AXS 1.5X PYPL Bear Daily ETF (PYPS) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, corresponding to 1.5 times the inverse of the daily price performance of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (PYPL) common shares; the fund achieves this exposure primarily through swap agreements with major global financial institutions and other financial instruments. Launched on July 14, 2022, PYPS operates as a single-stock leveraged inverse ETF under Investment Managers Series Trust II, managed by AXS Investments LLC, a leading alternative asset manager founded in 2019 and headquartered in Port Chester, New York. AXS Investments focuses on innovative ETFs and mutual funds providing access to alternative strategies, including growth, income, diversification, and leveraged trading tools across U.S. equity markets.
The fund targets sophisticated investors and traders seeking short-term bearish exposure to PayPal, a leading digital payments company, within the broader financial services and fintech sectors; it maintains high concentration in financial instruments tied to the payments industry. PYPS trades on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange with a net expense ratio of approximately 1.15% and assets under management recently reported around $600,000, reflecting its niche role in daily leveraged trading rather than long-term investment.
In recent developments, AXS Investments has pursued strategic growth through multiple acquisitions, including Knowledge Leaders Capital in October 2023 to expand its ETF lineup with unique strategies like the Knowledge Leaders ETF (KLDW, rebranded in 2024), and the AXS Change Finance ESG ETF (CHGX) to bolster sustainable offerings; the firm also launched additional single-stock leveraged ETFs and transferred listings such as the AXS Astoria Inflation Sensitive ETF (PPI) to Nasdaq in August 2024. PYPS itself was part of AXS's pioneering July 2022 rollout of eight single-stock bull and bear ETFs, including its bull counterpart PYPT, marking the firm's entry into high-conviction, short-term trading products amid rising demand for such tools. As of June 2023, reports indicated the fund had ceased operations, though recent trading data shows limited activity at around $39.80 per share.