LABD vs SQQQ

LABDFDirexion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X ETF

SQQQAProShares UltraPro Short QQQ

In short

LABD Biotech headlines cut both ways, and LABD takes the short side at triple speed: it aims for 300% of the inverse daily move in the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index, reset every close.

SQQQ The workhorse of the short-Nasdaq trade. Running since 2010, it aims at three times the inverse of the Nasdaq-100's daily move, resets every session, and charges 0.94% a year, below the going rate in the 3x bear category.

Stated mandate

LABD The fund seeks daily investment results equal to 300% of the inverse performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index, before fees and expenses.

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

Why people hold it

• LABD One ticker, no margin account and no borrowing shares, for a bearish biotech view: the fund targets 300% of the index's inverse daily return, before fees and expenses.direxion.com
• The underlying S&P Select Industry index is equal or capped market-cap weighted, so clinical-stage small caps carry weight alongside big names and sector news hits harder.spglobal.com
• 1.07% a year (1.08% gross, net of a waiver through September 1, 2027) sits near the typical 3x bear fee, above SQQQ at 0.94% and SOXS at 1.00%.
• Listed in 2015 and traded actively since, through several biotech boom-and-bust stretches, so there is a long intraday record to study.

• SQQQ 0.94% a year with no waiver propping it up, and below what 3x bear peers charge: SDOW and SRTY each sit at 0.95% net of waivers through September 30, 2027.
• One of the most actively traded funds in its category, with a billion-dollar-plus asset base behind it. Depth is the reason traders reach for this one.
• ProShares has run this single-day mandate since February 2010, and it tracks its stated -3x daily target about as closely as anything in its peer group.proshares.com
• The mandate is blunt and public: three times the inverse of the Nasdaq-100's daily performance, before fees, measured NAV to NAV. No discretion, no stock picking.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• LABD Daily reset: the stated objective covers one day only, and over longer holds compounding can push results well away from -3x the index move, especially in choppy tape.direxion.com
• Triple inverse on one of the market's twitchiest sectors means losses stack up fast on biotech rallies; the structure assumes active, hands-on monitoring.direxion.com
• Across our 3x bear review group it lands in the lower tier, mostly on cost and the volatility baked into its underlying sector.

• SQQQ Returns compound daily. Over any period longer than a single day, results will very likely differ from -3x the index, and the fund can lose money when the index is flat.sec.gov
• It holds swaps and futures on the index, not shorted stocks, so counterparty exposure and financing costs ride along with the price.sec.gov
• At 0.94%, the fee is heavy freight for a vehicle built around single-day results. Distributions, when declared, come quarterly.

Full LABD profile⁠

Full SQQQ profile⁠