FAS vs TQQQ

FASADirexion Daily Financial Bull 3X ETF

TQQQAProShares UltraPro QQQ

In short

FAS Born in November 2008 with the banking system on fire, FAS aims to deliver three times the daily move of the Financial Select Sector Index. A one-day tool on roughly 80 financial stocks, built around a single-day objective.

TQQQ The original 3x Nasdaq-100 trade, live since 2010. Leverage resets every day, chasing three times the index's one-day move, and it is one of the most heavily traded names in its corner of the market.

Stated mandate

FAS The fund seeks a daily return equal to three times the performance of the Financial Select Sector Index, before fees and expenses. It is designed for a single-day objective rather than a multiple of the index’s cumulative return over longer periods.

TQQQ The fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, equal to three times the daily performance of the Nasdaq-100 Index.

Why people hold it

• FAS Launched in November 2008, into the crisis itself, and still one of the strongest implementations in its 3x peer group.
• Costs 0.88% net of a waiver through September 1, 2027 (0.92% gross), below the median for 3x leveraged funds.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades steadily, so the leverage arrives in a reasonably liquid wrapper.
• Straightforward plumbing: 3x the daily move of one named large-cap financials index, about 80 stocks, no stock-picking overlay.

• TQQQ Costs 0.78% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027 (0.94% gross), below the median fee for 3x bull funds and below stablemate UDOW at 0.94% with no waiver.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund and one of the busiest tickers in the leveraged space, which matters when a daily-reset position needs to be entered or exited quickly.
• Delivers its stated 3x daily target with close day-to-day fidelity, one of the stronger implementations among 3x bull funds.proshares.com
• Straightforward plumbing: it rebalances exposure to the Nasdaq-100 each day, raising it as the index rises and cutting it as the index falls.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• FAS The 3x goal resets every day. Hold longer and compounding can push results away from three times the index's move over that stretch, especially in choppy markets.
• Leverage runs both directions: down days are magnified just as sharply, and this is one sector in one direction with no diversification cushion.
• Not the cheapest 3x on the shelf: SOXL runs 0.75% and TQQQ 0.78%, each net of waivers through September 1, 2027 and September 30, 2027.

• TQQQ The prospectus is blunt: this seeks results for a single day only. Hold longer and compounding takes over, so multi-day results can land far from 3x the index move, especially in choppy tape.sec.gov
• Triple exposure cuts both ways. A rough day for the Nasdaq-100 hits roughly three times as hard here, which is why this scores as one of the riskier structures on our books.
• The fee break is contractual, not permanent. Should the waiver lapse after September 30, 2027, the cost reverts toward the 0.94% gross rate.

Full FAS profile⁠

Full TQQQ profile⁠