By Suzanne McGee
(Reuters) – Direxion, a U.S. asset manager specializing in leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), on Wednesday rolled out a new product allowing investors to bet on gains in the MSCI Emerging Markets ex-China Index.
As China’s stock market has struggled to emerge from a years-long slump, investor appetite for emerging markets funds that exclude exposure to the world’s second-largest economy has surged. According to data from LSEG Lipper, China-focused funds domiciled outside of that country saw outflows of $1.54 billion in 2023 alone, and an 18.8% drop in assets under management.
Meanwhile, the expanding roster of ex-China funds pulled in $6.13 billion in 2023, with assets jumping 168% to $12.27 billion.
The Direxion Daily MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Bull 2x Shares adds leverage to the mix by seeking to capture 200% of the daily performance of the underlying index.
“China has been a consistent drag on the performance” of emerging markets indexes, said Ed Egilinsky, a managing director at Direxion. “This offers traders a way to get exposure to that trend.” The firm already offers leveraged and inverse ETFs tied to the performance of Chinese stocks.
Ex-China funds began as portfolio construction tools in an era when China’s weight within emerging markets indexes had soared, said Marc Zeitoun, head of strategic beta at Columbia Threadneedle.
In 2015, the firm launched the first emerging markets ETF to exclude China, the Columbia EM Core ex-China ETF. As Chinese markets began posting a string of losses in 2021, investor interest in trimming China exposure has soared, and so have the fund’s assets. In 2023 alone, according to data from Morningstar Direct, the Columbia Threadneedle ETF saw assets soar 365% to $670.2 million.
Direxion has also filed an application with U.S. securities regulators for an inverse ETF that would allow traders to bet on a decline in the emerging markets ex-China index. That application remains on file but Direxion isn’t launching that product simultaneously with the “bull” trading vehicle.
(Reporting by Suzanne McGee; editing by David Evans)
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