Investment in Focus: GraniteShares 2× Long PLTR Daily ETF (PTIR)
- Derry Thornalley
- Sep 22
- 6 min read
You’re standing at the edge of something volatile. The ticker is PTIR. The underlying star is Palantir Technologies (PLTR). The lever is 2×. Every rise is magnified; every drop is starker. That’s the world of GraniteShares 2× Long PLTR Daily ETF (PTIR) — not for the faint-hearted, but for those who understand what happens when you turn up the dial on opportunity and risk.
The Story Behind PTIR
GraniteShares, a relatively young ETF issuer founded in 2016, has made a name for itself by offering leveraged, single-stock ETFs (among other strategies).
In September 2024, GraniteShares launched PTIR. The idea: give traders and investors a way to express a high-conviction bullish view on Palantir, but using leverage to amplify the daily moves.
Palantir itself is controversial, ambitious, disruptive: big data, government contracts, intelligence, AI, cloud + analytic platforms. It is a business that trades heavily on expectation, on innovation, on promises. PTIR doesn’t change Palantir’s story; it magnifies your exposure to it.
What PTIR Does / Strategy
Here’s how PTIR works, in plain terms:
Objective: Seeks 2× the daily percentage change of Palantir Technologies’ stock (PLTR), before fees and expenses. That is, if PLTR is up 1% on a given trading day, PTIR aims for ~2%; if PLTR is down 1%, PTIR aims to be down about 2%.
Mechanism: PTIR uses swaps, options, and sometimes direct holdings of PLTR to achieve its exposure. It rebalances daily to try to maintain that 2× exposure. Because it's a daily leveraged fund, holding it over multiple days introduces compounding effects that can cause its cumulative returns over longer periods to deviate significantly from simply “2× PLTR return.”
Non-diversified / Single stock: All the upside / downside come via Palantir. There is no diversification across many stocks. This adds concentration risk.
Expense Profile: Net annual operating expenses are ~1.15% after fee waivers. Gross expenses somewhat higher; swap costs, option costs, etc., may add hidden “indirect” costs.
Performance Snapshot
Because PTIR is newer, long-term data is limited. But here are what existing numbers show, plus context:
PeriodPTIR Market Price Return*Benchmark / Underlying PLTR Return*NotesSince Inception (as of mid-2025)~ 1,062%-1,068% (NAV / Market Price basis) PLTR’s underlying stock has done several hundred percent, somewhat less than PTIR’s magnified exposure in bull runs. YTD / Multi-Month periods (various recent periods)~ +119-122% over some recent multi-month periods PLTR less steep; strong leverage works well when the underlying stock trends upward.
All returns include fees / expenses; performance diverges depending on market timing, volatility, compounding. Past performance is not guarantee of future results.
A few other stats:
Assets under Management (AUM): In the order of US$700-750 million as of late 2025.
Liquidity: Trading volume is significant, given its leveraged nature and interest among traders in speculative single-stock exposures.
Risks, Volatility & Key Considerations
PTIR is for very short-term, high conviction plays. If you buy it and leave it, you could find yourself exposed to unexpected compounding losses. Here are what to watch out for:
Compounding Risk Because PTIR resets daily, the cumulative return over periods longer than one day is not simply 2× the underlying stock’s return over that period. For volatile underlying, PTIR can underperform what you might expect even if PLTR is flat or modestly positive over time.
Large Loss Potential in Short Time Down moves are magnified. A -10% day in PLTR could translate to -20% for PTIR, before fees. Over multiple days of turbulence, losses stack quickly.
High Costs The expense ratio is ~1.15% (net), but total costs include swap financing, option premium, bid-ask spreads, slippage, and impact of trading / rebalancing. These eat into your return, especially during sideways or choppy markets.
Single-Asset Concentration Risk Because all exposure is to Palantir, the ETF is sensitive to anything that affects PLTR specifically: regulatory risk, geopolitical risk, competitive threats, changes in contracts with governments, product failures, tech disruption, etc.
Volatility & Market Timing To do well with PTIR, your timing matters a lot. High volatility can erode gains, swing both ways. The more volatile PLTR is, the more PTIR will be, both upward and downward.
Not for Long-Term Buy & Hold Without Monitoring Because of daily leverage, you need to monitor often. Holding through volatile swings without adjustments can lead to unexpected outcomes.
Where PTIR Might Fit (If at All)
Despite the risks, PTIR has its uses — for certain investors, strategies, and timeframes:
Short-term traders / speculators who believe PLTR will move sharply upward in a short period. PTIR offers a way to magnify those bets.
Tactical allocation: a small slice of a diversified portfolio for those who want high risk/high reward exposure, not as core.
Hedging or pair-trades: could be used in more complex strategies, perhaps alongside bearish instruments or options to balance exposure.
Complementary tool in a growth/innovation theme exposure: if someone is already bullish on AI / data / PLTR’s markets, PTIR is a levered version of that belief.
But for most long-term investors, PTIR likely is too volatile and risky to serve as anything but a tactical or speculative portion of their holdings.
Narrative / Story Dimension
Imagine an investor who has followed the rise of artificial intelligence, government spending on data analytics, predictive modeling—all the tailwinds that Palantir claims to sit astride. They believe PLTR is under-priced, that new contracts, defense interest, cloud expansion, and AI/machine learning pipelines will drive strong growth. But buying PLTR alone already gives exposure; PTIR says: let’s double down, let’s ride the wave harder.
For a while, when PLTR legged up predictably, PTIR delivered explosive returns. But after that comes the test: when earnings disappoint, contracts delay, or sentiment shifts. The downside of being doubly exposed—including through derivatives—is that you don’t just feel the drop; you feel it sharply. And sometimes, what looked like a path to high reward looks like a minefield when volatility spikes.
Those who succeeded with PTIR (in its short history) have been those who got the timing right, who managed risk tightly (stop losses, smaller allocations), and were ready to exit or hedge when conditions turned.
How Verī Platform Helps Clarify
At Verī, our mission is simple: to provide access to the entire universe of investments — from income to accumulation strategies, passive to active approaches, low-risk to high-risk instruments, across all asset types, currencies, and regions.
When we highlight funds or securities such as PTIR, it is not an endorsement, recommendation, or promotion of that specific investment. Rather, it is a demonstration of the wide spectrum of options available through the Verī Platform.
Our role is to enable access and transparency — giving investors and institutions the ability to see, compare, and evaluate a universe of choices, so they can make their own informed decisions in line with their objectives and responsibilities.
PTIR & MPS (Model Portfolio Solution)
Here is how PTIR might or might not be used in an MPS framework:
Speculative / Tactical Sleeve: PTIR might be a very small allocation (e.g. 0.5-2%) in growth or aggressive portfolios, intended for short-term capture rather than foundational long-term exposure.
Not in Conservative or Balanced Core: Because it's volatile and concentrated, PTIR rarely makes sense in conservative or balanced portfolios except perhaps a nominal “moonshot” line.
Hedged Approaches: For clients who want exposure but also protection, pairing with inverse or options strategies or stop-loss mechanisms could be part of prudent design.
Active Rebalancing Required: In portfolios that include PTIR, more frequent review and possible rebalancing is essential to avoid asymmetric risk.
Conclusion
PTIR is one of the more aggressive ETFs in the marketplace — it offers magnified exposure to Palantir Technologies, which means magnified opportunity and magnified danger. For the investor who can tolerate wild swings, who believes strongly in Palantir’s path ahead, and is willing to monitor, risk manage, and maybe exit when things get frothy, it can deliver outsized returns. But for many, the risk-reward doesn’t justify using it as more than a small, speculative piece of a diversified portfolio.
Disclaimer
This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice, financial advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security, fund, or other financial instrument. The information reflects publicly available data and analysis at the time of writing and may change without notice.
Verī Platform does not provide personal investment recommendations. Investors should carefully consider their own objectives, risk tolerance, and financial circumstances before making any investment decisions. Where necessary, seek independent advice from a licensed financial adviser.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investments involve risk, including the potential loss of capital.
Comments