NUGT +2x Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X ETF

NUGT

ETF +2x BULL standard
Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X ETF
Issuer: Direxion · Tracks: Gold Miners (GDX) · Listed: 2010-12-08
Implied AUM
$769.4M
Last Close
$101.88
20260720
30d Avg Vol
739,748
Options
available
Realized return vs theoretical +2x Gold Miners
Pair counterpart found: DUST (-2x bear, Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 2X 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 Gold Miners
Symbol Factor Direction Issuer Name Implied AUM 30d Vol Options
GDXU +3x BULL MicroSectors MicroSectors Gold Miners 3x Leveraged ETN — 1,712,362
DUST -2x BEAR Direxion Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 2X ETF $82.8M 829,298
GDXD -3x BEAR MicroSectors MicroSectors Gold Miners -3x Inverse Leveraged ETN — 725,460

How NUGT works

NUGT targets +2x the daily return of Gold Miners — 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 +2x product on an underlying with 25% annualized vol, expected annual drag is around 6.2%. 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 NUGT 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.