Widely Held Leveraged Funds Stun Investors with Significant Losses
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Oct 23 2025
0mins
Source: WSJ
Booming Popularity: Risky leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are experiencing significant growth, attracting investors through easy access via brokerage accounts.
Mechanism of Operation: These funds utilize derivative contracts or borrowed money to enhance the returns of an underlying asset, with leveraged funds tracking stock indexes existing for over a decade.
Recent Developments: The approval of leveraged single-stock ETFs by U.S. regulators in 2022 marks a notable expansion in the types of leveraged funds available to investors.
Performance Concerns: The performance of these leveraged funds over the past year underscores their inherent risks and potential pitfalls for investors.
Analyst Views on MORN
Wall Street analysts forecast MORN stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for MORN is 285.00 USD with a low forecast of 250.00 USD and a high forecast of 320.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
2 Analyst Rating
2 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 209.930
Low
250.00
Averages
285.00
High
320.00
Current: 209.930
Low
250.00
Averages
285.00
High
320.00
About MORN
Morningstar, Inc. is a provider of independent investment insights in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Its segments include Morningstar Data and Analytics, PitchBook, Morningstar Wealth, Morningstar Credit, and Morningstar Retirement. The Morningstar Data and Analytics segment provides investors comprehensive data, research and insights, and investment analysis to empower investment decision-making. The PitchBook segment provides investors with access to a broad collection of data and research covering the private capital markets. Morningstar Wealth segment brings together its model portfolios and wealth platform; practice and portfolio management software for registered investment advisers; data aggregation and enrichment capabilities; and others. Morningstar Credit segment provides investors with credit ratings, research, data, and credit analytics solutions. The Morningstar Retirement segment offers products designed to help individuals reach their retirement goals.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
