Data as of .
USLV vs ZSL: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, USLV finished 2.4 points short and ZSL 2.8 points over.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: ZSL scores higher
Did it keep up with its own daily multiple, compounded day by day?
A percentile among the 391 leveraged ETFs, long, 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USLV | ZSL | USLV | ZSL | USLV | ZSL | |
| 1 month | −5.4% | +1.1% | −3.2% | +3.2% | −2.2 pts | −2.1 pts |
| 3 months | −16.4% | +0.8% | −10.3% | +10.3% | −6.0 pts | −9.5 pts |
| 6 months | not published | +16.8% | not published | +40.1% | not published | −23.3 pts |
| 1 year | not published | −87.2% | not published | −107.6% | not published | +20.4 pts |
| 3 years | not published | −96.9% | not published | not meaningful | not published | not meaningful |
| Since launch | −34.1% | −100.0% | −30.0% | not meaningful | −4.2 pts | not meaningful |
| USLV Direxion Daily Silver Bull 2X ETF Aims to return twice the daily move of silver (SLV) | ZSL ProShares UltraShort Silver Aims to return twice the opposite of the daily move of silver (SLV) | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Direxion | ProShares |
| Sets out to return | +2x | -2x |
| On | SLV | SLV |
| Segment | metal | metal |
| Fund returned, 3 months | −16.4% | +0.8% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | −5.2% | −5.2% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | −10.3% | +10.3% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | −6.0 pts | −9.5 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −34.1% | −87.2% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | −4.2 pts | +20.4 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 42% | 42% |
| Difference over the days both have traded | −6.0 pts | no shared window |
| Expense ratio | 1.10% | not published |
| Launched | May 28, 2026 | Jan 4, 2010 |
USLV in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: USLV returned −16.4% where its own daily promise gave −13.9%, 2.4 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and +2 times SLV's −5.2% implies −10.3%, which makes USLV look 6.0 points short. 3.6 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any +2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. USLV aims to return +2 times SLV'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. SLV moved at 42% 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.
ZSL in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: ZSL returned +0.8% where its own daily promise gave −2.0%, 2.8 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times SLV's −5.2% implies +10.3%, which makes ZSL look 9.5 points short. 12.4 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. ZSL aims to return -2 times SLV'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, USLV or ZSL?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, USLV finished 6.0 points from what its multiple implies and ZSL finished 9.5 points from its own, so USLV came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are USLV and ZSL levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on silver, USLV at +2 times and ZSL at -2 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, USLV or ZSL?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window USLV’s moved at 42% annualized and ZSL’s at 42%, so USLV has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold USLV or ZSL 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, USLV against ZSL, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/USLV-ZSL Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.