European Defense Boom & the Rise of Leveraged Single-Stock ETFs

• (1:00) - What Should Investors Expect From The Rest of The Year?
• (4:10) - Select STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defense ETF: EUAD
• (7:15) - Should You Use Single Stock Leveraged ETFs In Your Portfolio?
• (15:30) - SPAC Market Resurgence: Will It Be Any Different This Time Around?
• (18:45) - What ETFs Should Investors Be On The Look Out For From Tuttle Capital Management?
• (21:40) - Episode Roundup: MSTU, MSTX, ROBN, SPCX, UFOD, GRFT
• Podcast@Zacks.com

In this episode of ETF Spotlight, I speak with Matthew Tuttle, CEO and CIO of Tuttle Capital Management, about some hot market areas, including European defense stocks and leveraged single-stock ETFs.

European defense stocks, which have been climbing since the start of the Russia–Ukraine war, have soared in 2025 as many nations ramp up military spending, partly in response to pressure from Trump. While some of this spending will benefit U.S. defense contractors, European firms are likely to be major beneficiaries.

The Select STOXX Europe Aerospace & Defense ETF EUAD has surged about 78% year to date. Can the rally continue?

Single-stock ETFs have exploded in popularity among thrill-seeking investors. The category now has $23 billion in assets. These ETFs enable retail traders to obtain lower-cost leverage than through margin or options.

However, investors should remember that these products are designed only for short-term trading by those who closely monitor their portfolios. Due to daily rebalancing, the fund’s long-term returns can fall short of the underlying stock’s leveraged performance, especially in volatile markets.

Leveraged single-stock ETFs, particularly those linked to highly volatile stocks like MicroStrategy MSTR, are prone to huge swings. Many investors lost significant amounts in March this year on the T-Rex 2X Long MSTR Daily Target ETF MSTU and the Defiance Daily Target 2x Long MSTR ETF MSTX.

While earlier products focused on popular stocks like NVIDIA NVDA and Tesla TSLA, newer products like the Tradr 2X Long QBTS Daily ETF QBTX are targeting the most volatile names.

Some of Tuttle Capital’s proposed ETFs have received a lot of media attention — particularly those themed around UFOs and “grift.” These aim to capitalize on “reverse-engineered alien technology” and “government grift,” respectively.

Tune in to the podcast to learn more. Make sure to be on the lookout for the next edition of ETF Spotlight! If you have any comments or questions, please email podcast@zacks.com.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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