DUST vs RWM

DUSTCDirexion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 2X ETF

RWMBProShares Short Russell2000

In short

DUST The gold-miner short, in one ticker. Running since 2010, DUST aims for 200% of the inverse of the daily move in global gold miners, then resets at the bell. Direxion dialed the target back from 3x to 2x in 2020.

RWM Short small caps at one speed: RWM targets the inverse of the Russell 2000's daily move, with no 2x or 3x multiplier on top. Trading since 2007, at 0.95% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027.

Stated mandate

DUST The fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, equal to 200% of the inverse performance of the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index. The issuer states that achieving this objective is not guaranteed.

RWM The fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse of the Russell 2000 Index's daily performance.

Why people hold it

• DUST A bearish miner view without borrowing shares: one ticker aims for 200% of the inverse of the MarketVector Global Gold Miners Index each trading day.direxion.com
• Listed since 2010 and actively traded, which is what a one-session trading tool needs most: a market you can get into and out of.
• At 0.94%, the fee lands near the category median for geared funds, and a shade under the 0.95% net that PSQ charges (net of a waiver through September 30, 2027).
• Direxion reset the target from 3x to 2x in 2020, so each day's miner move is magnified less than it was in the fund's first decade.sec.govsec.gov 2

• RWM Straight -1x, not a multiplier: it tracks the inverse of the Russell 2000's daily move, where stablemate TWM targets -2x on the same index.proshares.com
• ProShares calls it the only -1x ETF tied to the Russell 2000, the index of the 2,000 smallest US names in the Russell 3000.proshares.comproshares.com 2
• Trading since January 2007 and one of the busier funds in the inverse-equity aisle, so entering and exiting is rarely the hard part.
• Fee is 0.95% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027 (1.05% gross), near what this category charges, and it rates among the strongest builds in its peer group.

Worth knowing

• DUST Built for a day. Hold longer and your result is each day's compounded return, which the prospectus says will very likely differ from -200% of the index over that span.sec.gov
• Mining stocks move hard on their own. Doubling and flipping that daily move puts DUST at the high-risk end of its category, and Direxion notes the fund may not achieve its objective.direxion.com
• Distributions land quarterly, but income is not the mechanism here; the stated job is the inverse daily move, not a yield stream.

• RWM The -1x target resets daily. Hold longer and compounding rules: ProShares says multi-day returns can differ significantly from the target, in amount and even direction.proshares.comproshares.com 2
• Symmetric by design: on days the Russell 2000 climbs, the fund is built to lose roughly as much as the index gains.proshares.com
• Fund documents tell investors to monitor holdings as frequently as daily, which puts this at the hands-on end of the shelf.proshares.com

Full DUST profile⁠

Full RWM profile⁠