AIBD vs ARTY

AIBDFDirexion Daily AI and Big Data Bear 2X ETF

ARTYAiShares Future AI & Tech ETF

In short

AIBD Everyone else on the AI shelf is long. AIBD takes the other side, aiming for 200% of the inverse of a US AI and big data index for a single trading day. A trading tool with a one-day shelf life, not a set-and-forget short.

ARTY Launched in 2018 as a robotics fund, ARTY switched benchmarks in 2024 and came back as a focused global AI portfolio: about 50 companies across chips, data centers, software and services, at a below-median theme fee.

Stated mandate

AIBD The Fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, equal to 200% of the inverse of the Solactive US AI & Big Data Index’s daily performance. It is designed for a single trading day rather than for achieving that multiple over longer periods.

ARTY The fund seeks to track a global index of companies contributing to artificial-intelligence technologies across software, infrastructure, and services.

Why people hold it

• AIBD The rare bear in an aisle stacked with bulls. It aims for 200% of the inverse of the Solactive US AI & Big Data Index's daily move, in an ordinary ETF wrapper.direxion.com
• Direxion waives a big slice of the running cost: 1.05% net of a waiver through September 1, 2027, against a 2.64% gross ratio.
• The short is aimed, not scattershot. The index behind it is a concentrated group of US software, semiconductor and internet names rather than the whole market.sec.govsec.gov 2

• ARTY 0.47% a year against a 0.68% median for AI-theme funds. The thematic markup is smaller here than on most of the shelf, though XAIX and QTUM undercut it.
• Global by design. The index pulls from US and non-US companies contributing to AI across generative AI, data and infrastructure, software and services.ishares.com
• A multi-billion-dollar, actively traded iShares fund, so getting in and out doesn't hinge on thin volume.
• Stacks up as one of the stronger builds in a crowded AI cohort on cost, structure and staying power.

Worth knowing

• AIBD Returns reset daily. Over weeks, compounding takes over and results can land far from twice the index's inverse move for that stretch, in either direction.sec.gov
• Its fee runs above what AI funds typically charge (long-only peers XAIX at 0.35%, ARTY at 0.47%), and the fund is thinly traded, so spreads and limit orders matter.
• Exposure comes largely from total return swaps rather than actual short sales, which brings counterparty exposure and financing costs into the picture.sec.govsec.gov 2

• ARTY The record before August 2024 belongs to a different strategy: as IRBO it tracked a robotics and AI index, then moved to the Morningstar Global AI Select Index.ishares.com
• About 50 names in one theme. The AI trade sets the tone here, and that concentration works in both directions.
• Distributions land once or twice a year and are incidental. This is a growth-theme equity fund, not an income holding.

Full AIBD profile⁠

Full ARTY profile⁠