DFEN vs UDOW

DFENCDirexion Daily Aerospace & Defense Bull 3X Shares

UDOWAProShares UltraPro Dow30

In short

DFEN Most 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.

UDOW The only 3x daily play on the Dow: 30 blue-chip names, price-weighted, reset every session. It is the industrial cousin of the semis-and-Nasdaq crowd that fills the leveraged aisle, and it has run since 2010.

Stated mandate

DFEN 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.

UDOW The Fund seeks daily results equal to three times the daily performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average before fees and expenses. It uses equity securities, derivatives, and money-market instruments to pursue that daily leveraged exposure.

Why people hold it

• DFEN Industry-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
• 0.96% expense ratio, under the median for leveraged bull funds. Not cheap in absolute terms, but priced below the middle of a pricey category.
• The 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
• Live since 2017, and one of the stronger builds in a crowded leveraged-bull field on cost and trading friction.

• UDOW ProShares calls UDOW the only ETF targeting 3x the daily move of the Dow. In a 3x aisle crowded with semiconductor and Nasdaq bets, the blue-chip index has exactly one lever.proshares.com
• The Dow is a price-weighted measure of 30 US blue chips, so the exposure leans industrials, financials and health care instead of megacap tech.spglobal.com
• Trading since 2010, it has run through several full market cycles and stays actively traded, which matters when the holding period is hours rather than years.
• Among the stronger implementations in its 3x bull peer group, it stays close to its stated daily target and trades with the depth short-horizon traders look for.

Worth knowing

• DFEN The 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.
• Concentration on top of leverage: about 40 stocks in one industry, tripled daily. Defense headlines and budget news land hard here.
• Moderately traded rather than a headline-volume name, so spreads deserve a look before you place an order.

• UDOW The 3x target resets every day. Over longer stretches, compounding and volatility can push results away from 3x the index move, as the prospectus spells out.proshares.com
• At 0.94% with no waiver propping it up, cost sits near the typical 3x bull fund; TQQQ charges 0.78% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027.
• Exposure is built with derivatives and cash instruments alongside stocks, so counterparty and derivative risk ride along with the market call.proshares.com

Full DFEN profile⁠

Full UDOW profile⁠