Financial "Innovation"! "Stay Away from Musk" ETF to be Listed

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Wall Street is turning the idea of "not wanting to hold Musk" into a fund that can be bought and sold.

A new issuer called Subversive ETFs recently submitted an application to regulators, planning to launch two ETFs with ticker symbols QQNE and SPNE. These two funds will respectively track the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 indexes, but will exclude all companies founded, controlled, or led by Musk. In other words, investors can buy an "almost complete broad market"—just without Musk.

The immediate trigger for this application is SpaceX's recent inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 index. Previously, SpaceX had already joined the FTSE Russell and MSCI indexes, as several index providers revised their inclusion rules to open a faster channel for mega-IPOs. SpaceX's entry triggered billions of dollars in passive buying, sending the stock into millions of index-tracking portfolios—a milestone for some investors, but for others, it meant being "forced to buy in."

Why would anyone want to "block" Musk?

The logic of passive investing used to be simple: buy the index, make no decisions. But when the index itself incorporates the companies of controversial figures, "passive" turns into an implicit stance.

According to the prospectus, the fund’s advisor believes some investors may regard Musk-affiliated companies as having "potential corporate governance risks, political risks, and heightened stock price volatility."

Such concerns are not unfounded. Since SpaceX entered the index, critics have pointed out that passive investors are forced to buy one of the market's highest-valued companies before the normal price discovery mechanism has fully played out.

Wall Street’s ETF “Slicing” Game

QQNE and SPNE are not alone, but rather a microcosm of a broader trend in the ETF industry.

There are already leveraged funds in the market amplifying the ups and downs of Tesla, newly launched SpaceX leveraged funds, and even an ETF that used to exist called ELON—which went long Tesla while shorting Ford.

According to data from Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Balchunas, 214 new ETFs were launched in the single month of June 2026, a historical record; the entire ETF market attracted approximately $191 billion that month, the second highest single-month inflow ever. Over 2,700 funds saw net subscriptions, and trading volumes were close to historical peaks, reaching around $7 trillion.

The industry started out as low-cost index investing, but now it increasingly resembles an “opinion packaging machine”—turning specific views on a company, an executive, or a theme into a tradeable ticker.

Marketing gimmick or real demand?

Opinions on such products are polarized within the industry.

Nate Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth Management, says: "Musk is a highly controversial figure, and ETF issuers are trying to capitalize on this, which makes sense. But if we’ve entered a world where issuers remove someone from a major index simply because of investor sentiment towards that individual—then perhaps we are slicing things too thin."

ETF.com’s president and research director Dave Nadig is more blunt. Speaking about the application, he said: "These kinds of products might attract some less thoughtful money, but such narrowly-cast micro ideas don’t truly ‘belong’ to anyone. Interesting marketing, but not real investment logic."

Morningstar's Jeffrey Ptak is also cautious: "I understand why issuers feel compelled to come up with new ways to stand out. But investors should still be wary—these products may not serve legitimate investment purposes, or may incur high costs for extremely marginal returns."

As for whether there is lasting demand for a "Musk-free" portfolio, that remains to be seen.

Risk Warning and DisclaimerThe market has risks, and investment needs to be cautious. This article does not constitute personal investment advice, nor does it take into account any individual user's specific investment objectives, financial situation, or needs. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article are appropriate for their own circumstances. Investment decisions made accordingly are at your own risk. ```