ETF News You Missed This Week - July 13 - July 17, 2026

ETF Launches

Active equity ETFs continue to gain momentum

Traditional asset managers remained focused on expanding their actively managed ETF offerings.

Manulife John Hancock Investments introduced the John Hancock Large Cap Opportunities ETF (JLCO), bringing a high-conviction large-cap equity strategy that has been managed since 2020 into an ETF structure. The launch expands the firm's ETF lineup to 20 funds as investor demand for active stock selection continues to accelerate.

GMO also entered the market with the GMO Power Infrastructure ETF (KWH), targeting companies expected to benefit from rising electricity demand driven by AI data centers, electric vehicles, grid modernization, and global electrification trends.

KraneShares added another AI-focused strategy with the KraneShares Photonic and Optical ETF (LUMA), investing in companies developing optical networking and photonics technologies that underpin next-generation AI infrastructure.

Neuberger Berman expanded its active lineup with the Neuberger Quality Select ETF (NQLT), a concentrated portfolio of quality U.S. companies emphasizing durable competitive advantages, strong cash generation, and disciplined valuations.

Qualivian Investment Partners launched the Qualivian Focus Fund ETF (QFF), investing in 20 to 25 high-quality businesses selected through an intensive fundamental research process with a long-term investment horizon.

SEI introduced the SEI QiM U.S. Equity Factor Allocation Active ETF (SEUS), combining quantitative factor investing across value, momentum, quality, and low volatility while dynamically adjusting exposures as market conditions evolve.

Thematic investing broadens beyond artificial intelligence

Thematic ETF innovation remained strong, with issuers expanding into emerging long-term investment trends.

VistaShares unveiled three new actively managed funds: the VistaShares Space Supercycle ETF (GALX), VistaShares Defense Supercycle ETF (AMMO), and VistaShares Robotics Supercycle ETF (RTOO). Rather than concentrating solely on well-known industry leaders, the firm's proprietary "Bill of Materials" methodology seeks opportunities throughout entire industry supply chains. The launches expand VistaShares' Supercycle family beyond artificial intelligence and electrification as the firm surpasses $2 billion in assets under management.

XFUNDS introduced the XFUNDS Memory Income ETF (DRMY), combining exposure to the rapidly growing AI memory semiconductor ecosystem with actively managed options strategies designed to generate weekly income. The ETF invests across the full memory value chain, including HBM, DRAM, NAND, SSD, HDD, and embedded memory technologies.

Income-focused ETF innovation continues

Asset managers also continued building products aimed at investors seeking higher cash flow without abandoning equity exposure.

Columbia Threadneedle launched two actively managed covered call ETFs. The Columbia High Dividend Premium Income ETF (CDPI) focuses on dividend-paying companies, while the Columbia Research Enhanced Core Premium Income ETF (RECI) combines a research-driven core equity portfolio with index options to generate tax-efficient monthly income.

TappAlpha expanded its options-based lineup with the TappAlpha Cboe Magnificent 10 Growth & Daily Income ETF (TMGN), pairing equal-weight exposure to ten leading technology companies with a daily options overlay intended to produce tax-efficient income.

Virtus Investment Partners entered the preferred securities market through the Virtus InfraCap Preferred and Income Securities ETF (VPFF), investing primarily in preferred stocks and hybrid income securities while using fundamental analysis to identify attractive issuers.

YieldMax continued expanding its single-company income strategies with the YieldMax SPCX Option Income Strategy ETF (YSPC). Rather than investing directly in privately held SpaceX, the ETF uses derivatives designed to generate current income while providing indirect economic exposure to the company's valuation.

Physical precious metals receive a domestic storage alternative

Y'all Street entered the precious metals ETF market with two physically backed funds: the Y'all Street Physical Gold ETF (YSAU) and the Y'all Street Physical Silver ETF (YSAG).

Unlike traditional bullion ETFs that often rely on international vaulting arrangements, both funds store 100% of their allocated gold and silver bars at Texas Precious Metals Depository, making them the first U.S.-listed bullion ETFs with all physical holdings stored entirely on American soil.

Leveraged ETF issuers battle for AI leadership

One of the week's biggest themes was the flood of leveraged products tied to AI memory chip leader SK hynix following its U.S. ADR listing.

GraniteShares launched the GraniteShares 2x Long SK Hynix Daily ETF (SKUU) and GraniteShares 2x Short SK Hynix Daily ETF (SKDD), providing both bullish and bearish leveraged exposure.

Leverage Shares introduced the Leverage Shares 2x Long SK Hynix Daily ETF (SKHX) alongside the Leverage Shares 1x Short SK Hynix Daily ETF (SKHZ).

ProShares entered the race with the ProShares Ultra SK hynix ETF (SKHU), while REX Shares and Tuttle Capital Management launched the T-REX 2X Long SK Hynix Daily Target ETF (HYNX).

Direxion also joined the competition with the Direxion Daily SK Hynix Bull 2X ETF (SKHL).

Corgi Funds differentiated itself by launching the Corgi SK Hynix 2x Daily ETF (SK) with a 0.50% net expense ratio, positioning it as the lowest-cost leveraged SK hynix ETF available in the U.S.

Beyond SK hynix, GraniteShares expanded its leveraged single-stock lineup with the GraniteShares 2x Long NTAP Daily ETF (NTAL), GraniteShares 2x Long TDC Daily ETF (TDCL), and GraniteShares 2x Long BTDR Daily ETF (BTDL) targeting NetApp, Teradata, and Bitdeer Technologies.

Corgi Funds simultaneously launched 13 additional leveraged ETFs covering companies including Credo, CrowdStrike, Hims & Hers, IREN, MARA Holdings, Marvell, Nebius, ServiceNow, Novo Nordisk, Reddit, Rigetti Computing, Rivian, and Vertiv, highlighting continued investor appetite for tactical single-stock exposure.

Defiance ETFs launched the Defiance Daily Target 2X Long OUST ETF (OUSL), the first leveraged ETF focused on LiDAR developer Ouster.

Tradr ETFs expanded the inverse leveraged category with the Tradr 2X Short AAOI Daily ETF (AAOZ) and Tradr 2X Short ORCL Daily ETF (ORCZ), giving traders bearish exposure to Applied Optoelectronics and Oracle.

Active crypto ETFs continue evolving

Digital assets also saw another notable milestone.

T. Rowe Price entered the crypto ETF market with the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF (TKNZ), which the firm describes as the industry's first actively managed multi-token spot crypto exchange-traded product. Rather than concentrating solely on Bitcoin or Ethereum, the ETF actively allocates across major digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Binance Coin, XRP, Solana, Hyperliquid, and other eligible cryptocurrencies using a research-driven investment process designed to capitalize on changing market conditions.

The launch represents T. Rowe Price's first digital asset ETF while further demonstrating how active management is expanding into the cryptocurrency space.

ETF Filings

AI infrastructure and semiconductors remain the hottest themes

Themes ETFs filed for two focused technology ETFs. The proposed Themes Global Memory Industry ETF would track the Solactive Global Memory Top 10 Index, providing concentrated exposure to companies generating at least 50% of their revenue from memory technologies including DRAM, NAND flash, emerging memory, controllers and enterprise storage systems.

The firm also filed for the Themes Optical ETF, which would track the Solactive Global Optical Networks Index and invest in companies deriving at least half of their revenue from optical networking technologies, including photonic components, lasers, transceivers, coherent optics and data-center interconnect equipment supporting AI, cloud computing and telecommunications.

Global X joined the trend by filing for the Global X Asia Semiconductor ETF (ACHP), which would track an index of up to 25 large- and mid-cap semiconductor companies across Asia involved in chip manufacturing, semiconductor design, intellectual property licensing and software enablement.

Tuttle Capital significantly expanded its AI ambitions by filing for 16 thematic ETFs covering nearly every segment of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The proposed lineup includes funds targeting AI inference, networking, memory, thermal management, power architecture, semiconductor testing, robotic perception, AI-driven drug discovery, AI tokens, substrates and space data centers. The firm also filed for the Tuttle Capital Gavin Baker Tracker ETF, alongside broader thematic strategies.

Power infrastructure attracts growing issuer interest

BNY Mellon filed for the actively managed BNY Mellon Power Infrastructure ETF, investing in companies involved in power generation, transmission, distribution, storage, grid modernization, battery storage, hydrogen, nuclear energy and smart grid technologies.

VanEck also incorporated the theme into the proposed VanEck Pivotal Trends ETF, a global "go-anywhere" active strategy investing across sectors, regions and themes while also gaining exposure to commodities, gold and digital assets through ETFs and a Cayman Islands subsidiary.

Active fixed income expands into securitized markets

Goldman Sachs filed for the Goldman Sachs Securitized Income ETF, focusing primarily on asset-backed securities, commercial and residential mortgage-backed securities, collateralized loan obligations and collateralized mortgage obligations. The strategy would actively manage duration, credit risk and mortgage exposure using derivatives, swaps and short positions while investing across both investment-grade and high-yield markets.

Franklin Templeton filed for the Franklin Core Plus ETF, an actively managed global bond strategy investing primarily in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities alongside corporate and government bonds. The portfolio would actively manage interest-rate, credit and prepayment risk while making significant use of derivatives.

Flexible multi-asset strategies continue to grow

VanEck filed for the VanEck Wealth Builder ETF, an actively managed fund-of-funds strategy allocating across equities, fixed income, commodities, natural resources, gold, CLOs, MLPs, BDCs and digital assets using both VanEck and third-party ETFs. The portfolio would be driven by a proprietary macroeconomic allocation process and could shift defensively into cash or short-term fixed income during periods of market stress.

Clough Capital also entered the category with the proposed Clough Global Macro ETF (CMAC), a flexible long-short strategy able to invest across global equities, fixed income, commodities and derivatives using both top-down macro analysis and bottom-up security selection.

Options-based income strategies become increasingly sophisticated

ALPS and Stance Capital filed for the actively managed ALPS Premium Income ETF, combining a long-term large-cap equity portfolio with a tactical covered call overlay intended to generate income while reducing portfolio volatility.

American Beacon filed for the American Beacon Structured IncomeTRAX ETF, which would use total return swaps linked to a proprietary Income Barrier Index built around synthetic five-year options on a volatility-managed U.S. large-cap index.

GraniteShares proposed the GraniteShares YieldBoost RAM ETF, an unusual strategy that would seek weekly income by selling put options on the leveraged Roundhill T-REX 2X Long DRAM Daily Target ETF (RAM) rather than directly on semiconductor stocks.

YieldMax also expanded its options-based lineup by filing for the YieldMax SK Hynix Option Income Strategy ETF, which would use synthetic covered calls and covered call spreads tied to SK Hynix ADRs to generate weekly distributions without directly owning the underlying shares.

Quality and sector indexing remain active

Jensen Investment Management filed for the Jensen U.S. Quality Index ETF, tracking an index of the 100 largest U.S. companies that have maintained at least a 15% return on equity for ten consecutive fiscal years.

State Street Investment Management filed four new sector ETFs covering the S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy and Information Technology sectors. The funds would primarily gain exposure through the existing Select Sector SPDR ETFs while using direct stock holdings and derivatives to minimize tracking error.

Leveraged issuers aggressively expand product pipelines

Leveraged ETF issuers accounted for some of the largest filing activity of the week, targeting artificial intelligence, semiconductors, nuclear energy and companies preparing to go public.

Corgi Funds filed 42 leveraged ETFs designed to deliver twice the daily performance of corresponding Corgi thematic ETFs. The proposed lineup covers nearly every segment of the AI ecosystem, including advanced semiconductor packaging, HBM memory, photonics, networking, power infrastructure, robotics, autonomous vehicles, rare earths, water technology, AI training data and large language models.

The firm also filed for the Corgi Anthropic 2x Daily ETF, which would seek twice the daily performance of Anthropic after the AI company completes an anticipated IPO.

Leverage Shares similarly filed three ETFs tied to Chinese AI company DeepSeek, including 2x long, 2x short and 1x short daily strategies that would launch following the company's expected public listing.

GraniteShares expanded its single-stock ambitions by filing the GraniteShares 2x Long Holtec Nuclear Daily ETF and GraniteShares 2x Short Holtec Nuclear Daily ETF, alongside leveraged and inverse ETFs tied to software company Bending Spoons and data-center operator Switch, the latter expected to launch after its planned IPO.

Together, the filings illustrate how leveraged ETF providers are increasingly positioning products ahead of major IPOs while continuing to expand exposure across artificial intelligence, semiconductors, nuclear energy and other high-growth technology themes. All of the proposed funds would reset leverage daily and are designed primarily for short-term tactical trading.

Other Updates

This week also brought a wave of fund updates, fee reductions, strategy overhauls, mutual fund conversions and product rebrandings as issuers continued refining existing ETF lineups.

BlackRock announced one of the week's largest product refreshes, renaming five buy-write ETFs as its new "Premium Income+" suite. The iShares Russell 2000 BuyWrite ETF (IWMW), iShares S&P 500 BuyWrite ETF (IVVW), iShares Investment Grade Corporate Bond BuyWrite Strategy ETF (LQDW), iShares High Yield Corporate Bond BuyWrite Strategy ETF (HYGW) and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond BuyWrite Strategy ETF (TLTW) will all adopt new names, revised covered call strategies using staggered weekly FLEX options, and December 31 fiscal year-ends. Separately, BlackRock will also rename the underlying benchmarks for five iShares corporate bond ETFs as part of an administrative index rebranding, with no changes to investment objectives or methodologies.

American Century unveiled a broad restructuring of its ETF lineup. The firm will rename three ETFs while updating their investment approaches. Its Mid Cap Growth ETF will become the Mid Cap Growth Insights ETF, transition to a fully transparent ETF, eliminate its sustainable investing mandate and lower its management fee. The American Century Multisector Floating Income ETF will become the American Century Ultrashort Income ETF, gaining broader fixed-income flexibility, while the American Century Multisector Income ETF will be renamed the American Century Core Plus Income ETF, change its ticker to ABND, reduce fees and introduce a new portfolio management team.

Several issuers continued the industry's migration from mutual funds to ETFs. Nomura plans to convert its Strategic Income Fund and SMID Cap Core Fund into actively managed ETFs, while Putnam will reorganize its Short Duration Bond Fund into the Franklin Short Term Bond ETF, continuing the industry's shift toward the ETF structure.

Active strategies also continued evolving. First Trust will overhaul its international equity offering by replacing its currency-hedged approach with an actively managed multi-factor strategy and renaming the fund the First Trust Active Factor International ETF (AFDM). Grayscale is repositioning its Bitcoin Miners ETF into the Grayscale AI Compute ETF, shifting its focus from crypto mining companies toward AI infrastructure, data centers and high-performance computing businesses. ProShares will also change the benchmark for SMDV, moving from the Russell 2000 Dividend Growth Index to the S&P SmallCap 600 Dividend Aristocrats Index, while Schwab will rename its Crypto Thematic ETF to better reflect its natural language processing methodology.

Index providers also continued refining ETF methodologies. Xtrackers expanded the Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence and Big Data ETF (XAIX) to include quantum computing, updated ESG screening, broadened China exposure through Stock Connect and modernized its index construction process. Separately, the Xtrackers Net Zero Pathway Paris Aligned US Equity ETF (USNZ) will receive an administrative benchmark name change with no changes to its investment strategy.

Fee reductions remained another notable trend. The Rainwater Equity ETF (RW), TBG Dividend Focus ETF (TBG), Cambria Chesapeake Pure Trend ETF (MFUT) and Blueprint Chesapeake Multi-Asset Trend ETF (TFPN) all updated their expense structures, with several lowering management fees while maintaining their existing investment mandates. BNY Mellon also introduced a temporary fee waiver for its Municipal Opportunities ETF through the end of 2027.

Operational changes continued across leveraged ETFs. Defiance announced a broad series of forward and reverse stock splits across multiple leveraged and inverse ETFs that will take effect in August without affecting shareholder value.

Finally, Little Harbor Advisors announced the liquidation of the LHA Risk-Managed Income ETF (RMIF). The fund is expected to liquidate on or about July 27 as assets are sold and remaining shareholders receive a final cash distribution.

Please note this article is for information purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decision.