# Leveraged ETF Trading Costs and Decay

> 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.

Data as of Oct 22, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

Figures as of Oct 22, 2026.

## Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay

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.

A leveraged ETF aims for a multiple of one day’s move in its index, such as two or three times.

An inverse ETF aims for the opposite of that move.

Each resets its exposure every day.

### Volatility decay

Over one day the multiple holds. Over longer periods it does not.

Say an index rises 10% and then falls 10%. It ends down 1%.

A fund at two times rises 20% and then falls 20%. It ends down 4%.

That gap is called volatility decay.

### Trading costs on top

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.

Over a short holding, the spread can matter more than the fee.

266 leveraged and inverse ETFs had a median 30-day spread of 0.27% to Oct 22, 2026.

### Placing an order

The fair limit is midpoint + X¢ to buy, midpoint − X¢ to sell.

X is half the fund’s typical spread in cents, rounded up, and never less than 1¢.

These funds can move fast, so a limit may need moving to fill. The limit orders guide covers the rule.

Live · 266 leveraged and inverse ETFs · Oct 22, 2026

0.27%

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.

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 · ETFIQ

### Related funds

### Related rankings

### Questions people ask

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’s 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’s move in its index.

### Where to next

A guide to trading conditions, not advice. ETFIQ makes no recommendations. Standards and sources

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Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.
Cite: ETFIQ, Leveraged and inverse ETFs: trading costs on top of decay, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/trading/leveraged-costs/
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