Pass on this ETF

Article Excerpt

ROUNDHILL MEME ETF $6.02 (New York symbol MEME) invests in companies that attract considerable attention on social media sites like Reddit. They are called “meme stocks.” The fund started in December 2021 but has gathered only a small $1.2 million asset base. The management fee is 0.69%. The ETF tracks the Solactive Roundhill Meme Stock Index. This index consists of 25 equal-weighted U.S. listed equity securities that show a combination of elevated social media activity and high short interest. Short interest is calculated by the percentage of a security’s float that is sold short. The index is rebalanced every two weeks, to capture trending stocks as they emerge. The basic strategy of this ETF is that a multitude of enthusiastic speculators can push stock prices up and force short sellers to become buyers of shares to cover their shorts. This worked on several occasions in 2021. For example, the prices of GameStop and AMC jumped by massive amounts as the social media-driven crowd became involved. In…