UPRO +3x ProShares UltraPro S&P 500
BULL ETF extreme · Issuer ProShares · Tracks S&P 500 (SPY) · Listed 2009-06-23
Realized vs theoretical +3x S&P 500
Cumulative return of UPRO against a clean +3x of S&P 500's return over the same window; the red line (right axis) is the gap between them.
Other leveraged products on S&P 500
10| Symbol | Factor | Direction | Issuer | Name | Implied AUM | 30d volume | Options |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPYU | +4x | BULL | MAX | MAX S&P 500 4x Leveraged ETN | — | 621,250 | |
| SPXL | +3x | BULL | Direxion | Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3x ETF | $7.1B | 1,493,060 | ✓ |
| HIBL | +3x | BULL | Direxion | Direxion Daily S&P 500 High Beta Bull 3X ETF | $78.7M | 41,336 | ✓ |
| SSO | +2x | BULL | ProShares | ProShares Ultra S&P500 | $8.4B | 3,073,733 | ✓ |
| SPUU | +2x | BULL | Direxion | Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 2X ETF | $284.4M | 12,627 | ✓ |
| URSP | +2x | BULL | ProShares | ProShares Ultra S&P 500 Equal Weight | — | 33,654 | |
| SDS | -2x | BEAR | ProShares | ProShares UltraShort S&P500 | $352.3M | 2,898,674 | ✓ |
| SPXU | -3x | BEAR | ProShares | ProShares UltraPro Short S&P 500 | $429.2M | 7,040,294 | ✓ |
| SPXS | -3x | BEAR | Direxion | Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3x ETF | $369.5M | 13,075,963 | ✓ |
| HIBS | -3x | BEAR | Direxion | Direxion Daily S&P 500 High Beta Bear 3X ETF | $21.2M | 210,699 | ✓ |
How UPRO works
UPRO targets +3x the daily return of S&P 500 — not the return over longer windows. It rebalances every day, so over weeks and months its result drifts away from +3x × the index, usually downward when the market chops around.
The maths: the drag is roughly −½ × N × (N−1) × σ² per period (N = leverage, σ = the index's volatility). For a +3x fund on an index with 25% annual volatility that is several percent a year before fees — the red line above is that drag measured.
Short-term trades (a day or a few) are what these funds are built for. Premium sellers like their rich option IV — see the quote page. Multi-day directional bets work in strong trends and get eaten in chop.
Not investment advice.