FAZ vs SKF: which held to its multiple?

Over three months against its own daily promise, FAZ finished 4.0 points over and SKF 2.5 points over. Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X ETF and ProShares UltraShort Financials.

+8.1%
FAZ returned, 3 months
+5.7%
SKF returned, 3 months
+1.6 pts
FAZ from its stated multiple
+1.4 pts
SKF from its stated multiple
FAZ · 3 months to Sep 30, 20261.6 pts ahead of its stated multiple
1.6 pts ahead of its stated multipleFAZ returned +8.1% while −3 times XLF's move would have been +6.5%XLF −2.2% ×−3 implies+6.5%FAZ returned+8.1%1.6 pts ahead of its stated multipleFAZ returned +8.1% while −3 times XLF's move would have been +6.5%XLF −2.2% ×−3 implies+6.5%FAZ returned+8.1%

FAZ returned +8.1% while −3 times XLF's move would have been +6.5%

SKF · 3 months to Sep 30, 20261.4 pts ahead of its stated multiple
1.4 pts ahead of its stated multipleSKF returned +5.7% while −2 times XLF's move would have been +4.4%XLF −2.2% ×−2 implies+4.4%SKF returned+5.7%1.4 pts ahead of its stated multipleSKF returned +5.7% while −2 times XLF's move would have been +4.4%XLF −2.2% ×−2 implies+4.4%SKF returned+5.7%

SKF returned +5.7% while −2 times XLF's move would have been +4.4%

ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score · FAZ scores higherDid it keep up with its own daily multiple, compounded day by day?
0.4, the lowest in this set99.6, the highest

A percentile among the 125 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

Total returnMultiple would giveDifference
WindowFAZSKFFAZSKFFAZSKF
1 month+25.2%+16.2%+21.4%+14.3%+3.8 pts+1.9 pts
3 months+8.1%+5.7%+6.5%+4.4%+1.6 pts+1.4 pts
6 months−20.8%−13.7%−26.3%−17.5%+5.5 pts+3.9 pts
1 year+0.2%+2.4%−2.0%−1.4%+2.2 pts+3.7 pts
3 years−77.8%−60.2%−205.8%−137.2%+128.0 pts+77.0 pts
Since launch
FAZ Jan 2010 · SKF Jan 2010
−100.0%−99.5%not meaningfulnot meaningfulnot meaningfulnot meaningful

FAZ and SKF over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

FAZ
Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X ETF · Aims to return three times the opposite of the daily move of financials (XLF)
SKF
ProShares UltraShort Financials · Aims to return twice the opposite of the daily move of financials (XLF)
Issuer Direxion ProShares
Sets out to return -3x -2x
Underlying asset XLF XLF
Segment sector sector
Fund returned, 3 months or since launch +8.1% +5.7%
Underlying returned, over that window −2.2% −2.2%
What the stated multiple implies, over that window +6.5% +4.4%
Difference from stated, over that window +1.6 pts +1.4 pts
Fund returned, 1 year or since launch +0.2% +2.4%
Difference from stated, over that window +2.2 pts +3.7 pts
Underlying volatility 13% 13%
Expense ratio 1.03% 0.95%
Launched Jan 4, 2010 Jan 4, 2010
Net assets $96m $14m

FAZ and SKF on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

FAZ in plain words

Three months to Sep 30, 2026: FAZ returned +8.1% where its own daily promise gave +4.2%, 4.0 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −3 times XLF's −2.2% implies +6.5%, which makes FAZ look 1.6 points over. 2.4 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. FAZ 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.

SKF in plain words

Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SKF returned +5.7% where its own daily promise gave +3.2%, 2.5 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times XLF's −2.2% implies +4.4%, which makes SKF look 1.4 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. SKF aims to return -2 times XLF'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, FAZ or SKF?
Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, FAZ finished 1.6 points from what its multiple implies and SKF finished 1.4 points from its own, so SKF came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
Are FAZ and SKF levered on the same thing?
Yes. Both are levered on financials, FAZ at -3 times and SKF at -2 times the daily move.
Which one decays faster, FAZ or SKF?
Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window FAZ’s moved at 13% annualized and SKF’s at 13%, so FAZ has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
Can I hold FAZ or SKF 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.
Which is cheaper, FAZ or SKF?
FAZ charges 1.03% a year and SKF charges 0.95%, so SKF is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this page

ETFIQ, FAZ against SKF, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/faz-vs-skf

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.