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In what can only be described as a masterclass in ticker symbol misdirection, Defiance ETFs has blessed us with two new leveraged products this week: LUNL and RKTL.
One tracks a company trying to land spacecraft on the moon. The other tracks a company trying to land you a 30-year fixed. Both have “rocket” energy. Neither should be held for more than a trading session.
LUNL: Because Regular Lunar Risk Wasn't Enough
The Defiance Daily Target 2X Long LUNR ETF gives investors double the daily exposure to Intuitive Machines, the Houston-based company that made history in 2024 by successfully tipping over a spacecraft on the lunar surface (they prefer “landed at an angle”).
LUNR itself has been on quite a journey. The stock has traded between $6 and $25 over the past year, recently sitting around $18-19. The company just announced an $800 million acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems and is building out a lunar satellite constellation for NASA. Their next mission, IM-3, is targeting the second half of 2026.
This is legitimately interesting space infrastructure stuff. But here's where it gets fun: you can now get 2X daily leveraged exposure to a company whose quarterly results depend on variables like “did the lander's legs work this time” and “how's the funding environment for cislunar communications infrastructure.”
The volatility on LUNR already resembles a Saturn V launch profile. Adding 2X leverage is like strapping extra solid rocket boosters to your portfolio “just to see what happens.”
RKTL: The Other Kind of Rocket
Now here's where Defiance gets cheeky. RKTL sounds like it should track Rocket Lab, the actual rocket company (ticker: RKLB) that's been launching satellites and catching boosters with helicopters.
But no. RKTL tracks Rocket Companies (ticker: RKT) - the Detroit-based mortgage lender formerly known as Quicken Loans.
So, if you accidentally buy RKTL thinking you're getting leveraged exposure to Peter Beck's New Zealand space program, you're actually getting 2X daily exposure to... refinancing activity and 10-year Treasury movements.
To be fair, Defiance already has RKLX for Rocket Lab bulls. But the potential for ticker confusion here is interesting. Somewhere, a retail trader is going to see “RKTL” and “2X ROCKET” and not read the fine print until their portfolio moves inversely to Fed minutes instead of launch manifests.
The Broader Picture
This brings Defiance's leveraged lineup to a frankly impressive array of single-stock exposure. They've got space (RKLX for Rocket Lab), they've got moon landings (LUNL), they've got... mortgage origination (RKTL).
What unites these products is not sector coherence but rather the eternal truth of ETF innovation: if there's a stock with enough volatility and retail interest, someone will slap 2X leverage on it and file with the SEC.
The disclosures on these products read like warning labels on fireworks: “intended for sophisticated investors,” “daily rebalancing,” “not suitable for long-term holding,” and my personal favourite, “the volatility of the underlying security may affect a Fund's return as much as, or more than, the return of the underlying security.”
Translation: the math can work against you even when you're right about the direction.
Final Thoughts
For those keeping score:
- Want 2X exposure to literal moon missions? → LUNL
- Want 2X exposure to Rocket Lab's actual rockets? → RKLX
- Want 2X exposure to mortgage rates disguised as rocket fuel? → RKTL
- Want to avoid daily leveraged decay entirely? → Probably wise
As always, these products serve a purpose for short-term traders with specific views and iron stomachs. For everyone else, they serve as a reminder that the ETF industry will package absolutely anything into a wrapper and let the market sort it out.
To infinity and daily rebalancing.
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