“Don’t Call It a Comeback”: MEME ETF Rises From the Dead
Roundhill Investments brings back its Meme Stock ETF, this time with an active twist and a bold bet on the lasting influence of retail traders.
No more "late to the party", or late night scrolling reddit to find the next meme stock.
Roundhill Investments has relaunched its Meme Stock ETF under the ticker MEME, capitalizing on a fresh wave of individual investor enthusiasm that's reshaping Wall Street. Debuting on October 8, 2025, this revamped fund arrives amid a structural shift where retail traders now command 15-20% of daily U.S. stock trading volume, a far cry from pre-pandemic norms and a testament to the democratization of finance that's here to stay. Unlike its 2021 predecessor, which fizzled out and was liquidated in December 2023 after peaking at a modest $3 million in assets, the new MEME ETF ditches passive indexing for active management, promising nimbler navigation through the volatile world of social media-fueled stocks.
Roundhill's CEO, Dave Mazza, didn't mince words in his October 9, 2025, appearance on Yahoo Finance's Market Catalysts with anchor Julie Hyman, framing the relaunch as a savvy embrace of retail investors as a "permanent force" in the markets rather than a fleeting fad. He highlighted lessons from the original fund's short-lived run, noting that its rigid, index-based approach often led to "corner solutions", stocks that ticked boxes like high short interest but lacked the genuine online buzz that defines true meme darlings. Now, the ETF employs a more dynamic strategy: screening a broad universe of equities for metrics like implied volatility, then layering on qualitative insights from social sentiment and trending discussions to curate holdings. With weekly rebalancing at minimum, it's designed to pounce on rapid rallies, though skeptics might quip that such agility could just as easily amplify the inevitable wipeouts.
Diving into the nuts and bolts, the fund carries a competitive expense ratio of 0.69% and started with a humble $0.25 million in assets under management as of its launch date. It's non-diversified with just 18 holdings, cranking up the risk dial for those chasing meme-fueled thrills over steady growth. Sector-wise, information technology dominates at 43.90%, followed by industrials at 23.30% and real estate at 11.94%, with the rest sprinkled across various industries. Geographically, it's all-American, focusing 100% on U.S. stocks, and leans toward mid-cap plays at 63.06% alongside large-caps at 36.80%. Top positions include Opendoor Technologies Inc. at 11.94%, Plug Power Inc. at 10.71%, Applied Digital Corp. at 8.72%, QuantumScape Corp. at 8.28%, and Cipher Mining Inc. at 7.25%, with others like Rigetti Computing Inc., Bloom Energy Corp., Quantum Computing Inc., Hims & Hers Health Inc., and IonQ Inc. rounding out the leading pack. These selections target high-volatility themes in AI, clean energy, and quantum computing—sectors ripe for retail hype but equally prone to reality checks.
Performance out of the gate has been a mixed bag, true to meme stock form: MEME closed its debut day at $9.81, down 1.85%, but rebounded in after-hours trading to $10.92, up 11.26%. By the morning of October 9, it notched a 0.71% gain, handily outperforming the S&P 500's 0.32% dip. Mazza pushed back against bubble-top fears, insisting the timing reflects lasting investor behavior changes rather than speculative peaks, even as some analysts draw parallels to the 2021 launch that coincided with the Nasdaq's zenith. For traders eyeing momentum without picking individual wildcards, this ETF offers a packaged bet on retail's unpredictable pulse, but as with any high-octane play, it's best suited for those who can stomach the swings. Whether it's a timely revival or arriving fashionably late to the party, MEME underscores how meme stocks have evolved from GameStop frenzy to a fixture in modern portfolios.