Topic
ETFs
Gold funds, inverse and leveraged funds, and the mechanics that decide whether a fund does what its name says over the period you hold it.
An ETF name tells you the target; the prospectus tells you the method. A gold fund might hold bars in a vault or shares in mining companies. An inverse fund aims for the opposite of one day's index return, which is a different thing from the opposite of a month's. The lists set the main funds side by side, and the strategies explain what each design means for a trade.
The leveraged ETF decay calculator shows how a daily-reset fund drifts from its multiple over a run of up and down days.
Strategies
Comparison
Gold ETFs or Gold Miners: Which One Holds What You WantBuy bullion ETFs to hold gold itself; buy miner ETFs only if you want a leveraged bet on gold that also rides on how the companies are run.
Verdict
Inverse ETFs Reset Daily: Why Holding One for Weeks DriftsTreat inverse ETFs as tools for days: close or rebalance them on a schedule, and size them for the loss one bad day can bring.
Verdict
Swing Trade ETFs Before Single Stocks: The Case for Starting ThereLearn to swing trade on liquid index and sector ETFs, and move to single stocks only once your process has been tested.
Guides
- GLD Leveraged ETF: 2x Gold, Gold Miners and Bullion Funds
- Inverse ETFs by Index: The -1x, -2x and -3x Funds Side by Side
- ETFs for Short Swings: Ways to Trade a Few Days of Downside
- 2x Gold ETF: UGL vs UGLD, Futures or Spot, and Sizing
- ProShares Short Russell2000: Sizing a Small-Cap Hedge
- ProShares UltraShort QQQ: Hedging a Tech-Heavy Portfolio
- Leveraged Gold Stocks: Miner Margins, NUGT and JNUG
- ProShares UltraShort QQQ (QID) vs SQQQ: How Much Leverage?
- ProShares Short Russell2000 (RWM) vs TWM and TZA
- ProShares UltraPro Short Dow30 (SDOW) vs DXD and DOG
- ProShares UltraPro Short Dow30: A Week of -3x Daily Resets
- ProShares UltraShort S&P500 Through a Choppy Month
- ProShares UltraShort S&P500 or S&P 500 Puts: Which Fits?
- Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear: Risk Checks Before You Buy
- Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear vs SRTY: Picking a -3x Fund
- Equal Weight vs Market Cap ETF: Same Stocks, Different Bets
- ProShares UltraShort QQQ: QID in an IRA Without Margin
- ProShares Short Russell2000: RWM Holdings and Taxes
- ProShares UltraPro Short Dow30 (SDOW) Exit Rules
- ProShares UltraShort S&P500: SDS vs Shorting SPY
- Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear: Inside a TZA Reverse Split
Definitions
- ETF premium and discount
The difference between an ETF's market price and its net asset value per share, shown as a percentage: a premium when the price is higher, a discount when it is lower.
- Tracking error
The variability of the gap between a fund's return and its index's return over time, usually measured as the standard deviation of that gap.
- Volatility decay
The drag on a daily-reset leveraged or inverse fund when its index moves up and down, because each day's percentage move is applied to a new base.
Calculators
- Leveraged ETF Decay Calculator
How a daily-reset 2x, 3x or inverse fund drifts from its multiple of the index over a run of days.