August has been an extremely volatile month for the global stock market. This is because heightened North Korea tensions and doubts over Trump administration triggered risk-off trade several times in the month. An uncertain Fed policy, threat of government shutdown and Hurricane Harvey also took a toll on stocks.

On the other hand, strong corporate earnings, new hopes for tax reform, and upbeat economic data provided strength to the market. In particular, the second estimate for Q2 GDP showed that U.S. economy growth was the fastest in two years on robust consumer spending and strong business investment. Additionally, consumer confidence reached the second highest level since late 2000. All these data bolstered optimism and reflected that the American economy is on firm footing. This propelled stocks higher.

Given heightened volatility, leveraged or inverse ETFs were in the limelight this month as investors embraced these products for bigger gains in a short span. This was in spite of the fact that these involve a great deal of risk when compared to traditional products. These products create either leveraged (2x or 3x) long/short position, an inverse long/short position or a leveraged inverse long/short position in the underlying index by employing various investment strategies such as swaps, options, future contracts and other financial instruments. Due to their compounding effect, investors can enjoy higher returns in a very short period of time provided the trend remains a friend.

  Below, we have highlighted five such ETFs that crushed the market in August and should continue to do so at least in the near term if sentiments remain volatile.

Direxion Daily Natural Gas Related Bear 3X Shares (GASX – Free Report)

This product provides three times (3x) leveraged inverse exposure to the ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index. It has amassed $3.4 million in its asset base and trades in light volume of 14.9 million shares a day on average. The ETF charges 95 bps in fees per year and has gained 37.3% this month.