MIDU vs SMDD: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, MIDU finished 2.1 points short and SMDD 4.3 points over. Direxion Daily Mid Cap Bull 3X ETF and ProShares UltraPro Short MidCap400.
MIDU returned −18.8% while 3 times MDY's move would have been −16.7%
SMDD returned +20.7% while −3 times MDY's move would have been +16.7%
MIDU among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months
SMDD among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months
A percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months. SMDD 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 | MIDU | SMDD | MIDU | SMDD | MIDU | SMDD |
| 1 month | −13.3% | +14.6% | −12.6% | +12.6% | −0.7 pts | +2.0 pts |
| 3 months | −18.8% | +20.7% | −16.7% | +16.7% | −2.1 pts | +4.0 pts |
| 6 months | +11.2% | −15.6% | +18.4% | −18.4% | −7.2 pts | +2.8 pts |
| 1 year | +17.3% | −27.9% | +34.2% | −34.2% | −16.9 pts | +6.3 pts |
| 3 years | +79.8% | −73.3% | +146.9% | −146.9% | −67.1 pts | +73.6 pts |
| Since launch MIDU Jan 2010 · SMDD Feb 2010 | +1229.4% | −100.0% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
MIDU and SMDD over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
MIDU and SMDD on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
MIDU in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: MIDU returned −18.8% where its own daily promise gave −16.6%, 2.1 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 3 times MDY's −5.6% implies −16.7%, which makes MIDU look 2.1 points short. 0.1 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. MIDU aims to return +3 times MDY'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. MDY moved at 12% 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.
SMDD in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SMDD returned +20.7% where its own daily promise gave +16.4%, 4.3 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −3 times MDY's −5.6% implies +16.7%, which makes SMDD look 4.0 points over. 0.3 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SMDD aims to return -3 times MDY's move each day, then resets. 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.
Questions people ask
- Which came closer to its stated multiple, MIDU or SMDD?
- Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, MIDU finished 2.1 points from what its multiple implies and SMDD finished 4.0 points from its own, so MIDU came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are MIDU and SMDD levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on the S&P MidCap 400, MIDU at +3 times and SMDD at -3 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, MIDU or SMDD?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window MIDU’s moved at 12% annualized and SMDD’s at 12%, so MIDU has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold MIDU or SMDD 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, MIDU against SMDD, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/midu-vs-smdd
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, MIDU against SMDD, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/midu-vs-smdd Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
Other forms
- Plain
- ETFIQ, MIDU against SMDD, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/midu-vs-smdd
- APA
- ETFIQ. (Sep 30, 2026). MIDU against SMDD. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/midu-vs-smdd
- Markdown
- [MIDU against SMDD (ETFIQ, Sep 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/midu-vs-smdd)