Data as of .
SDP vs UPW: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, SDP finished 2.4 points over and UPW 1.1 points short.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: UPW 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDP | UPW | SDP | UPW | SDP | UPW | |
| 1 month | +6.9% | −6.4% | +6.6% | −6.6% | +0.3 pts | +0.2 pts |
| 3 months | +9.7% | −9.8% | +8.4% | −8.4% | +1.3 pts | −1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +20.6% | −19.7% | +17.1% | −17.1% | +3.6 pts | −2.7 pts |
| 1 year | −1.5% | −3.3% | −4.8% | +4.8% | +3.3 pts | −8.1 pts |
| 3 years | −47.3% | +60.6% | −92.0% | +92.0% | +44.7 pts | −31.4 pts |
| Since launch | −98.6% | +756.7% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
| SDP ProShares UltraShort Utilities Aims to return twice the opposite of the daily move of utilities (XLU) | UPW ProShares Ultra Utilities Aims to return twice the daily move of utilities (XLU) | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | ProShares |
| Sets out to return | -2x | +2x |
| On | XLU | XLU |
| Segment | sector | sector |
| Fund returned, 3 months | +9.7% | −9.8% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | −4.2% | −4.2% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | +8.4% | −8.4% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | +1.3 pts | −1.4 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −1.5% | −3.3% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | +3.3 pts | −8.1 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 14% | 14% |
| Difference over the days both have traded | no shared window | −1.4 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.95% | 0.95% |
| Launched | Jan 4, 2010 | Jan 4, 2010 |
SDP in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: SDP returned +9.7% where its own daily promise gave +7.3%, 2.4 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times XLU's −4.2% implies +8.4%, which makes SDP look 1.3 points over. 1.1 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SDP aims to return -2 times XLU's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not -2 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. XLU moved at 14% 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.
UPW in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: UPW returned −9.8% where its own daily promise gave −8.7%, 1.1 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and +2 times XLU's −4.2% implies −8.4%, which makes UPW look 1.4 points short. 0.3 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any +2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. UPW aims to return +2 times XLU's move each day, then resets. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not +2 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, SDP or UPW?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, SDP finished 1.3 points from what its multiple implies and UPW finished 1.4 points from its own, so SDP came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are SDP and UPW levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on utilities, SDP at -2 times and UPW at +2 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, SDP or UPW?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SDP’s moved at 14% annualized and UPW’s at 14%, so SDP has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold SDP or UPW 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, SDP or UPW?
- SDP charges 0.95% a year and UPW charges 0.95%, so SDP 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, SDP against UPW, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/SDP-UPW Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.