Data as of .
LABD vs LABU: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, LABD finished 1.7 points over and LABU 3.7 points short.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: LABD scores higher
Did it keep up with its own daily multiple, compounded day by day?
A percentile among the 121 inverse ETFs over three months. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All leveraged ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Multiple would give | Difference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LABD | LABU | LABD | LABU | LABD | LABU | |
| 1 month | +2.1% | −8.9% | +6.0% | −6.0% | −3.9 pts | −2.9 pts |
| 3 months | −43.2% | +46.3% | −50.6% | +50.6% | +7.3 pts | −4.3 pts |
| 6 months | −62.4% | +75.5% | −85.0% | +85.0% | +22.6 pts | −9.4 pts |
| 1 year | −83.8% | +217.9% | −191.8% | +191.8% | +108.1 pts | +26.0 pts |
| 3 years | −95.0% | +172.2% | −295.9% | +295.9% | +200.9 pts | −123.7 pts |
| Since launch | −100.0% | −91.4% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
| LABD Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X ETF Aims to return three times the opposite of the daily move of biotech (XBI) | LABU Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X ETF Aims to return three times the daily move of biotech (XBI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Direxion | Direxion |
| Sets out to return | -3x | +3x |
| On | XBI | XBI |
| Segment | sector | sector |
| Fund returned, 3 months | −43.2% | +46.3% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | +16.9% | +16.9% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | −50.6% | +50.6% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | +7.3 pts | −4.3 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −83.8% | +217.9% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | +108.1 pts | +26.0 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 29% | 29% |
| Expense ratio | 1.07% | 0.96% |
| Launched | May 28, 2015 | May 28, 2015 |
LABD in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: LABD returned −43.2% where its own daily promise gave −45.0%, 1.7 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −3 times XBI's 16.9% implies −50.6%, which makes LABD look 7.3 points over. 5.6 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. LABD aims to return -3 times XBI's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not -3 times the period's move: in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less, and in a steady run it can be more. XBI moved at 29% annualized over that window. That is what decides how far the two figures separate: the same fund on a calm underlying and a violent one is a different product.
LABU in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: LABU returned +46.3% where its own daily promise gave +50.0%, 3.7 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and +3 times XBI's 16.9% implies +50.6%, which makes LABU look 4.3 points short. 0.6 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any +3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. LABU aims to return +3 times XBI's move each day, then resets. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not +3 times the period's move: in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less, and in a steady run it can be more.
Questions people ask
- Which came closer to its stated multiple, LABD or LABU?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, LABD finished 7.3 points from what its multiple implies and LABU finished 4.3 points from its own, so LABU came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are LABD and LABU levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on biotech, LABD at -3 times and LABU at +3 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, LABD or LABU?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window LABD’s moved at 29% annualized and LABU’s at 29%, so LABD has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold LABD or LABU for a year?
- Both reset every day, so the multiple in the name applies to a single day and the daily results compound. Over a year the total is not the multiple times the year’s move, and in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less. ETFIQ makes no recommendation either way.
- Which is cheaper, LABD or LABU?
- LABD charges 1.07% a year and LABU charges 0.96%, so LABU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, LABD against LABU, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/LABD-LABU Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.