The number of retail consumers trading complex exchange traded products (ETPs) rose by 23% in the year to July 2025.
That’s according to data released by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) this morning, alongside its warning over firms mis-selling such products to retail investors. The data was collected through a survey of 11 firms.
Complex ETPs are defined as those which make use of features such as leverage, inverse investment strategies or daily resets.
The regulator noted that several of the most traded ETPs on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) come under this bracket, despite the fact that they may not be suitable for retail investors under its Consumer Duty rules.
Three of the top 10 most traded ETPs and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on the LSE last year – including both complex and non-complex products – featured 3× leverage strategies.
These include the Leverage Shares 3x Tesla ETP, which topped the list, with 1.2 million trades, 4.7% of the total. It is designed to provide 3x the daily performance of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla’s stock price.
The Leverage Shares 3X Long Coinbase ETP followed in 4th place with 371,045 trades (1.4%), while the Leverage Shares 3x Long MicroStrategy ETP came fifth with 313,451 trades (1.2%).
These products did not make the top 10 list by turnover, however. That was instead dominated by more mainstream products such as S&P 500 and gold trackers, which were also among those most traded.
Other interesting figures released by the FCA this morning included that around 70% of consumers from the firms it surveyed passed appropriateness tests (APT) the first time.
Some firms had pass rates as high as 100%, however, which it said “could indicate [the] tests were ineffective”.
The regulator also noted that 82% of 531,007 trades in complex ETPs placed between July 2024 and July 2025 were held for longer than the manufacturer’s recommended holding period of 1 day.
