SDOW vs UDOW: which held to its multiple?

Over three months against its own daily promise, SDOW finished 4.0 points over and UDOW 2.3 points short. ProShares UltraPro Short Dow30 and ProShares UltraPro Dow30.

+9.1%
SDOW returned, 3 months
−10.1%
UDOW returned, 3 months
+2.1 pts
SDOW from its stated multiple
−3.1 pts
UDOW from its stated multiple
SDOW · 3 months to Sep 30, 20262.1 pts ahead of its stated multiple
2.1 pts ahead of its stated multipleSDOW returned +9.1% while −3 times DIA's move would have been +7.0%DIA −2.3% ×−3 implies+7.0%SDOW returned+9.1%2.1 pts ahead of its stated multipleSDOW returned +9.1% while −3 times DIA's move would have been +7.0%DIA −2.3% ×−3 implies+7.0%SDOW returned+9.1%

SDOW returned +9.1% while −3 times DIA's move would have been +7.0%

UDOW · 3 months to Sep 30, 20263.1 pts short of its stated multiple
3.1 pts short of its stated multipleUDOW returned −10.1% while 3 times DIA's move would have been −7.0%DIA −2.3% ×3 implies−7.0%UDOW returned−10.1%3.1 pts short of its stated multipleUDOW returned −10.1% while 3 times DIA's move would have been −7.0%DIA −2.3% ×3 implies−7.0%UDOW returned−10.1%

UDOW returned −10.1% while 3 times DIA's move would have been −7.0%

ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score · SDOW scores higherDid it keep up with its own daily multiple, compounded day by day?

SDOW among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months

SDOW 92.4
0.4, the lowest in this set99.6, the highest

UDOW among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months

UDOW 60.4
0.1, the lowest in this set99.9, the highest

A percentile among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months. UDOW is a percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, 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 returnMultiple would giveDifference
WindowSDOWUDOWSDOWUDOWSDOWUDOW
1 month+14.0%−12.9%+12.3%−12.3%+1.6 pts−0.5 pts
3 months+9.1%−10.1%+7.0%−7.0%+2.1 pts−3.1 pts
6 months−23.2%+24.3%−30.1%+30.1%+6.8 pts−5.8 pts
1 year−24.0%+19.0%−33.8%+33.8%+9.8 pts−14.9 pts
3 years−70.8%+142.8%−177.9%+177.9%+107.2 pts−35.1 pts
Since launch
SDOW Feb 2010 · UDOW Feb 2010
−100.0%+4113.2%not meaningfulnot meaningfulnot meaningfulnot meaningful

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

On the same fields

SDOW
ProShares UltraPro Short Dow30 · Aims to return three times the opposite of the daily move of the Dow 30
UDOW
ProShares UltraPro Dow30 · Aims to return three times the daily move of the Dow 30
Issuer ProShares ProShares
Sets out to return -3x +3x
Underlying asset DIA DIA
Segment us large cap us large cap
Fund returned, 3 months or since launch +9.1% −10.1%
Underlying returned, over that window −2.3% −2.3%
What the stated multiple implies, over that window +7.0% −7.0%
Difference from stated, over that window +2.1 pts −3.1 pts
Fund returned, 1 year or since launch −24.0% +19.0%
Difference from stated, over that window +9.8 pts −14.9 pts
Underlying volatility 12% 12%
Expense ratio 0.95% 0.95%
Launched Feb 11, 2010 Feb 11, 2010
Net assets $154m $833m

SDOW and UDOW on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

SDOW in plain words

Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SDOW returned +9.1% where its own daily promise gave +5.1%, 4.0 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −3 times DIA's −2.3% implies +7.0%, which makes SDOW look 2.1 points over. 1.8 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SDOW aims to return -3 times DIA'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. DIA 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.

UDOW in plain words

Three months to Sep 30, 2026: UDOW returned −10.1% where its own daily promise gave −7.8%, 2.3 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 3 times DIA's −2.3% implies −7.0%, which makes UDOW look 3.1 points short. 0.8 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. UDOW aims to return +3 times DIA'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, SDOW or UDOW?
Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, SDOW finished 2.1 points from what its multiple implies and UDOW finished 3.1 points from its own, so SDOW came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
Are SDOW and UDOW levered on the same thing?
Yes. Both are levered on the Dow 30, SDOW at -3 times and UDOW at +3 times the daily move.
Which one decays faster, SDOW or UDOW?
Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SDOW’s moved at 12% annualized and UDOW’s at 12%, so SDOW has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
Can I hold SDOW or UDOW 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, SDOW or UDOW?
SDOW charges 0.95% a year and UDOW charges 0.95%, so SDOW is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this page

ETFIQ, SDOW against UDOW, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/sdow-vs-udow

Open data

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