Wall Street's New ETF Strategy? Copy, Paste, and Hope for the Next DRAM - Roundhill Memory ETF (BATS:DRAM

Wall Street’s ETF market is increasingly driven by copycat products, with 1,084 ETFs launched by mid-July—close to 2025’s full-year record of 1,161—according to Morningstar. U.S.-listed ETF inflows are on track for $2.3 trillion this year, pushing issuers to secure the next investment theme before rivals. The Roundhill Memory ETF (BATS:DRAM) is highlighted as a first-mover catalyst that sparked similar memory-semiconductor funds. The copycat pattern is also extending to private-market and AI themes, including SpaceX-focused ETFs launched by Leverage Shares, GraniteShares, and Defiance ETFs shortly after SpaceX’s IPO, and other AI-adjacent strategies. The article notes risks: competing funds may differ widely in structure and costs, and rapid launches increase the odds that many ETFs never reach meaningful scale and could close. Morningstar’s Bryan Armour says leveraged single-stock ETFs represented nearly one-quarter of launches this year.