SMCI Investors Use These ETFs For Heightened Exposure

Key Points

• Super Micro Computer experienced numerous challenges in recent months, but the share price has rallied in the last few weeks.
• Bullish investors may choose a leveraged fund like SMCX or SMCL to potentially double the daily returns of the AI leader.
• Those seeking an alternative means of exposure may choose SMCY, an options income ETF focused on SMCI.

As investors have followed the development of artificial intelligence and the companies making this technology possible, Super Micro Computer Inc. NASDAQ: SMCI emerged as one of the hottest trending stocks of early 2025. The company has faced significant challenges in recent months, including a broad decline in share price throughout most of 2024, allegations of accounting fraud, and the threat of being delisted due to financial reporting issues.

However, more recently SMCI shares have spiked, climbing by more than 62% in the month leading to February 25, 2025, as analysts grow more optimistic about earnings and amid a massive surge in demand for data center services—Super Micro Computer's direct-liquid cooling technology is a common feature of about a third of all data centers, and that figure is likely to grow.

The most direct way for bullish investors to capitalize on potential gains for SMCI shares is to invest in the stock directly. However, those optimistic about Super Micro Computer's position in the fast-growing AI space and with sufficient risk tolerance can also look to a specialized ETF providing heightened exposure to the company via leverage. Though multiple leveraged and alternative SMCI ETFs are currently available, they are not all the same, so it's worth exploring the differences between these targeted funds for those looking to supercharge their SMCI access.

Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SMCI ETF: Risky Double Leverage, But Strong Volume

One leveraged ETF aiming to track the performance of SMCI is the Defiance Daily Target 2X Long SCMI ETF NASDAQ: SMCX. Like most leveraged funds, SMCX aims for daily performance metrics—it seeks to double the daily percentage change in SCMI shares each day. Also like many other leveraged ETFs, SMCX is not intended for investors seeking a buy-and-hold strategy.

2X-leveraged funds have the opportunity to double daily gains, but they also can magnify losses over the same time period. What's more, SMCX is not guaranteed to achieve 200% daily returns either, as its leverage can fluctuate intraday.

When it comes to leveraged funds, expense ratio and trading volume are key—these two parameters will have a big impact on how easy (and how expensive) it is to make frequent trades of SMCX. While this fund is not the least expensive leveraged SMCI play—its expense ratio is 1.29%—it has a strong trading history with a 1-month average volume of 3.1 million as of February 25, 2025.

GraniteShares 2x Long SMCI Daily ETF: New Addition to the Leveraged SMCI Fund Landscape

Like SMCX, the GraniteShares 2x Long SMCI Daily ETF NASDAQ: SMCL targets 200% the daily performance of SMCI shares through the use of leverage. This fund is the newest leveraged SMCI play, having launched in December 2024. This may be part of the reason why it has a lower average trading volume than SMCX—GraniteShares' fund has a 1-month average volume of under 700,000 as of the same date as above.

SMCI also trades with a slightly higher expense ratio of 1.50%, potentially contributing to its comparably low trading volume. Nonetheless, for investors particularly interested in this fund provider, or seeking alternative funds providing 2x exposure to SMCI, SMCL may be worth considering.

YieldMax SMCI Option Income Strategy ETF: Alternative Distribution Focus

The YieldMax SMCI Option Income Strategy ETF NYSEARCA: SMCY provides indirect exposure to SMCI shares via the use of options. SMCY is part of a growing collection of option income funds that generate income for distribution to shareholders through writing call options. This means that the real benefit for investors in this fund is its monthly distributions, which have ranged from around $1.72 per share to about $5.35 per share since it launched in September.

SMCY may be a good fit for investors seeking alternative exposure to SMCI that does not incorporate a leveraged strategy. This fund is likely still much riskier than many traditional ETFs, but its strategy is more suited to long-term buy-and-hold investors than one of the funds above. Further, SMCY allows investors the opportunity to generate passive income through distributions related to Super Micro Computer while the company itself does not pay a dividend.