JDST vs PSQ

JDSTCDirexion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 2X ETF

PSQBProShares Short QQQ

In short

JDST The gold trade's wildest corner, played from the short side. JDST targets 200% of the inverse of the junior gold miners index each day, then resets at the bell. A tactical instrument, priced below the leveraged-bear norm.

PSQ The plain short on the Nasdaq-100: PSQ aims for -1x the index's daily move, with no leverage multiplier bolted on. It has been running since 2006, making it one of the original one-for-one bear tools.

Stated mandate

JDST JDST seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, equal to 200% of the inverse performance of the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index.

PSQ The fund is designed to provide -1x exposure to the Nasdaq-100 Index's daily price movement, seeking to benefit when that index declines.

Why people hold it

• JDST Charges 0.92% a year, below the going rate in the leveraged bear aisle, where fees usually sting.
• One job, stated plainly: 200% of the inverse of the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index, daily, before fees. No manager discretion, no drift into other bets.direxion.com
• Actively traded, which is what counts for a vehicle built to be held in short stretches and watched every day.
• Running since 2013, through full boom and bust cycles in gold, and one of the stronger builds in its leveraged bear peer group.

• PSQ ProShares bills it as the only -1x ETF built to profit when the Nasdaq-100's daily price falls. Sibling QID doubles the dose at -2x; PSQ stays one-for-one.proshares.com
• 0.95% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027 (0.96% gross), near the category median and the same net fee as -2x QID, also waived through September 30, 2027.
• Among the most actively traded funds in the bear category, and one of the closest to its stated daily target in a peer group of 50-plus funds.

Worth knowing

• JDST The -2x target applies to a single day. Hold longer and compounding takes the wheel: results can diverge sharply from twice the index's inverse move, especially in choppy markets.direxion.com
• Junior miners are the twitchiest slice of gold equities. Double the exposure and flip the sign, and daily moves get large in both directions.
• The asset base is small, something to weigh when sizing a position. Distributions, when paid, come on a quarterly schedule.

• PSQ The -1x goal resets daily. Over weeks or months, compounding means results can differ from -1x the index's move across that stretch, especially in choppy markets.sec.gov
• Cheap for this corner of the market, pricey next to a broad index fund. The fee accrues every day you hold it, hedge or trade.
• It cuts one way: when the Nasdaq-100 rises on the day, PSQ is designed to fall roughly in step.

Full JDST profile⁠

Full PSQ profile⁠