Which came closer to its stated multiple, SEF or UYG?

Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, SEF finished 1.3 points from what its multiple implies and UYG finished 1.9 points from its own, so SEF came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.

Are SEF and UYG levered on the same thing?

Yes. Both are levered on financials, SEF at -1 times and UYG at +2 times the daily move.

Which one decays faster, SEF or UYG?

Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SEF’s moved at 13% annualized and UYG’s at 13%, so SEF has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.

Can I hold SEF or UYG 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, SEF or UYG?

SEF charges 0.95% a year and UYG charges 0.94%, so UYG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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SEF vs UYG: which held to its multiple?

Over three months against its own daily promise, SEF finished 1.7 points over and UYG 1.5 points short. ProShares Short Financials and ProShares Ultra Financials.

+3.5%

SEF returned, 3 months

−6.2%

UYG returned, 3 months

+1.3 pts

SEF from its stated multiple

−1.9 pts

UYG from its stated multiple

SEF · 3 months to Sep 30, 20261.3 pts ahead of its stated multiple

SEF returned +3.5% while −1 times XLF's move would have been +2.2%

UYG · 3 months to Sep 30, 20261.9 pts short of its stated multiple

UYG returned −6.2% while 2 times XLF's move would have been −4.4%

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

SEF among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months

SEF 57.6

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

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

UYG 86

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

A percentile among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months. UYG 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 return		Multiple would give		Difference
Window	SEF	UYG	SEF	UYG	SEF	UYG
1 month	+8.1%	−14.3%	+7.1%	−14.3%	+1.0 pts	0.0 pts
3 months	+3.5%	−6.2%	+2.2%	−4.4%	+1.3 pts	−1.9 pts
6 months	−5.9%	+14.3%	−8.8%	+17.5%	+2.8 pts	−3.3 pts
1 year	+3.8%	−6.4%	−0.7%	+1.4%	+4.5 pts	−7.7 pts
3 years	−30.9%	+116.7%	−68.6%	+137.2%	+37.7 pts	−20.5 pts
Since launch SEF Jan 2010 · UYG Jan 2010	−89.3%	+1068.3%	not meaningful	not meaningful	not meaningful	not meaningful

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

On the same fields

SEF

ProShares Short Financials · Aims to return 1 times the opposite of the daily move of financials (XLF)

UYG

ProShares Ultra Financials · Aims to return twice the daily move of financials (XLF)

Issuer ProShares ProShares

Sets out to return -1x +2x

Underlying asset XLF XLF

Segment sector sector

Fund returned, 3 months or since launch +3.5% −6.2%

Underlying returned, over that window −2.2% −2.2%

What the stated multiple implies, over that window +2.2% −4.4%

Difference from stated, over that window +1.3 pts −1.9 pts

Fund returned, 1 year or since launch +3.8% −6.4%

Difference from stated, over that window +4.5 pts −7.7 pts

Underlying volatility 13% 13%

Difference over the days both have traded no shared window −1.9 pts

Expense ratio 0.95% 0.94%

Launched Jan 4, 2010 Jan 4, 2010

Net assets $18m $704m

SEF and UYG on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

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 one day it does that. 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. 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.

UYG in plain words

Three months to Sep 30, 2026: UYG returned −6.2% where its own daily promise gave −4.7%, 1.5 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 2 times XLF's −2.2% implies −4.4%, which makes UYG look 1.9 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. UYG 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, SEF or UYG?: Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, SEF finished 1.3 points from what its multiple implies and UYG finished 1.9 points from its own, so SEF came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
Are SEF and UYG levered on the same thing?: Yes. Both are levered on financials, SEF at -1 times and UYG at +2 times the daily move.
Which one decays faster, SEF or UYG?: Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SEF’s moved at 13% annualized and UYG’s at 13%, so SEF has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
Can I hold SEF or UYG 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, SEF or UYG?: SEF charges 0.95% a year and UYG charges 0.94%, so UYG is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

SEF vs SKF SEF vs XLFX SEF vs FAS SEF vs FAZ UYG vs XLFX UYG vs FAS UYG vs FAZ UYG vs SKF

XLF →SEF on its own →UYG on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

SEF and UYG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗SEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗ProShares page for SEF ↗UYG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗ProShares page for UYG ↗

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.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, SEF against UYG, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/sef-vs-uyg

Open data

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