SCO -2x ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil
SCO
ETV -2x BEAR standardProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil
Realized return vs theoretical -2x WTI Crude Oil
Pair counterpart found:
UCO
(+2x bull, ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil)
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 WTI Crude Oil
| Symbol | Factor | Direction | Issuer | Name | Implied AUM | 30d Vol | Options |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCO | +2x | BULL | ProShares | ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil | — | 3,104,273 |
How SCO works
SCO targets -2x the daily return of WTI Crude Oil — 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 SCO 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.