Product proliferation is a late-cycle tell: issuers launch what sells, so a wave of new vehicles maps what retail currently craves. The 08/2026 print — ~390 US ETF launches in 2 months (record; ~3x the early-2024 pace), 54% of this year’s launches using derivatives, >33% leveraged or inverse, 1,000+ leveraged-ETF filings pending — says the demand being serviced is leverage, not diversification. Rhymes with 2021’s SPAC/thematic wave and 2007’s structured-credit shelf: the vehicles peak with the appetite they serve.
Caveat via Records in a growing series: the launch series has grown secularly since 2016 (~40/2mo then), so the record itself is partly base effect — but the last leg on the GS chart is near-vertical, and the composition (leveraged/inverse share) is the real signal, independent of the count.