LABD vs TZA

LABDFDirexion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X ETF

TZABDirexion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X ETF

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.

TZA Born in the wreckage of 2008, TZA aims to move three times the inverse of the Russell 2000's daily swing. A heavily traded way to press a bearish small-cap view, with a daily reset that makes it a tool for days, not quarters.

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.

TZA The Fund seeks daily inverse leveraged investment results equal to negative three times the daily performance of the Russell 2000 Index. Its leverage makes it potentially riskier than nonleveraged alternatives.

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.

• TZA Fee of 0.99% comes in under the typical leveraged bear fund, and under every other Russell 2000 short ETF on the shelf (RWM, TWM, SRTY).
• Very actively traded, which usually means tight spreads and easy exits when a short-term view changes fast.
• Running since 2008, a long life for a leveraged fund, and it has stayed close to its stated daily target.
• Sits in the upper half of a crowded leveraged bear peer group on our overall read.

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.

• TZA The -3x target resets every day. Hold longer and compounding pulls results away from three times the index move over that stretch, up or down.
• Triple leverage cuts both ways: a 1% up day in the Russell 2000 is roughly a 3% down day here, before costs.
• Direxion's own filing flags the fund as potentially riskier than nonleveraged alternatives and built for daily monitoring.

Full LABD profile⁠

Full TZA profile⁠