S&P 500 Bull 2X ETF | SPUU (2024)

FAQs

Can 2X leveraged ETF go to zero? ›

Because they rebalance daily, leveraged ETFs usually never lose all of their value. They can, however, fall toward zero over time. If a leveraged ETF approaches zero, its manager typically liquidates its assets and pays out all remaining holders in cash.

In other words, you could potentially be liable for more than you invested because you bought the position on leverage. But can a leveraged ETF go negative? No. If you own a leveraged ETF you can't lose more than your initial investment amount.

Because of how leveraged ETFs are constructed, they are only intended for very short holding periods, such as intraday. Over time, their value will tend to decay even if the underlying price movements are favorable.

The S&P 500® Leverage (2x) index tracks the two times leveraged performance of S&P 500® on a daily basis. The S&P 500® index tracks large cap US stocks. The ETF's TER (total expense ratio) amounts to 0.60% p.a.. The ETF replicates the performance of the underlying index synthetically with a swap.

BMO has launched the first quadruple leveraged ETN fund that tracks the S&P 500. The fund will trade under the ticker symbol "XXXX" and seeks to generate four time the S&P 500's return on a daily basis. The launch come as bullishness rise among investors and Wall Street predicts more gains to come in 2024.

For most standard, unleveraged ETFs that track an index, the maximum you can theoretically lose is the amount you invested, driving your investment value to zero. However, it's rare for broad-market ETFs to go to zero unless the entire market or sector it tracks collapses entirely.

Leveraged ETFs decay due to the compounding effect of daily returns, also known as "volatility drag." This means that the returns of the ETFs may not match the returns of the underlying asset over longer periods.

Nearly all leveraged ETFs come with a prominent warning in their prospectus: they are not designed for long-term holding. The combination of leverage, market volatility, and an unfavorable sequence of returns can lead to disastrous outcomes.

The daily rebalancing of leveraged and inverse ETFs creates a situation that for periods longer than a day or two the return of a leveraged or inverse ETF will deviate from the margin account benchmark.

The 3X ETFs use “total return swaps” to create the leverage. These swaps are settled each day. If the index (in this case, the Russell 1000 Financial Index) goes up consistently, then there's a good chance that the total return of the ETF will approximate 300% of the return on the index.

Are concerns about leveraged ETFs overblown? ›

By some estimates, returns generate up to 74% less rebalancing by leveraged and inverse ETFs once capital flows are taken into account. As a consequence, the potential for these types of products to exacerbate volatility should be much lower than many claim.

ProShares UltraPro QQQ is the most popular and liquid ETF in the leveraged space, with AUM of $21.9 billion and an average daily volume of 67.3 million shares a day. The fund seeks to deliver three times the return of the daily performance of the NASDAQ-100 Index, charging investors 0.88% in annual fees.

Many leveraged ETFs have a 2x or 3x leverage strategy, which means that returns can respectively double or triple the daily returns of the benchmark index. However, price declines can also be doubled or tripled, which creates an excessive degree of market risk.

Leveraged 2X ETFs are funds that track a wide variety of asset classes, such as stocks, bonds or commodity futures, and apply leverage in order to gain two times the daily or monthly return of the underlying index.

The S&P 500® 2X Inverse Daily Index provides two times the inverse performance of the S&P 500, widely regarded as the best single gauge of the U.S. equities market. This index was designed to assist investors who are seeking a short position on U.S. equities.

If the volatility is high enough and the holding period is long enough, the constant will be small and the return on the leveraged ETF will be smaller than that of its underlying index. It is possible for an investor in a leveraged ETF to earn negative returns even when the underlying index increases in value.

Theoretically, any investment, including QQQ, can experience a decline in value and potentially become worthless. However, it is important to note that QQQ represents a basket of established companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, which makes the likelihood of it going to zero highly improbable.

Leveraged ETFs seek to deliver multiples of the daily performance of the index or benchmark they track. For example, a 2x (two times) leveraged ETF seeks to deliver double the daily performance of the index or benchmark that it tracks.

This shows that the potential for both profit and loss can be magnified with leveraged inverse ETFs. It is also important to note that leverage also means it is possible that a leveraged inverse ETF can go to zero or near zero with a large enough daily move in the price of the underlying asset or index.