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DFEN

GradeBNew York Stock Exchange Arca

Direxion Daily Aerospace & Defense Bull 3X Shares

Leveraged · Leveraged & Inverse · Direxion · Inception 2017-05-03 · SEC filings

This fund multiplies its index's move each day and resets that multiple daily. Because daily returns compound, its long-run return can differ from the headline multiple.

$52.90+0.58 (+1.12%)

As of Sep 23, 2026, 2:20 PM EDT

Intraday session: up, 59 prints from 52.31 to 52.90. Range 52.18 to 54.30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$52.00$54.0010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.96%
Fund size
$303M
1Y return
−10.6%
Yield · Last 12 months
10.82%
Holdings
43
Volume · 30D
0.2M sh
NAV per share
$52.18
52W range
low $50.30high $97.75

The ETF.net DFEN Grade

B

62/ 100

Rank 9 of 31 in 3x Leveraged Long⁠

Confidence Medium

Six-pillar profile for DFEN. Scores out of 100: Cost 73, Risk 51, Mission not scored, Tradability 59, Holdings not scored, Durability 44. Strongest: Cost (73). Weakest: Durability (44). Based on 4 of 6 pillars.
F< 25
D≥ 25
C≥ 40
B≥ 55
A≥ 70

Score 62 of 100 sits in the B band. Bands: A ≥ 70, B ≥ 55, C ≥ 40, D ≥ 25, F < 25; the scale skips E.

  • Cost

    What you pay to own it — the expense ratio plus trading frictions, ranked within its category.
    AScore 73
    Category rank6/31 · top 19%

  • Mission

    How faithfully it does the job it claims — tracking its mandate or index with minimal slippage.
    Not scored
    —

  • Risk

    How violently it can move — volatility, drawdown depth, and downside capture versus its category.
    CScore 51
    Category rank17/30 · mid-pack

  • Tradability

    How cheaply and easily you can get in and out — liquidity, spread, and premium/discount stability.
    BScore 59
    Category rank14/31 · top 45%

  • Holdings

    What it actually owns — the quality, breadth, and concentration of the underlying portfolio.
    Not scored
    —

  • Durability

    Whether it will still be here — the fund’s assets, age, flows, and issuer staying power.
    CScore 44
    Category rank19/31 · mid-pack

Graded as of Sep 22, 2026 · Based on 4 of 6 pillars

Our read on DFEN

ETF.net Research

BMost 3x bull funds ride broad benchmarks: the Dow, the Nasdaq, big banks. DFEN aims the same 300%-of-one-day machinery at a single industry, US aerospace and defense contractors. A day-trader's tool, reset every close.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, equal to 300% of the performance of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index. The target applies for a single day, not as a promise of three times the index's cumulative return over longer periods.

Why people hold it

  1. 01Industry-level leverage. Where cohort leaders like UDOW, QLD and FAS track broad markets or financials, DFEN targets one slice: the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense Index.direxion.com
  2. 020.96% expense ratio, under the median for leveraged bull funds. Not cheap in absolute terms, but priced below the middle of a pricey category.
  3. 03The contract is spelled out: 300% of one day's index move, before fees, across roughly 40 defense and aerospace names. No discretion, no stock picking.direxion.com
  4. 04Live since 2017, and one of the stronger builds in a crowded leveraged-bull field on cost and trading friction.

Worth knowing

  1. 01The 3x target applies to a single day and resets at the close. Hold longer and choppy markets can pull results away from three times the index's move.
  2. 02Concentration on top of leverage: about 40 stocks in one industry, tripled daily. Defense headlines and budget news land hard here.
  3. 03Moderately traded rather than a headline-volume name, so spreads deserve a look before you place an order.

DFEN Holdings

As of Sep 22, 2026, 10:02 PM
Asset class
Stocks
Holdings
43
Top-10 weight
88%
Largest holding
DJSASD SWAP ASSET LEG (DJSASDCTL)30.5%

Sectors

  • Industrials98.3%
  • Materials1.7%

Geography

  • United States99.93%
  • Puerto Rico0.07%
The fund’s holdings, weight-ordered — page 1 of 4.
#TickerCompanyWeight %SharesMarket valueIn ETFs
001—DJSASD SWAP ASSET LEG (DJSASDCTL)30.53%5,814$318M1
002—DJSASD SWAP ASSET LEG (DJSASDNML)17.85%3,400$186M1
003—DJSASD SWAP ASSET LEG (DJSASDJPL)10.69%2,035$111M1
004—DJSASD SWAP ASSET LEG (DJSASDGSL)7.19%1,370$75M1
005—DREYFUS GOVT CASH MAN INS5.46%56,787,389$57M108
006GEGENERAL ELECTRIC4.29%139,984$45M404
007—GOLDMAN FINL SQ TRSRY INST 5063.74%38,930,733$39M100
008RTXRTX CORP3.40%181,834$35M390
009—DJSASD SWAP ASSET LEG (DJSASDBPL)2.85%542$30M1
010BABOEING CO/THE1.62%83,940$17M305
011NOCNORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP0.97%19,164$10M345
012LMTLOCKHEED MARTIN CORP0.97%18,839$10M406
013GDGENERAL DYNAMICS CORP0.95%28,015$10M367
014TDGTRANSDIGM GROUP INC0.94%8,777$10M280
015HWMHOWMET AEROSPACE INC0.93%42,473$10M363

Showing 1–15 of 60 holdings

DFEN Performance

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

DFEN$8,944
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,723
Sep 22, 2025 to Sep 22, 2026. DFEN $8,944. SPY $11,723. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$8,251$12,322$16,394Sep 2025Mar 2026Sep 2026

Sep 22, 2025 – Sep 22, 2026

Returns run to the Sep 22, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for DFEN. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodDFEN
Year to date−18.0%
1 month−27.5%
3 months−28.8%
1 year−10.6%
3 years+63.7%per year
5 years+27.8%per year
10 yearsFund is under 10 years old—per year

As of the close, with distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for DFEN
YearReturn barDFEN
2026 YTD−18.0%
2025+155.9%
2024+27.6%
2023+24.7%
2022+7.0%
2021+12.8%
2020−70.3%

DFEN in the news

ETF.net Research hasn’t filed on DFEN yet — coverage lands here as it’s written.

DFEN Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Sep 22, 2026.
10.82%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$5.66Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.02 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Quarterly

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 31 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Dec 13, 2017 $0.63; Jun 19, 2018 $0.10; Sep 25, 2018 $0.14; Dec 27, 2018 $0.08; Mar 19, 2019 $0.07; Jun 25, 2019 $0.05; Sep 24, 2019 $0.15; Dec 23, 2019 $0.02; Mar 24, 2020 $0.08; Jun 23, 2020 $0.00021; Sep 22, 2020 $0.00038; Mar 23, 2021 $0.01; Dec 9, 2021 $0.34; Dec 21, 2021 $0.0017; Sep 20, 2022 $0.04; Dec 20, 2022 $0.05; Mar 21, 2023 $0.05; Jun 21, 2023 $0.07; Sep 19, 2023 $0.06; Dec 21, 2023 $0.10; Mar 19, 2024 $0.07; Jun 25, 2024 $0.10; Sep 24, 2024 $0.04; Dec 12, 2024 $3.57; Dec 23, 2024 $0.09; Mar 25, 2025 $0.02; Jun 24, 2025 $0.06; Sep 23, 2025 $0.05; Dec 10, 2025 $5.55; Mar 24, 2026 $0.04; Jun 23, 2026 $0.02. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Jun 23, 2026Jun 30, 2026$0.02
Mar 24, 2026Mar 31, 2026$0.04
Dec 10, 2025Dec 17, 2025$5.55
Sep 23, 2025Sep 30, 2025$0.05
Jun 24, 2025Jul 1, 2025$0.06
Mar 25, 2025Apr 1, 2025$0.02
Dec 23, 2024Dec 31, 2024$0.09
Dec 12, 2024Dec 19, 2024$3.57
Sep 24, 2024Oct 1, 2024$0.04
Jun 25, 2024Jul 2, 2024$0.10
Mar 19, 2024Mar 26, 2024$0.07
Dec 21, 2023Dec 29, 2023$0.10

DFEN Risk

This fund targets a multiple of the daily move of its index and resets daily. Hold it longer than one reset and compounding makes the return diverge from that target. In choppy markets it can lose value even when the index ends flat.

How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
56.2%
Annualised · 36 months to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
1.03
vs 3-month T-bills · to Aug 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−52.0%
Trough Sep 2022
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
2.68
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

DFEN Cost

Expense ratio0.96%
  • The middle half of 3x Leveraged Long funds
  • Median 0.98%

6 of the 30 3x Leveraged Long funds charge less.

DFEN costs $96.00 a year on $10,000. The median 3x Leveraged Long fund costs $98.50.