SAA vs SDD: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, SAA finished 1.2 points short and SDD 3.0 points over. ProShares Ultra SmallCap600 and ProShares UltraShort SmallCap600.
SAA returned −15.8% while 2 times IJR's move would have been −14.9%
SDD returned +18.6% while −2 times IJR's move would have been +14.9%
SAA among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months
SDD among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months
A percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months. SDD 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 | SAA | SDD | SAA | SDD | SAA | SDD |
| 1 month | −10.9% | +12.4% | −11.1% | +11.1% | +0.1 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 3 months | −15.8% | +18.6% | −14.9% | +14.9% | −0.9 pts | +3.7 pts |
| 6 months | +15.8% | −15.1% | +19.3% | −19.3% | −3.5 pts | +4.2 pts |
| 1 year | +24.1% | −24.6% | +31.9% | −31.9% | −7.8 pts | +7.4 pts |
| 3 years | +67.5% | −57.1% | +102.2% | −102.2% | −34.6 pts | +45.0 pts |
| Since launch SAA Jan 2010 · SDD Jan 2010 | +929.1% | −99.7% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
SAA and SDD over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
SAA and SDD on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SAA in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SAA returned −15.8% where its own daily promise gave −14.7%, 1.2 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 2 times IJR's −7.5% implies −14.9%, which makes SAA look 0.9 points short. 0.3 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SAA aims to return +2 times IJR'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. IJR 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.
SDD in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SDD returned +18.6% where its own daily promise gave +15.6%, 3.0 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times IJR's −7.5% implies +14.9%, which makes SDD look 3.7 points over. 0.7 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SDD aims to return -2 times IJR'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, SAA or SDD?
- Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, SAA finished 0.9 points from what its multiple implies and SDD finished 3.7 points from its own, so SAA came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are SAA and SDD levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF, SAA at +2 times and SDD at -2 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, SAA or SDD?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SAA’s moved at 12% annualized and SDD’s at 12%, so SAA has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold SAA or SDD 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, SAA against SDD, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/saa-vs-sdd
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, SAA against SDD, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/saa-vs-sdd Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
Other forms
- Plain
- ETFIQ, SAA against SDD, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/saa-vs-sdd
- APA
- ETFIQ. (Sep 30, 2026). SAA against SDD. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/saa-vs-sdd
- Markdown
- [SAA against SDD (ETFIQ, Sep 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/saa-vs-sdd)