AGQ vs ZSL: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, AGQ finished 1.7 points short and ZSL 4.1 points over. ProShares Ultra Silver and ProShares UltraShort Silver.
AGQ returned −2.1% while 2 times SLV's move would have been +3.5%
ZSL returned −9.6% while −2 times SLV's move would have been −3.5%
AGQ among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months
ZSL among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months
A percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months. ZSL is a percentile among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months, a different set, so the two marks are not on one scale. 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
| Total return | Multiple would give | Difference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | AGQ | ZSL | AGQ | ZSL | AGQ | ZSL |
| 1 month | −19.3% | +19.4% | −18.7% | +18.7% | −0.6 pts | +0.7 pts |
| 3 months | −2.1% | −9.6% | +3.5% | −3.5% | −5.6 pts | −6.2 pts |
| 6 months | −43.7% | +22.5% | −40.0% | +40.0% | −3.7 pts | −17.5 pts |
| 1 year | −12.3% | −82.0% | +57.3% | −57.3% | −69.5 pts | −24.7 pts |
| 3 years | +171.8% | −96.8% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
| Since launch AGQ Jan 2010 · ZSL Jan 2010 | −44.9% | −100.0% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
AGQ and ZSL over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
AGQ and ZSL on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
AGQ in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: AGQ returned −2.1% where its own daily promise gave −0.4%, 1.7 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 2 times SLV's 1.7% implies +3.5%, which makes AGQ look 5.6 points short. 3.9 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. AGQ 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 39% 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 30, 2026: ZSL returned −9.6% where its own daily promise gave −13.8%, 4.1 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times SLV's 1.7% implies −3.5%, which makes ZSL look 6.2 points short. 10.3 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, AGQ or ZSL?
- Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, AGQ finished 5.6 points from what its multiple implies and ZSL finished 6.2 points from its own, so AGQ came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are AGQ and ZSL levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on silver, AGQ at +2 times and ZSL at -2 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, AGQ or ZSL?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window AGQ’s moved at 39% annualized and ZSL’s at 39%, so AGQ has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold AGQ 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.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
ETFIQ, AGQ against ZSL, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/agq-vs-zsl
Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, AGQ against ZSL, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/agq-vs-zsl Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
Other forms
- Plain
- ETFIQ, AGQ against ZSL, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/agq-vs-zsl
- APA
- ETFIQ. (Sep 30, 2026). AGQ against ZSL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/agq-vs-zsl
- Markdown
- [AGQ against ZSL (ETFIQ, Sep 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/agq-vs-zsl)