{"url":"https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/","section":"trading","title":"Leveraged ETF Trading Costs and Decay | ETFIQ","description":"As of Oct 22, 2026, the median 30-day spread of 266 leveraged and inverse ETFs was 0.27%, against 0.18% for every ETF with one. Not advice.","as_of":"Oct 22, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"Article","headline":"Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay","url":"https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/","dateModified":"2026-10-22","author":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"about":"ETF trading","isAccessibleForFree":true},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is volatility decay in leveraged ETFs?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The drag from resetting every day. In a choppy market, a fund can lose money even when its index ends where it began."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How long should you hold a leveraged ETF?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"That is your choice. These funds aim for their multiple over one day only, and returns over longer periods can differ."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How does a leveraged ETF work?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It uses swaps or futures to aim for a multiple of one day\u2019s move in its index. It resets that exposure every day."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is an inverse ETF?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A fund that aims for the opposite of one day\u2019s move in its index."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trading","item":"https://etfiq.com/trading/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs ...","item":"https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"Leveraged ETF Trading Costs and Decay","description":"As of Oct 22, 2026, the median 30-day spread of 266 leveraged and inverse ETFs was 0.27%, against 0.18% for every ETF with one. Not advice.","url":"https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/","dateModified":"2026-10-22","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":3687,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Trading / Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs ... \n \n Figures as of Oct 22, 2026.\n Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay\n As of Oct 22, 2026, the median 30-day spread of 266 leveraged and inverse ETFs was 0.27%, against 0.18% for every ETF with one.\n A leveraged ETF aims for a multiple of one day\u2019s move in its index, such as two or three times.\n An inverse ETF aims for the opposite of that move.\n Each resets its exposure every day.\n Volatility decay\n Over one day the multiple holds. Over longer periods it does not.\n Say an index rises 10% and then falls 10%. It ends down 1%.\n A fund at two times rises 20% and then falls 20%. It ends down 4%.\n That gap is called volatility decay.\n Trading costs on top\n Leveraged funds are often held for days, not years. Each buy and each sell pays about half the spread, so a round trip pays all of it.\n Over a short holding, the spread can matter more than the fee.\n 266 leveraged and inverse ETFs had a median 30-day spread of 0.27% to Oct 22, 2026.\n Placing an order\n The fair limit is midpoint + X\u00a2 to buy, midpoint \u2212 X\u00a2 to sell.\n X is half the fund\u2019s typical spread in cents, rounded up, and never less than 1\u00a2.\n These funds can move fast, so a limit may need moving to fill. The limit orders guide covers the rule.\n Live \u00b7 266 leveraged and inverse ETFs \u00b7 Oct 22, 2026 \n 0.27%\n Their median 30-day spread, against 0.18% for every ETF with one. A daily trader pays about half of it on each buy and each sell.\n Leveraged and inverse ETFs 266 Their median spread 0.27% ETFs with a spread 1,462 Their median spread 0.18% Issuer spreads, 30 days to Oct 22, 2026 \u00b7 ETFIQ\n Related funds\n TQQQ trading costs QLD trading costs SSO trading costs UPRO trading costs Related rankings\n ETFs whose full cost to own is far above the fee ETFs with the tightest bid-ask spreads Questions people ask\n What is volatility decay in leveraged ETFs? The drag from resetting every day. In a choppy market, a fund can lose money even when its index ends where it began. How long should you hold a leveraged ETF? That is your choice. These funds aim for their multiple over one day only, and returns over longer periods can differ. How does a leveraged ETF work? It uses swaps or futures to aim for a multiple of one day\u2019s move in its index. It resets that exposure every day. What is an inverse ETF? A fund that aims for the opposite of one day\u2019s move in its index. Where to next\n ETF trading costs and liquidity Limit orders vs market orders for ETFs Why low volume does not mean illiquid Premiums and discounts to NAV International ETFs when the home market is closed Bond ETFs in a sell-off Stop orders and Aug 24, 2015 Trading a new ETF in its first weeks Ex-dividend days and income ETFs Buffer ETFs: reset day and buying mid-period How to read the IQ Liquidity Score How the IQ Liquidity Score is built A guide to trading conditions, not advice. ETFIQ makes no recommendations. Standards and sources \n Cite this page. ETFIQ, Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/ Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data .\n Other forms Plain ETFIQ, Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/ APA ETFIQ. (Oct 22, 2026). Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/ Markdown [Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay (ETFIQ, Oct 22, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/)","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Figures ETFIQ computes are free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/"}