

ISHS MSCI INDIA ETF

INDA

21.00%

17.35%

$849,256,499

ISHS CHINA LARGE CAP ETF

FXI

20.98%

17.34%

$1,085,376,482

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

20.63%

17.10%

$77,039,799,928

SPDR S&P INSURANCE ETF

KIE

19.44%

16.28%

$99,350,534

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

19.20%

16.10%

$2,780,953,464

ISHS MSCI SAUDI ARABIA ETF

KSA

18.01%

15.26%

$202,271,987

VANECK RUSSIA ETF

RSX

17.06%

14.57%

$92,347,883

ETF stock borrow fees rarely get very expensive (over 5% fee) as brokers will usually create ETF shares in order to meet stock borrow demand as rates make the share creation and hedging profitable. Rates in certain ETFs tend to climb for two main reasons, there is very little marginable or rehypothicatable stock in the market which limits the stock lending availability pool or the process of creating and hedging the ETF is difficult or very expensive (active ETFs or ETF with illiquid constituents). The following are ETFs with the highest stock borrow fees with short interest over $50 million.

ETFs with Highest Stock Borrow Fees (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Fee

Short Interest

IPATH SERIES B SP 500 VIX ST FUT ETN

VXX

51.20%

33.86%

16.57%

$301,787,480

DRXN NASDAQ-100 EQUAL WEIGHTED ETF

QQQE

15.15%

13.16%

14.82%

$118,190,456

VANECK RUSSIA ETF

RSX

17.06%

14.57%

11.82%

$92,347,883

INVESCO SP 500 EQUAL WEIGHT TECH ETF

RYT

2.61%

2.54%

9.57%

$55,867,787

ISHS MSCI GERMANY ETF

EWG

13.68%

12.04%

7.32%

$185,699,321

SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF

FEZ

9.98%

9.08%

7.07%

$146,906,899

INVESCO WILDERHILL CLEAN ENERGY ETF

PBW

6.02%

5.68%

6.57%

$73,832,796

SPDR MORTGAGE BACKED BOND ETF

SPMB

1.71%

1.68%

6.32%

$67,726,740

PROSHS ULTRA 1.5X VIX S.T. FUTURES ETF

UVXY

8.07%

7.47%

5.82%

$106,426,384

ARK NEXT GEN INTERNET ETF

ARKW

4.58%

4.38%

5.82%

$72,438,940

ISHS MSCI UNITED KINGDOM ETF

EWU

2.03%

1.98%

5.82%

$71,786,379

US NATURAL GAS FUND ETF

UNG

23.35%

18.93%

5.32%

$122,673,877

ISHS DJ US TRANSPORT AVG ETF

IYT

8.37%

7.72%

5.07%

$75,531,514

VANECK PHARMACEUTICAL ETF

PPH

15.30%

13.27%

4.82%

$85,313,800

DRXN DAILY S&P OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD BULL 2X ETF

GUSH

7.35%

6.85%

4.82%

$53,565,983

VNGRD TAX-EXEMPT BOND INDEX ETF

VTEB

0.69%

0.69%

4.82%

$126,349,154

INVESCO SENIOR LOAN ETF

BKLN

16.09%

13.86%

4.57%

$688,388,678

INVESCO SOLAR ETF

TAN

6.62%

6.21%

4.57%

$199,709,421

SPDR S&P HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT ETF

XHE

12.48%

11.10%

4.32%

$54,540,815

ALERIAN MLP ETF

AMLP

6.96%

6.51%

4.32%

$446,154,184

PROSHS ULTRA 2X 20+ YR TREAS ETF

TBT

6.87%

6.43%

4.07%

$78,461,752

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS EX CHINA ETF

EMXC

2.98%

2.89%

4.07%

$71,323,170

ISHS MSCI MEXICO ETF

EWW

22.99%

18.70%

3.57%

$205,436,548

DRXN SMALL CAP BULL 3X ETF

TNA

11.42%

10.25%

3.57%

$136,230,051

ISHS S&P GSCI CMDTY INDEXED TR ETF

GSG

3.17%

3.07%

3.57%

$53,056,282

SI % Float and stock borrow costs are just two of the variables in our multi-factor Crowded Score metric along with the overall size of the short, stock borrow liquidity and trading liquidity.

The Most Crowded ETFs (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

Short Interest

Fee

S3 SI % Float

S3 Crowded Score

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

$20,748,744,577

0.94%

27.30%

90.00

IPATH SERIES B SP 500 VIX ST FUT ETN

VXX

$301,787,480

16.57%

33.86%

90.00

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

$8,118,389,586

2.57%

36.33%

87.50

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

$3,436,267,172

0.82%

28.83%

85.00

SPDR S&P RETAIL ETF

XRT

$1,231,320,922

2.82%

68.36%

85.00

SPDR SP OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

$2,458,303,503

1.07%

35.72%

82.50

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

$2,374,519,345

0.82%

25.97%

82.50

SPDR S&P REGIONAL BANKING ETF

KRE

$1,431,251,156

1.19%

30.43%

82.50

ISHS US HOME CONSTRUCTION ETF

ITB

$841,613,024

1.57%

36.19%

82.50

XTRACKERS HARVEST CSI 300 CHINA A ETF

ASHR

$638,512,274

2.82%

25.96%

80.00

SPDR S&P HOMEBUILDERS ETF

XHB

$539,074,252

1.69%

34.30%

80.00

Institutionally, ETFs are primarily used as a portfolio hedging vehicles (SPY, IWM & QQQ shorts make up 50% of total ETF short interest) so one can expect that in an upward trending market most of the larger ETF short positions would have large negative returns. ETF shorts were down $12.5 billion in net-of financing mark-to-market losses, -5.30%, over the last thirty days.

China based ETFs (FXI, KWEB, ASHR & MCHI) were four of the ten most profitable ETFs over the last thirty days as the CSI 300 index was down -6.56%. The ten most profitable shorted ETFs in dollar terms.

The Most Profitable ETF Shorts ($) (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

30 Day

MTM P\L $

P\L %

ISHS CHINA LARGE CAP ETF

FXI

0.30%

$1,137,407,564

$148,815,896

13.08%

KRANESHS CSI CHINA INTERNET ETF

KWEB

0.30%

$444,903,375

$71,178,141

16.00%

PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT QQQ ETF

SQQQ

1.00%

$256,285,469

$38,094,133

14.86%

XTRACKERS HARVEST CSI 300 CHINA A ETF

ASHR

2.98%

$570,984,774

$35,164,791

6.16%

PROSHS ULTRA 1.5X VIX S.T. FUTURES ETF

UVXY

6.91%

$138,417,548

$33,052,450

23.88%

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

0.30%

$2,882,891,131

$26,548,017

0.92%

ISHS MSCI CHINA ETF

MCHI

3.99%

$171,124,670

$24,352,699

14.23%

U.S. OIL FUND ETF

USO

1.19%

$265,978,473

$16,889,741

6.35%

PROSHS ULTRA 2X 20+ YR TREAS ETF

TBT

4.36%

$81,858,552

$8,159,499

9.97%

INVESCO DB COMMODITY INDEX TRACKING FUND ETF

DBC

1.25%

$246,844,658

$6,341,783

2.57%

Besides the three primarily hedging ETF’s (SPY, QQQ & IWM), there was a wide mix of sectors filling out the remaining seven spots.

The Least Profitable ETF Shorts ($) (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

30 Day

MTM P\L $

P\L %

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

0.31%

$69,330,638,868

($3,958,575,667)

-5.71%

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

0.95%

$20,093,806,863

($1,614,919,603)

-8.04%

INVESCO QQQ TRUST ETF

QQQ

0.43%

$20,582,578,823

($1,360,463,997)

-6.61%

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

0.86%

$3,178,708,196

($249,351,835)

-7.84%

SPDR SP OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

1.05%

$2,348,832,470

($234,008,700)

-9.96%

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

0.33%

$2,758,159,701

($233,622,753)

-8.47%

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

2.10%

$6,870,550,818

($206,401,666)

-3.00%

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

0.38%

$2,770,732,621

($197,282,759)

-7.12%

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

0.82%

$2,164,441,195

($187,816,961)

-8.68%

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

0.30%

$3,325,610,343

($169,705,864)

-5.10%

The outright size of some ETF shorts can skew the results when looking at Profit & Loss in dollar terms, looking at Profit & Loss in percentage terms tells us which shorted ETFs had the largest price moves in April. Shorts with over $50 million in short interest.

Once again China based ETFs (KWEB, MCHI, FXI, ASHR & EWH) were five of the top ten most profitable shorted ETFs, on a percentage basis, over the last thirty days.

The Most Profitable ETF Shorts (%) (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

30 Day

MTM P\L $

P\L %

PROSHS ULTRA 1.5X VIX S.T. FUTURES ETF

UVXY

6.91%

$138,417,548

$33,052,450

23.88%

KRANESHS CSI CHINA INTERNET ETF

KWEB

0.30%

$444,903,375

$71,178,141

16.00%

PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT QQQ ETF

SQQQ

1.00%

$256,285,469

$38,094,133

14.86%

ISHS MSCI CHINA ETF

MCHI

3.99%

$171,124,670

$24,352,699

14.23%

ISHS CHINA LARGE CAP ETF

FXI

0.30%

$1,137,407,564

$148,815,896

13.08%

ISHS S&P/TSX 60 INDEX ETF

IUTSF

0.90%

$52,693,276

$5,473,762

10.39%

PROSHS ULTRA 2X 20+ YR TREAS ETF

TBT

4.36%

$81,858,552

$8,159,499

9.97%

U.S. OIL FUND ETF

USO

1.19%

$265,978,473

$16,889,741

6.35%

XTRACKERS HARVEST CSI 300 CHINA A ETF

ASHR

2.98%

$570,984,774

$35,164,791

6.16%

ISHS MSCI HONG KONG ETF

EWH

5.45%

$56,048,916

$2,552,740

4.55%

Leveraged ETFs were five of the top ten least profitable shorted ETFs, on a percentage basis, over the last thirty days.

The Least Profitable ETF Shorts (%) (as of 08.10.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

30 Day

MTM P\L $

P\L %

DRXN DAILY SEMICONDUCTOR BULL 3X ETF

SOXL

1.25%

$72,167,126

($18,567,296)

-25.73%

DRXN SMALL CAP BULL 3X ETF

TNA

2.90%

$107,775,248

($22,368,547)

-20.75%

INVESCO WILDERHILL CLEAN ENERGY ETF

PBW

6.71%

$61,639,588

($12,561,455)

-20.38%

PROSHS ULTRAPRO QQQ ETF

TQQQ

1.19%

$449,684,662

($87,487,167)

-19.46%

US NATURAL GAS FUND ETF

UNG

5.43%

$104,999,989

($19,501,355)

-18.57%

PROSHS ULTRAPRO 3X S&P 500 ETF

UPRO

2.87%

$67,457,107

($11,758,394)

-17.43%

CORNERSTONE STRATEGIC VALUE FUND

CLM

10.23%

$53,292,231

($7,694,433)

-14.44%

SPDR METALS & MINING ETF

XME

1.17%

$485,029,445

($68,384,686)

-14.10%

DRXN DAILY S&P 500 BULL 3X ETF

SPXL

2.23%

$94,787,505

($13,251,202)

-13.98%

ISHS GLOBAL CLEAN ENERGY ETF

ICLN

0.72%

$178,394,163

($22,855,736)

-12.81%

Short interest in the ARKK family of ETFs continues to decline, with total short interest falling below the $2 billion level after being above $3 billion in the end of 2021. Shares shorted have decreased substantially, primarily in the ARKK ETF, with $150 million of short covering over the last thirty days and short interest dipping below the $1 billion level for the first time since February 2021.

While the ARK family of ETF’s SI % Float is smaller than the average U.S. ETF their stock borrow fees are higher as stock borrow availability in these funds is limited. The average stock borrow fee of an ARK ETF is 2.18% fee versus 0.90% for your average U.S. ETF. The scarcity of lendable shares is due to the lack of institutional holders and retail holdings primarily in fully-paid for accounts and not margin accounts which limits broker rehypothecation of internally held client assets. Also, brokers find it difficult to “create-to-lend” actively managed ETFs due to the inability to hedge their constantly changing long exposures efficiently.

Short Interest in ARK Suite of ETFs (as of 08.10.22)

ARK Family ETF

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Fee

Short Interest

30 Day Change Shares Shorted

ARK FINTECH INNOVATION ETF

ARKF

5.05%

4.81%

1.82%

$51,889,545

$(11,877,561)

ARK GENOMIC REVOLUTION ETF

ARKG

9.82%

8.95%

2.82%

$290,756,436

$6,133,365

ARK INNOVATION ETF

ARKK

9.38%

8.57%

1.69%

$905,417,661

$(150,560,510)

ARK AUTOMONOUS TECH ROBOTICS ETF

ARKQ

1.10%

1.08%

0.94%

$13,340,523

$(3,854,219)

ARK NEXT GEN INTERNET ETF

ARKW

4.58%

4.38%

5.82%

$72,438,940

$(5,681,305)

ARK SPACE EXPLORATION INNOVATION ETF

ARKX

3.99%

3.84%

2.57%

$12,931,176

$193,216

ARK ISRAEL INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ETF

IZRL

9.27%

8.48%

4.32%

$11,275,214

$604,736

THE 3D PRINTING ETF

PRNT

0.49%

0.48%

1.69%

$1,023,691

$(1,553,600)

Total ARK Family ETF Short Interest

-

8.91%

8.16%

2.18%

$1,359,073,186

$(166,595,878)

Shorting the ARK family of funds has been a profitable trade in 2022. ARK shorts are up +$2.02 billion in mark-to-market profits for the year, a +82.67 return on an average short interest of $2.45 billion.

But over the last thirty days, ARK shorts are down -$44 million in mark-to-market losses, down -3.15% on an average short interest of $1.38 billion.

ARK ETF Short Selling Profitability (as of 08.10.22)

ARK Family ETF

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

30 Day

MTM P\L $

P\L %

ARK FINTECH INNOVATION ETF

ARKF

2.46%

$50,515,747

($4,939,808)

-9.78%

ARK GENOMIC REVOLUTION ETF

ARKG

3.88%

$269,987,957

($8,774,027)

-3.25%

ARK INNOVATION ETF

ARKK

2.12%

$957,171,595

($24,045,756)

-2.51%

ARK AUTOMONOUS TECH ROBOTICS ETF

ARKQ

1.07%

$14,518,565

($983,213)

-6.77%

ARK NEXT GEN INTERNET ETF

ARKW

5.66%

$66,492,473

($3,304,897)

-4.97%

ARK SPACE EXPLORATION INNOVATION ETF

ARKX

2.09%

$11,930,046

($1,087,075)

-9.11%

ARK ISRAEL INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ETF

IZRL

4.38%

$10,437,389

($391,678)

-3.75%

THE 3D PRINTING ETF

PRNT

1.65%

$1,132,335

($18,940)

-1.67%

Total ARK Family 30 Day MTM P\L

-

2.65%

$1,382,186,107

($43,545,394)

-3.15%

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