EFO vs EFU: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, EFO finished 1.5 points short and EFU 1.5 points over. ProShares Ultra MSCI EAFE and ProShares UltraShort MSCI EAFE.
EFO returned −0.3% while 2 times EFA's move would have been +1.7%
EFU returned −1.4% while −2 times EFA's move would have been −1.7%
EFO among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months
EFU among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months
A percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months. EFU 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 | EFO | EFU | EFO | EFU | EFO | EFU |
| 1 month | −7.3% | +7.3% | −6.6% | +6.6% | −0.6 pts | +0.6 pts |
| 3 months | −0.3% | −1.4% | +1.7% | −1.7% | −1.9 pts | +0.3 pts |
| 6 months | +10.1% | −12.4% | +14.0% | −14.0% | −3.9 pts | +1.6 pts |
| 1 year | +21.6% | −23.5% | +30.1% | −30.1% | −8.5 pts | +6.6 pts |
| 3 years | +109.1% | −60.4% | +131.3% | −131.3% | −22.3 pts | +71.0 pts |
| Since launch EFO Jan 2010 · EFU Jan 2010 | +181.6% | −97.0% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
EFO and EFU over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
EFO and EFU on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EFO in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: EFO returned −0.3% where its own daily promise gave +1.3%, 1.5 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 2 times EFA's 0.8% implies +1.7%, which makes EFO look 1.9 points short. 0.4 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. EFO aims to return +2 times EFA'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. EFA moved at 13% 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.
EFU in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: EFU returned −1.4% where its own daily promise gave −2.9%, 1.5 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times EFA's 0.8% implies −1.7%, which makes EFU look 0.3 points over. 1.2 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. EFU aims to return -2 times EFA'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, EFO or EFU?
- Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, EFO finished 1.9 points from what its multiple implies and EFU finished 0.3 points from its own, so EFU came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are EFO and EFU levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on developed markets outside the US, EFO at +2 times and EFU at -2 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, EFO or EFU?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window EFO’s moved at 13% annualized and EFU’s at 13%, so EFO has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold EFO or EFU 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, EFO against EFU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/efo-vs-efu
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, EFO against EFU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/efo-vs-efu Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
Other forms
- Plain
- ETFIQ, EFO against EFU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/efo-vs-efu
- APA
- ETFIQ. (Sep 30, 2026). EFO against EFU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/efo-vs-efu
- Markdown
- [EFO against EFU (ETFIQ, Sep 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/efo-vs-efu)