Data as of .
SDP vs UTSL: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, SDP finished 2.4 points over and UTSL 2.1 points short.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: SDP 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 | UTSL | SDP | UTSL | SDP | UTSL | |
| 1 month | +6.9% | −11.0% | +6.6% | −9.9% | +0.3 pts | −1.0 pts |
| 3 months | +9.7% | −15.5% | +8.4% | −12.6% | +1.3 pts | −2.9 pts |
| 6 months | +20.6% | −30.1% | +17.1% | −25.6% | +3.6 pts | −4.5 pts |
| 1 year | −1.5% | −9.3% | −4.8% | +7.3% | +3.3 pts | −16.5 pts |
| 3 years | −47.3% | +72.7% | −92.0% | +138.0% | +44.7 pts | −65.3 pts |
| Since launch | −98.6% | +77.3% | 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) | UTSL Direxion Daily Utilities Bull 3X ETF Aims to return three times the daily move of utilities (XLU) | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | Direxion |
| Sets out to return | -2x | +3x |
| On | XLU | XLU |
| Segment | sector | sector |
| Fund returned, 3 months | +9.7% | −15.5% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | −4.2% | −4.2% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | +8.4% | −12.6% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | +1.3 pts | −2.9 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −1.5% | −9.3% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | +3.3 pts | −16.5 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 14% | 14% |
| Expense ratio | 0.95% | 0.97% |
| Launched | Jan 4, 2010 | May 3, 2017 |
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.
UTSL in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: UTSL returned −15.5% where its own daily promise gave −13.4%, 2.1 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and +3 times XLU's −4.2% implies −12.6%, which makes UTSL look 2.9 points short. 0.8 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any +3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. UTSL aims to return +3 times XLU'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, SDP or UTSL?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, SDP finished 1.3 points from what its multiple implies and UTSL finished 2.9 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 UTSL levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on utilities, SDP at -2 times and UTSL at +3 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, SDP or UTSL?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SDP’s moved at 14% annualized and UTSL’s at 14%, so SDP has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold SDP or UTSL 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 UTSL?
- SDP charges 0.95% a year and UTSL charges 0.97%, 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 UTSL, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/SDP-UTSL Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.