FAS vs SEF: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, FAS finished 2.4 points short and SEF 1.7 points over. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X ETF and ProShares Short Financials.
FAS returned −9.9% while 3 times XLF's move would have been −6.5%
SEF returned +3.5% while −1 times XLF's move would have been +2.2%
FAS among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months
SEF among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months
A percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months. SEF 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 | FAS | SEF | FAS | SEF | FAS | SEF |
| 1 month | −21.0% | +8.1% | −21.4% | +7.1% | +0.4 pts | +1.0 pts |
| 3 months | −9.9% | +3.5% | −6.5% | +2.2% | −3.4 pts | +1.3 pts |
| 6 months | +19.7% | −5.9% | +26.3% | −8.8% | −6.6 pts | +2.8 pts |
| 1 year | −13.6% | +3.8% | +2.0% | −0.7% | −15.6 pts | +4.5 pts |
| 3 years | +167.6% | −30.9% | +205.8% | −68.6% | −38.2 pts | +37.7 pts |
| Since launch FAS Jan 2010 · SEF Jan 2010 | +1454.0% | −89.3% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
FAS and SEF over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
FAS and SEF on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FAS in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: FAS returned −9.9% where its own daily promise gave −7.6%, 2.4 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 3 times XLF's −2.2% implies −6.5%, which makes FAS look 3.4 points short. 1.0 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. FAS aims to return +3 times XLF's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. 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. XLF 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.
SEF in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SEF returned +3.5% where its own daily promise gave +1.8%, 1.7 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −1 times XLF's −2.2% implies +2.2%, which makes SEF look 1.3 points over. 0.4 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −1 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SEF aims to return -1 times XLF's move each day, then resets. 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.
Questions people ask
- Which came closer to its stated multiple, FAS or SEF?
- Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, FAS finished 3.4 points from what its multiple implies and SEF finished 1.3 points from its own, so SEF came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are FAS and SEF levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on financials, FAS at +3 times and SEF at -1 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, FAS or SEF?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window FAS’s moved at 13% annualized and SEF’s at 13%, so FAS has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold FAS or SEF 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, FAS against SEF, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/fas-vs-sef
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, FAS against SEF, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/fas-vs-sef Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
Other forms
- Plain
- ETFIQ, FAS against SEF, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/fas-vs-sef
- APA
- ETFIQ. (Sep 30, 2026). FAS against SEF. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/fas-vs-sef
- Markdown
- [FAS against SEF (ETFIQ, Sep 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/fas-vs-sef)