Data as of .
SH vs SPXL: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, SH finished 1.6 points over and SPXL 2.6 points short.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: SH 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SH | SPXL | SH | SPXL | SH | SPXL | |
| 1 month | +1.6% | −4.2% | +1.1% | −3.2% | +0.6 pts | −1.1 pts |
| 3 months | −1.9% | +6.5% | −3.3% | +9.9% | +1.4 pts | −3.4 pts |
| 6 months | −11.7% | +44.7% | −16.0% | +48.1% | +4.3 pts | −3.3 pts |
| 1 year | −10.4% | +39.8% | −17.5% | +52.5% | +7.1 pts | −12.7 pts |
| 3 years | −32.9% | +226.8% | −77.9% | +233.6% | +45.0 pts | −6.8 pts |
| Since launch | −90.3% | +6862.6% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
| SH ProShares Short S&P500 Aims to return 1 times the opposite of the daily move of the S&P 500 | SPXL Direxion Daily S&P 500(R) Bull 3X ETF Aims to return three times the daily move of the S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | Direxion |
| Sets out to return | -1x | +3x |
| On | SPY | SPY |
| Segment | us large cap | us large cap |
| Fund returned, 3 months | −1.9% | +6.5% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | +3.3% | +3.3% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | −3.3% | +9.9% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | +1.4 pts | −3.4 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −10.4% | +39.8% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | +7.1 pts | −12.7 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 12% | 12% |
| Difference over the days both have traded | +1.4 pts | −3.4 pts |
| Expense ratio | not published | 0.84% |
| Launched | Jan 4, 2010 | Jan 4, 2010 |
SH in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: SH returned −1.9% where its own daily promise gave −3.5%, 1.6 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −1 times SPY's 3.3% implies −3.3%, which makes SH look 1.4 points over. 0.2 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −1 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SH aims to return -1 times SPY's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not -1 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. SPY moved at 12% 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.
SPXL in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: SPXL returned +6.5% where its own daily promise gave +9.0%, 2.6 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and +3 times SPY's 3.3% implies +9.9%, which makes SPXL look 3.4 points short. 0.9 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any +3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SPXL aims to return +3 times SPY'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, SH or SPXL?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, SH finished 1.4 points from what its multiple implies and SPXL finished 3.4 points from its own, so SH came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are SH and SPXL levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on the S&P 500, SH at -1 times and SPXL at +3 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, SH or SPXL?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SH’s moved at 12% annualized and SPXL’s at 12%, so SH has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold SH or SPXL 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.
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, SH against SPXL, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/SH-SPXL Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.