LABD -3x Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X ETF

LABD

ETF -3x BEAR extreme
Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X ETF
Issuer: Direxion · Tracks: Biotech (IBB) · Listed: 2015-05-28
Implied AUM
—
Last Close
—
20260702
30d Avg Vol
7,745,210
Options
available
Realized return vs theoretical -3x Biotech
Pair counterpart found: LABU (+3x bull, Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X ETF)
Shorting both legs of a daily-reset bull/bear pair captures combined decay drift over time. Theoretical "free money" — actual edge depends on borrow rates (often punitive on the bear leg) and assignment risk on hard-to-borrow products.
Other leveraged products tracking Biotech
Symbol Factor Direction Issuer Name Implied AUM 30d Vol Options
LABU +3x BULL Direxion Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X ETF — 633,340
TBXU +2x BULL Direxion Direxion Daily Biotech Top 5 Bull 2X ETF $3.2M 1,324

How LABD works

LABD targets -3x the daily return of Biotech — not the cumulative return over multi-day windows. The fund rebalances at the close each day using swaps or futures, which is what creates the volatility drag the chart above visualizes.

Mathematical headline: drag ≈ −0.5 × N × (N−1) × σ² per period. For a -3x product on an underlying with 25% annualized vol, expected annual drag is around 18.8%. Add expense ratio and the realized number is typically worse.

  • Short-term tactical: daily and intraday holds are where these products were designed to live.
  • Premium selling: options on LABD carry very rich IV — see the quote page for IV rank and straddle pricing.
  • Multi-day directional: works in strong trends; gets eaten alive in chop. Use the chart above to gauge the realized vs theoretical track record.