We cover 3,452 ETFs and Funds with active shares shorted with $214 billion of short interest. Average Short Interest % of Float is 17.51% and S3 SI % Float (which includes synthetic longs created by every short sale in the Float number) is 12.45%, while the average stock borrow fee is 0.89%. As a comparison, U.S. equities have an average SI % Float of 4.64%, S3 SI % Float of 4.19% and average stock borrow fee of 0.63%.

Short Interest in ETFs (as of 12.16.22)

U.S. ETF\Fund

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Fee

Short Interest

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

14.30%

12.51%

0.30%

$53,403,141,329

INVESCO QQQ TRUST ETF

QQQ

13.58%

11.95%

0.57%

$20,736,771,673

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

27.86%

21.79%

0.69%

$14,814,292,421

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

30.59%

23.43%

0.69%

$5,591,304,075

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

23.80%

19.22%

0.30%

$5,415,322,533

ISHS MSCI EAFE ETF

EFA

10.30%

9.33%

0.30%

$4,733,322,726

SPDR ENERGY SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLE

10.84%

9.78%

0.30%

$4,308,120,884

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

9.24%

8.46%

0.30%

$3,543,692,984

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

10.07%

9.15%

0.30%

$3,204,456,023

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

21.96%

18.01%

0.69%

$3,039,410,077

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

38.69%

27.90%

0.82%

$3,017,003,054

SPDR CONS STAPLES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLP

16.97%

14.51%

0.30%

$2,998,370,642

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

19.06%

16.01%

0.57%

$2,754,076,300

SPDR S&P OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

54.84%

35.42%

1.07%

$2,462,565,970

SPDR DJIA ETF

DIA

7.94%

7.35%

0.30%

$2,415,237,427

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

7.09%

6.62%

0.30%

$2,139,181,459

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

31.28%

23.83%

0.82%

$2,091,557,129

SPDR HEALTH CARE SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLV

4.65%

4.45%

0.57%

$1,976,695,860

ISHS CHINA LARGE CAP ETF

FXI

35.07%

25.97%

0.57%

$1,804,241,851

SPDR GOLD TR ETF

GLD

3.07%

2.98%

0.30%

$1,600,784,436

INVESCO S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT ETF

RSP

4.68%

4.47%

0.30%

$1,539,911,829

ISHS NASDAQ BIOTECH ETF

IBB

17.22%

14.69%

1.07%

$1,537,192,979

ISHS S&P 500 ETF

IVV

0.46%

0.30%

$1,375,718,940

PROSHS ULTRAPRO QQQ ETF

TQQQ

12.79%

11.34%

2.82%

$1,356,826,336

SPDR S&P RETAIL ETF

XRT

488.79%

83.02%

2.57%

$1,340,380,866

Total U.S. ETF\Fund Short Interest

17.51%

12.45%

0.89%

$214,386,107,078

Overall ETF short exposure decreased from $222.2 billion to $214.4 billion, a decrease of $7.88 billion, or -3.6%, over the last thirty days. Change in short interest is comprised of mark-to-market price changes of existing shorts coupled with new short selling and covering. We saw a $5.5 billion decrease in the market-to-market value of existing short positions along with $7.9 billion new net short covering.

Even as the value of their ETF\Fund assets depreciated, ETF short sellers decreased their exposure into market strength either by decreasing their outstanding portfolio hedges or decreasing their short-side risk (Alpha generating) positions. This increased short covering added to the mark-to-market decrease in the price of the ETFs\Funds they were shorting and accelerated the overall decline in ETF\Fund exposure. This indicates that ETF short sellers were looking to decrease their short-side bet exposure, even as prices declined, and mark-to-market profits grew.

While there was $2.4 billion of new net ETF short covering over the last thirty days saw more ETFs with increased short selling versus short covering (1,789 ETFs with increases short selling, 1,448 ETFs with increased short covering & 215 with no change) but the short covering was mainly executed in the most widely held ETFs. Increased short selling occurred in ETFs with $94.1 billion of short interest while the increased short covering occurred in ETFs with $120.3 billion of short interest. Interestingly, short sellers actively reduced exposure in the broad hedging and fixed income ETFs while increased short selling in tech and emerging market & EAFE ETFs.

We saw the largest increase of new short selling in tech (QQQ & TQQQ), emerging markets (EEM) and EAFE ETFs (EFA, IEFA, EFV):

ETF\Fund

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Short Interest

30D Change Shares Shorted

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

23.80%

19.22%

$5,415,322,533

$1,222,062,292

ISHS MSCI EAFE ETF

EFA

10.30%

9.33%

$4,733,322,726

$1,130,476,974

INVESCO QQQ TRUST ETF

QQQ

13.58%

11.95%

$20,736,771,673

$923,736,329

ISHS CORE MSCI EAFE ETF

IEFA

1.17%

1.16%

$1,042,857,668

$539,978,958

SPDR DJIA ETF

DIA

7.94%

7.35%

$2,415,237,427

$493,439,898

PROSHS ULTRAPRO QQQ ETF

TQQQ

12.79%

11.34%

$1,356,826,336

$479,648,237

ISHS MSCI EAFE VALUE ETF

EFV

3.39%

3.28%

$510,683,694

$428,633,659

VNGRD INTL BOND ETF

BNDX

1.05%

1.04%

$482,934,546

$419,194,352

VNGRD TOTAL INTL STOCK ETF

VXUS

1.06%

1.05%

$533,978,545

$411,500,630

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

21.96%

18.01%

$3,039,410,077

$397,487,314

We saw the largest increase of new short covering in in the broader market ETFs (SPY & IWM) and fixed income ETFs (HYG, LQD, JNK, TLT & SRLN):

ETF\Fund

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Short Interest

30D Change Shares Shorted

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

14.30%

12.51%

$53,403,141,329

-$1,828,253,836

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

27.86%

21.79%

$14,814,292,421

-$1,590,162,601

ISHS MSCI ACWI INDEX ETF

ACWI

7.08%

6.62%

$1,269,661,663

-$1,439,544,075

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

30.59%

23.43%

$5,591,304,075

-$1,232,150,625

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

9.24%

8.46%

$3,543,692,984

-$1,058,478,533

SPDR BBERG HIGH YIELD BOND ETF

JNK

10.98%

9.90%

$1,054,990,294

-$763,101,326

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

7.09%

6.62%

$2,139,181,459

-$635,693,035

SPDR BLACKSTONE SENIOR LOAN ETF

SRLN

1.75%

1.72%

$107,956,999

-$307,439,064

ISHS MSCI TAIWAN CAPPED ETF

EWT

6.79%

6.36%

$227,269,634

-$286,922,947

SPDR ENERGY SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLE

10.84%

9.78%

$4,308,120,884

-$282,271,167

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 two ETFs that fell out of the 10/14 top twenty-five league table and two ETFs that jumped into the 11/16 top twenty-five league table.

The broad worldwide iShares MSCI ACWI ETF (ACWI) and the SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) fell out of the top twenty-five with the ACWI falling from 12 to 26 and JNK dropping from 21 to 31.

On the other side of the ledger, the ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) rose from 35 to 24 and the SPDR Retail ETF (XRT) rose one spot from 26 to 25.

U.S. ETF\Fund Short Interest 12/15/22

Ticker

U.S. ETF\Fund Short Interest 11/15/22

Ticker

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 MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

SPDR ENERGY SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLE

ISHS MSCI EAFE ETF

EFA

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

SPDR ENERGY SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLE

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

ISHS MSCI EAFE ETF

EFA

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

SPDR CONS STAPLES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLP

SPDR CONS STAPLES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLP

ISHS MSCI ACWI INDEX ETF

ACWI

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

SPDR SP OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

SPDR SP OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

SPDR DJIA ETF

DIA

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

SPDR HEALTH CARE SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLV

SPDR DJIA ETF

DIA

ISHS CHINA LARGE CAP ETF

FXI

SPDR HEALTH CARE SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLV

SPDR GOLD TR ETF

GLD

SPDR GOLD TR ETF

GLD

INVESCO S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT ETF

RSP

SPDR BBERG HIGH YIELD BOND ETF

JNK

ISHS NASDAQ BIOTECH ETF

IBB

ISHS CHINA LARGE CAP ETF

FXI

ISHS S&P 500 ETF

IVV

ISHS S&P 500 ETF

IVV

PROSHS ULTRAPRO QQQ ETF

TQQQ

ISHS NASDAQ BIOTECH ETF

IBB

SPDR S&P RETAIL ETF

XRT

INVESCO S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT ETF

RSP

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. The Spider S&P Retail ETF (XRT) continues to lead the pack with the only SI % Float over 100% and S3 SI % Float over 50%.

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

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Fee

Short Interest

SPDR S&P RETAIL ETF

XRT

488.79%

83.02%

2.57%

$1,340,380,866

SPDR S&P HOMEBUILDERS ETF

XHB

56.73%

36.19%

1.57%

$544,835,971

SPDR S&P OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

54.84%

35.42%

1.07%

$2,462,565,970

ISHS U.S. HOME CONSTRUCTION ETF

ITB

54.49%

35.27%

1.19%

$719,110,860

SPDR S&P REGIONAL BANKING ETF

KRE

42.45%

29.80%

1.19%

$1,165,266,875

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

38.69%

27.90%

0.82%

$3,017,003,054

ISHS CHINA LARGE CAP ETF

FXI

35.07%

25.97%

0.57%

$1,804,241,851

IPATH SERIES B S&P 500 VIX ST FUT ETN

VXX

34.97%

25.91%

3.82%

$153,973,786

VANECK OIL SERVICES ETF

OIH

34.16%

25.46%

1.94%

$828,958,094

INVESCO CCYSHS EURO ETF

FXE

32.83%

24.71%

6.57%

$98,180,124

VANECK PHARMACEUTICAL ETF

PPH

32.23%

24.37%

6.32%

$185,976,473

VANECK SEMICONDUCTOR ETF

SMH

31.28%

23.83%

0.82%

$2,091,557,129

ISHS MSCI MEXICO ETF

EWW

30.80%

23.55%

2.82%

$296,388,123

ISHS IBOXX $ HIGH YIELD CORP BOND ETF

HYG

30.59%

23.43%

0.69%

$5,591,304,075

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

27.86%

21.79%

0.69%

$14,814,292,421

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

23.80%

19.22%

0.30%

$5,415,322,533

ISHS DJ US R.E. ETF

IYR

23.62%

19.11%

0.82%

$906,257,109

PROSHS BITCOIN STRATEGY ETF

BITO

22.71%

18.51%

6.32%

$133,208,333

ISHS DJ US TRANSPORT AVG ETF

IYT

22.59%

18.43%

2.57%

$155,040,323

SPDR INDUSTRIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLI

21.96%

18.01%

0.69%

$3,039,410,077

SPDR METALS & MINING ETF

XME

21.82%

17.91%

1.07%

$440,257,019

ISHS MSCI S KOREA ETF

EWY

20.99%

17.35%

1.19%

$662,182,544

INVESCO SENIOR LOAN ETF

BKLN

20.00%

16.66%

1.19%

$810,520,398

PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT QQQ ETF

SQQQ

19.76%

16.50%

1.32%

$817,941,185

SPDR MATERIALS ETF

XLB

19.38%

16.23%

0.30%

$1,059,869,430

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:

U.S. ETF\Fund Highest Stock Borrow Fees

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Fee

Short Interest

ISHS MSCI TURKEY ETF

TUR

14.45%

12.63%

16.82%

$56,542,728

INVESCO NATIONAL AMT-FREE MUNI BOND ETF

PZA

4.75%

4.54%

14.07%

$96,117,892

SPDR NUVEEN S&P HIGH YIELD MUNI BOND ETF

HYMB

3.82%

3.68%

12.82%

$88,994,825

ISHS MSCI EUROPE FINANCIALS ETF

EUFN

4.61%

4.40%

8.57%

$59,233,869

VANECK RUSSIA ETF

RSX

16.76%

14.36%

8.32%

$90,836,954

FIRST TRUST INSTITUTIONAL PR

FPEI

7.97%

7.38%

7.32%

$62,590,880

SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF

FEZ

11.25%

10.11%

6.82%

$217,102,977

ALERIAN MLP ETF

AMLP

4.51%

4.31%

6.82%

$284,298,979

VNGRD INTL HIGH DVD YIELD ETF

VYMI

1.04%

1.03%

6.82%

$50,767,268

INVESCO CCYSHS EURO ETF

FXE

32.83%

24.71%

6.57%

$98,180,124

CORNERSTONE TOTAL RETURN FUND

CRF

10.86%

9.79%

6.57%

$53,527,348

ISHS MSCI FRANCE ETF

EWQ

8.60%

7.92%

6.57%

$82,765,392

VANECK PHARMACEUTICAL ETF

PPH

32.23%

24.37%

6.32%

$185,976,473

PROSHS BITCOIN STRATEGY ETF

BITO

22.71%

18.51%

6.32%

$133,208,333

PROSHS ULTRA 2X 20+ YR TREAS ETF

TBT

11.56%

10.36%

6.32%

$89,258,035

PROSHS ULTRA 1.5X VIX S.T. FUTURES ETF

UVXY

14.07%

12.34%

6.07%

$106,265,510

INVESCO NASDAQ INTERNET ETF

PNQI

15.41%

13.35%

5.82%

$66,781,749

ISHS MSCI GERMANY ETF

EWG

13.35%

11.78%

5.82%

$170,298,930

PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT S&P 500 ETF

SPXU

5.14%

4.89%

5.82%

$63,905,414

ISHS MSCI UNITED KINGDOM ETF

EWU

1.92%

1.89%

5.57%

$61,433,810

SPDR NUVEEN BBERG BARC SHORT TERM MUNI BOND ETF

SHM

1.74%

1.71%

5.32%

$79,525,166

ARK GENOMIC REVOLUTION ETF

ARKG

14.80%

12.90%

5.07%

$303,344,703

FT PREFERRED SECURITIES & INCOME FUND ETF

FPE

2.49%

2.43%

5.07%

$154,109,617

VNGRD INTL DIV APPRECIATION INDEX ETF

VIGI

1.24%

1.23%

5.07%

$50,449,175

XTRACKERS HARVEST CSI 300 CHINA A ETF

ASHR

6.96%

6.50%

4.82%

$145,488,519

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 ETF\Funds with the highest Crowded Scores are:

U.S. ETF\Fund Crowded Scores

Ticker

Short Interest

Fee

S3 SI% Float

Crowded Score

VANECK PHARMACEUTICAL ETF

PPH

$185,976,473

6.32%

24.37%

90.00

SPDR S&P RETAIL ETF

XRT

$1,340,380,866

2.57%

83.02%

87.50

SPDR S&P BIOTECH ETF

XBI

$3,017,003,054

0.82%

27.90%

85.00

ISHS U.S. HOME CONSTRUCTION ETF

ITB

$719,110,860

1.19%

35.27%

85.00

SPDR S&P OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

$2,462,565,970

1.07%

35.42%

85.00

VANECK OIL SERVICES ETF

OIH

$828,958,094

1.94%

25.46%

82.50

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

$14,814,292,421

0.69%

21.79%

80.00

INVESCO S&P 500 EQUAL WEIGHT COMM SERVICES ETF

EWCO

$14,202,552

0.30%

29.47%

80.00

SPDR S&P REGIONAL BANKING ETF

KRE

$1,165,266,875

1.19%

29.80%

80.00

Institutionally ETFs are primarily used as a portfolio hedging vehicles (SPY, IWM & QQQ shorts make up 41% of total ETF short interest) so one can expect that in a downward trending market most of the larger ETF short positions would have large positive returns. ETF shorts were up $8.51 billion in net-of financing mark-to-market profits, +3.97%, in December.

Most of the most profitable ETF shorts in December were the most shorted, broader and hedge related ETFs:

Most Profitable ETF\Fund December MTM P\L

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

Dec MTM P\L

P\L %

SPDR S&P 500 ETF

SPY

0.30%

$53,821,521,460

$2,430,218,283

4.52%

INVESCO QQQ TRUST ETF

QQQ

0.32%

$20,388,854,660

$1,172,505,083

5.75%

ISHS RUSSELL 2000 ETF

IWM

0.73%

$15,394,578,922

$977,425,211

6.35%

SPDR ENERGY SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLE

0.30%

$4,157,814,654

$271,712,038

6.53%

SPDR S&P OIL\GAS EXPLOR\PROD ETF

XOP

1.26%

$2,547,889,725

$268,242,248

10.53%

ISHS MSCI EMERGING MARKETS ETF

EEM

0.30%

$5,589,968,171

$255,815,765

4.58%

PROSHS ULTRAPRO QQQ ETF

TQQQ

1.92%

$1,414,352,760

$249,459,061

17.64%

SPDR FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLF

0.30%

$3,455,142,737

$231,841,871

6.71%

ISHS MSCI BRAZIL ETF

EWZ

0.70%

$1,029,433,386

$173,244,959

16.83%

SPDR S&P REGIONAL BANKING ETF

KRE

1.23%

$1,273,762,529

$146,566,537

11.51%

While most of the most unprofitable ETFs in December were the fixed income, inverse, silver, China ETFs:

Least Profitable ETF\Fund December MTM P\L

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

Dec MTM P\L

P\L %

PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT QQQ ETF

SQQQ

1.42%

$714,124,742

($122,848,840)

-17.20%

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

0.30%

$2,258,510,808

($118,282,924)

-5.24%

ISHS IBOXX $ INV GRD CORP BOND ETF

LQD

0.30%

$3,429,580,711

($59,783,683)

-1.74%

ISHS SILVER TRUST ETF

SLV

0.77%

$986,032,076

($37,092,751)

-3.76%

KRANESHS CSI CHINA INTERNET ETF

KWEB

0.45%

$556,345,174

($26,725,298)

-4.80%

ISHS U.S. HOME CONSTRUCTION ETF

ITB

1.23%

$673,662,594

($22,031,498)

-3.27%

VNGRD LONG-TERM CORP BOND ETF

VCLT

1.06%

$457,538,256

($15,102,853)

-3.30%

ISHS CORE FTSE 100 UCITS ETF

BCYIF

0.30%

$335,754,578

($12,836,742)

-3.82%

SPDR UTILITIES SELECT SECTOR ETF

XLU

0.42%

$2,605,934,809

($9,164,377)

-0.35%

ISHS CORE US AGGREGATE BOND ETF

AGG

0.30%

$634,124,719

($7,938,557)

-1.25%

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 November. The largest and least profitable shorted ETFs in percentage terms with over $50 million in short interest were:

The most profitable ETF shorts were either leveraged, cannabis or emerging market ETFs:

Most Profitable ETF\Fund December MTM P\L%

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

Dec MTM P\L

P\L %

ADVISORSHS PURE US CANNABIS ETF

MSOS

0.66%

$87,890,708

$31,432,964

35.76%

ISHS MSCI TAIWAN CAPPED ETF

EWT

0.58%

$226,987,972

$48,337,854

21.30%

DRXN DAILY SEMICONDUCTOR BULL 3X ETF

SOXL

0.85%

$115,025,482

$24,117,040

20.97%

DRXN SMALL CAP BULL 3X ETF

TNA

5.16%

$88,527,895

$16,206,671

18.31%

PROSHS ULTRAPRO QQQ ETF

TQQQ

1.92%

$1,414,352,760

$249,459,061

17.64%

ISHS MSCI BRAZIL ETF

EWZ

0.70%

$1,029,433,386

$173,244,959

16.83%

ISHS S&P LATIN AMERICA 40 ETF

ILF

1.59%

$100,735,275

$16,528,135

16.41%

DRXN DAILY S&P 500 BULL 3X ETF

SPXL

4.24%

$161,556,499

$23,233,174

14.38%

PROSHS ULTRAPRO 3X S&P 500 ETF

UPRO

1.49%

$63,483,022

$8,811,921

13.88%

PROSHS ULTRA 2X 20+ YR TREAS ETF

TBT

6.23%

$94,497,727

$11,485,295

12.15%

Most of the least profitable ETFs were inverse HK\China related:

Least Profitable ETF\Fund December MTM P\L%

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

Dec MTM P\L

P\L %

PROSHS ULTRAPRO SHORT QQQ ETF

SQQQ

1.42%

$714,124,742

($122,848,840)

-17.20%

PROSHS ULTRASHORT SP 500 ETF

SDS

3.79%

$53,344,198

($4,975,788)

-9.33%

ISHS 20+ YR TREAS BOND ETF

TLT

0.30%

$2,258,510,808

($118,282,924)

-5.24%

KRANESHS CSI CHINA INTERNET ETF

KWEB

0.45%

$556,345,174

($26,725,298)

-4.80%

PROSHS SHORT S&P 500 ETF

2.46%

$70,878,612

($3,029,402)

-4.27%

ISHS CORE FTSE 100 UCITS ETF

BCYIF

0.30%

$335,754,578

($12,836,742)

-3.82%

ISHS SILVER TRUST ETF

SLV

0.77%

$986,032,076

($37,092,751)

-3.76%

VNGRD LONG-TERM CORP BOND ETF

VCLT

1.06%

$457,538,256

($15,102,853)

-3.30%

ISHS U.S. HOME CONSTRUCTION ETF

ITB

1.23%

$673,662,594

($22,031,498)

-3.27%

ISHS MSCI TURKEY ETF

TUR

15.74%

$54,890,824

($1,467,845)

-2.67%

Total short interest in the ARK family of ETFs decreased from $1.61 billion to $1.27 billion. There was $78 million of new short covering in addition to $260 million of mark-to-market decreases in the value of shares shorted. Ark short sellers were trimming their shares shorted even in a declining tech market over the last thirty days.

ARK Family Short Interest

Ticker

SI % Float

S3 SI % Float

Fee

Short Interest

30D Change Shares Shorted

ARK INNOVATION ETF

ARKK

12.26%

10.92%

0.94%

$831,983,838

$(167,870,393)

ARK GENOMIC REVOLUTION ETF

ARKG

14.80%

12.90%

5.07%

$303,344,703

$85,082,154

ARK FINTECH INNOVATION ETF

ARKF

8.69%

7.99%

3.07%

$60,993,489

$24,186,152

ARK NEXT GEN INTERNET ETF

ARKW

4.41%

4.23%

5.07%

$45,771,006

$(21,891,212)

ARK SPACE EXPLORATION INNOVATION ETF

ARKX

3.13%

3.03%

5.82%

$8,012,425

$(182,863)

ARK AUTOMONOUS TECH ROBOTICS ETF

ARKQ

0.90%

0.89%

1.44%

$7,573,807

$2,061,767

ARK ISRAEL INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ETF

IZRL

7.62%

7.08%

3.32%

7,489,861

$1,111,691

THE 3D PRINTING ETF

PRNT

2.34%

2.29%

1.32%

$4,202,917

$(434,338)

Total ARK Family Short Interest

12.23%

10.85%

2.23%

$1,269,372,046

$(77,937,042)

Shorting the ARK family of funds has been a profitable trade in 2022. ARK shorts are up +$2.13 billion in mark-to-market profits for the year, a +121.6% return on an average short interest of $2.13 billion.

In December Ark short profits outperformed the average ETF, up +$136 million in month-to-date mark-to-market profits, up +10.7% on an average short interest of $1.28 billion.

ARK Family December MTM P\L

Ticker

Avg Fee

Avg Short Interest

Dec MTM P\L

P\L %

ARK FINTECH INNOVATION ETF

ARKF

3.15%

$55,122,960

$5,001,723

9.07%

ARK GENOMIC REVOLUTION ETF

ARKG

5.05%

$257,512,527

$20,599,197

8.00%

ARK INNOVATION ETF

ARKK

1.25%

$887,339,992

$104,620,900

11.79%

ARK AUTOMONOUS TECH ROBOTICS ETF

ARKQ

1.42%

$7,879,536

$610,876

7.75%

ARK NEXT GEN INTERNET ETF

ARKW

5.09%

$48,362,143

$4,281,369

8.85%

ARK SPACE EXPLORATION INNOVATION ETF

ARKX

5.04%

$8,354,349

$488,308

5.84%

ARK ISRAEL INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY ETF

IZRL

3.20%

$7,399,339

$428,067

5.79%

THE 3D PRINTING ETF

PRNT

1.48%

$3,739,411

$99,879

2.67%

Total ARK Family December MTM P\L

2.28%

$1,275,710,257

$136,130,319

10.67%

U.S. ETF Short Selling Recap

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