SEF vs XLFX: which held to its multiple?

Over three months against its own daily promise, SEF finished 1.7 points over and XLFX 2.5 points short. ProShares Short Financials and Corgi U.S. Financials 2x Daily ETF.

+3.5%
SEF returned, 3 months
−7.2%
XLFX returned, 3 months
+1.3 pts
SEF from its stated multiple
−2.9 pts
XLFX from its stated multiple
SEF · 3 months to Sep 30, 20261.3 pts ahead of its stated multiple
1.3 pts ahead of its stated multipleSEF returned +3.5% while −1 times XLF's move would have been +2.2%XLF −2.2% ×−1 implies+2.2%SEF returned+3.5%1.3 pts ahead of its stated multipleSEF returned +3.5% while −1 times XLF's move would have been +2.2%XLF −2.2% ×−1 implies+2.2%SEF returned+3.5%

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

XLFX · 3 months to Sep 30, 20262.9 pts short of its stated multiple
2.9 pts short of its stated multipleXLFX returned −7.2% while 2 times XLF's move would have been −4.4%XLF −2.2% ×2 implies−4.4%XLFX returned−7.2%2.9 pts short of its stated multipleXLFX returned −7.2% while 2 times XLF's move would have been −4.4%XLF −2.2% ×2 implies−4.4%XLFX returned−7.2%

XLFX returned −7.2% while 2 times XLF's move would have been −4.4%

ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score · SEF 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

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

XLFX 53.3
0.1, the lowest in this set99.9, the highest

A percentile among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months. XLFX 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
WindowSEFXLFXSEFXLFXSEFXLFX
1 month+8.1%−14.5%+7.1%−14.3%+1.0 pts−0.2 pts
3 months+3.5%−7.2%+2.2%−4.4%+1.3 pts−2.9 pts
6 months−5.9%not published−8.8%not published+2.8 ptsnot published
1 year+3.8%not published−0.7%not published+4.5 ptsnot published
3 years−30.9%not published−68.6%not published+37.7 ptsnot published
Since launch
SEF Jan 2010 · XLFX Jun 2026
−89.3%+7.3%not meaningful+11.4%not meaningful−4.1 pts

SEF and XLFX 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)
XLFX
Corgi U.S. Financials 2x Daily ETF · Aims to return twice the daily move of financials (XLF)
Issuer ProShares Corgi
Sets out to return -1x +2x
Underlying asset XLF XLF
Segment sector sector
Fund returned, 3 months or since launch +3.5% −7.2%
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 −2.9 pts
Fund returned, 1 year or since launch +3.8% +7.3%
Difference from stated, over that window +4.5 pts −4.1 pts
Underlying volatility 13% 13%
Difference over the days both have traded no shared window −2.9 pts
Expense ratio 0.95% 0.45%
Launched Jan 4, 2010 Jun 3, 2026
Net assets $18m $522,730

SEF and XLFX 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.

XLFX in plain words

Three months to Sep 30, 2026: XLFX returned −7.2% where its own daily promise gave −4.7%, 2.5 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 2 times XLF's −2.2% implies −4.4%, which makes XLFX look 2.9 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. XLFX 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 XLFX?
Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, SEF finished 1.3 points from what its multiple implies and XLFX finished 2.9 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 XLFX levered on the same thing?
Yes. Both are levered on financials, SEF at -1 times and XLFX at +2 times the daily move.
Which one decays faster, SEF or XLFX?
Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SEF’s moved at 13% annualized and XLFX’s at 13%, so SEF has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
Can I hold SEF or XLFX 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 XLFX?
SEF charges 0.95% a year and XLFX charges 0.45%, so XLFX is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this page

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

Open data

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