Is the drift always a loss?

No. In a steady trend with little back and forth, a leveraged fund can beat its multiple. The expected drift from volatility alone is negative; a strong trend can outweigh it.

Does the curve include fees?

No. The curve is compounding alone. The measured table includes fees, because it uses each fund’s own returns.

What does the multiple imply?

The fund’s stated multiple times what its underlying returned over the same days. The multiple applies to one day and compounds from there.

Fund and underlying returns to Oct 27, 2026, computed by ETFIQ from daily prices.

Leveraged ETF multiple

why a 3x fund does not return 3 times the index

As of Oct 27, 2026

Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, QQQ returned +15.4%; three times that is +46.2%. TQQQ returned +22.9%, 23.3 points short of the multiple.

Daily resets compound. The drift grows with volatility and with time held.

Change the inputs

Stated multiple

Daily volatility of the index1.3% a daycalm 0.2%wild 6%Days held60 days1250Two-day swing: up, then back to start+5.0% then back015%

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Drift from the stated multiple

Hypothetical · from your inputs

A +3x fund held 60 days with its index moving 1.3% a day would be expected to land about −3.0% from 3 times the index’s move, from compounding alone.

0%−3%−6%−9%−12%

day 1day 250

−3.0%

expected drift after 60 days

−11.9%

after a year of 250 trading days

21%

the same volatility, yearly

Two-day reversal

Hypothetical · from your inputs

The index rises, then falls back to exactly where it started. The fund does not.

+5.0%

index, day 1

−4.8%

index, day 2 (back to start)

0.0%

index after two days

−1.43%

+3x fund after two days

Measured on real funds

From data · Oct 27, 2026

Points (pts) are percentage points.

Fund	Multiple	Index 1Y	Multiple × index	Fund 1Y	Drift
TQQQ on QQQ	+3x	+15.4%	+46.2%	+22.9%	−23.3 pts
SOXL on Semiconductor	+3x	+68.6%	+205.8%	+115.9%	−89.9 pts
QLD on QQQ	+2x	+15.4%	+30.8%	+21.3%	−9.5 pts
SSO on S&P500	+2x	+13.5%	+27.0%	+20.1%	−6.9 pts
SPXL on S&P 500	+3x	+13.5%	+40.5%	+26.4%	−14.1 pts
TECL on Technology	+3x	+27.4%	+82.2%	+50.6%	−31.6 pts

Where to next

Every leveraged ETF→How a daily reset works→Leverage methodology→

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, Leveraged ETF multiple, data as of Oct 27, 2026. https://etfiq.com/leverage/multiple

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data.

Questions people ask

Is the drift always a loss?: No. In a steady trend with little back and forth, a leveraged fund can beat its multiple. The expected drift from volatility alone is negative; a strong trend can outweigh it.
Does the curve include fees?: No. The curve is compounding alone. The measured table includes fees, because it uses each fund’s own returns.
What does the multiple imply?: The fund’s stated multiple times what its underlying returned over the same days. The multiple applies to one day and compounds from there.

Numbers from data carry their date. Anything computed from your inputs is hypothetical and before fees unless stated. Not investment advice.