Direxion and GraniteShares are each launching four exchange-traded funds that allow investors to make leveraged or inverse bets on the daily performance of individual companies. They’re both starting leveraged- and inverse-Tesla funds as well as leveraged Apple Inc. products. GraniteShares is also introducing a leveraged Coinbase ETF, while Direxion is debuting an inverse Apple fund.

The first single-stock products in the US launched last month even as regulators warned of their risks to investors and markets. Many of those ETFs from AXS Investments track retail favorites like Tesla, Nvidia Corp. and PayPal Holdings Inc. -- stocks that grew in popularity as small-time traders piled into the market during the pandemic but have since delivered steep losses during the downturn.

While AXS is a small issuer, the two firms launching Tuesday have made their names in complex products. Direxion is one of the largest providers of leveraged ETFs in the US, and GraniteShares offers many single-stock products in Europe.

With dozens of single-stock ETFs now filed in the US with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the two issuers are up against several competitors rushing into the space, lured by the opportunity to charge higher fees. Both, though, said their history of offering complex products will be a selling point to investors. 

“Direxion has a large following of tactical traders, both retail and institutional,” David Mazza, head of product at the firm, said in an interview. 

Will Rhind, chief executive officer at GraniteShares, noted that “a lot of investors know us already in this space.”

The two firms’ inverse Tesla funds in particular will face off against AXS’s TSLA Bear Daily ETF (TSLQ) that launched last month. GraniteShares’ new products each carry a 1.15% expense ratio, the same as AXS’s products. Direxion’s ETFs each carry a management fee of 0.95%, according to Mazza.