New ETFs Worth Watching: July 2026

SK Hynix IPO Spurs Immediate Leveraged Plays

Themes ETFs will launch two single-stock leveraged products tied to SK Hynix, set to begin trading on Cboe on July 13. The Leverage Shares 2x Long SK Hynix Daily ETF (SKHX) and the 1x Short SK Hynix Daily ETF (SKHZ) arrive simultaneously with the underlying company's public market debut. SK Hynix is a primary supplier of high-bandwidth memory for AI chips, making it a pure-play on AI infrastructure buildout. Both funds will carry a 0.75% management fee. This follows the firm's model from the SpaceX IPO, where its leveraged ETFs reportedly achieved high first-day volume. For traders, this offers immediate long or short exposure to post-IPO volatility.

The Broader Launch Flood: Active Funds Dominate

The data confirms the active strategy blitz. Per Morningstar, over 80% of new ETF tickers in 2025 were active, pulling in around $475 billion in net new money. Total launches cleared 1,100 that year. This volume is brutal for attention but offers choice. Our consistent five-point screen assesses any new fund: strategy clarity, fee structure, liquidity prospects, tax efficiency, and—for income funds—the sustainability of distributions. A 12% yield that coincides with a falling NAV is a capital return, not income. Run the numbers before reacting to marketing.

Outlook: Simulators Over Slogans

The launch firehose is not slowing. The income category, especially covered-call and high-yield ETFs, remains the hottest segment, with new arrivals weekly. The critical step is to model the trade-off between yield and total return. Tools exist to compare an income ETF's performance against its plain-vanilla underlying over a decade, accounting for taxes and NAV decay. Most new income launches will fail this test. A few will hold up. Wait for a fund to prove asset gathering and clean execution before committing.