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PILL vs SOXL

Direxion Daily Pharmaceutical & Medical Bull 3X ETF

PILLDNYSE Arca

Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF

SOXLANYSE Arca

Overlap

Expense ratio

SOXL −0.23pt a year

PILL0.98%SOXL0.75%

Avg volume · 30D

SOXL 1150.6×the volume

PILL61.4KSOXL70.7M

5Y return · a year

SOXL +13.3pt

PILL−2.5%SOXL+10.8%

PILL vs SOXL Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

−11.9%PILL+66.7%SOXL

Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026. PILL −11.9%. SOXL +66.7%. Use the arrow keys to read each point.−100%200%300%400%500%Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 2026
Expense ratio
PILL 0.98%
SOXL 0.75%, better
Fund size
PILL $16M
SOXL $24.3B
1Y total return
PILL +71.9%, better
SOXL +61.4%
Yield (12M)
PILL 0.39%, better
SOXL 0.12%
Holdings
PILL 68
SOXL 43
Avg volume (30D)
PILL 61.4K sh
SOXL 70.7M sh, better
NAV per share
PILL $15.61
SOXL $102.45
52W range

ETF.net Grade

PILL: Cost 38, Risk 53, Mission not scored, Tradability 25, Holdings not scored, Durability 22. SOXL: Cost 100, Risk 32, Mission not scored, Tradability 79, Holdings not scored, Durability 69.
Pillar letters and Scores for PILL, SOXL, with each pillar’s weight
PillarPILLSOXL
Cost30% weightD38A100Higher
Mission25% weightNot scoredNot scored
Risk15% weightC53HigherD32
Tradability15% weightD25A79Higher
Holdings10% weightNot scoredNot scored
Durability5% weightF22B69Higher

Rank among 3x Leveraged Long funds

How we build Categories ›
Same Category. Both funds are graded against the same funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Same Category. PILL and SOXL are both graded against the same 30 3x Leveraged Long funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

3x Leveraged Long⁠

Category · 30 funds
See all 30 ›

SOXL ranks 4th and PILL 21st of 30 funds in the 3x Leveraged Long Category.

  1. Rank 1ATQQQProShares UltraPro QQQScore 86
  2. Rank 2AUDOWProShares UltraPro Dow30Score 81
  3. Rank 3AFASDirexion Daily Financial Bull 3X ETFScore 80
  4. Rank 4ASOXLDirexion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETFScore 76
  5. Rank 5ATMFDirexion Daily 20+ Year Treasury Bull 3X ETFScore 74
  6. Rank 20CTNADirexion Daily Small Cap Bull 3X ETFScore 41
  7. Rank 21DPILLDirexion Daily Pharmaceutical & Medical Bull 3X ETFScore 37
  8. Rank 22DEURLDirexion Daily FTSE Europe Bull 3X ETFScore 35

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

PILLDDirexion Daily Pharmaceutical & Medical Bull 3X ETF

SOXLADirexion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF

In short

PILL Three times the daily move of an equal-weight pharma index: not only Big Pharma, but the whole drug-development bench. 0.98% net of a waiver through September 1, 2027, and the daily reset makes it a trading tool.

SOXL A 3x bet on chip stocks that resets every single day. Direxion launched it in 2010, long before AI made semiconductors the market's main event, and it is now one of the most heavily traded leveraged funds out there.

Stated mandate

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

SOXL It is designed to deliver a daily result three times the performance of the NYSE Semiconductor Index, before fees and expenses, with the objective applying for a single day.

Why people hold it

  • PILL Rare pure-play leverage on drugmakers: 300% of the daily move of the S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index, while most 3x funds point at chips, banks or broad indexes.direxion.com
  • The index is modified equal weight, rebalanced quarterly, so a giant drugmaker and a small clinical-stage developer can sit at similar weights across about 50 holdings.spindices.comdirexion.com
  • Fee sits near the median for 3x funds: 0.98% net of a waiver through September 1, 2027, against a 1.22% gross ratio.
  • Trading since 2017, so there is a long public record of how the daily-reset math behaves through pharma booms and drawdowns.
  • SOXL Cheap for the aisle it sits in: 0.75% net of a waiver through September 1, 2027 (0.91% gross), below the category median and under TQQQ's 0.78% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027.
  • The mandate is mechanical: 300% of the NYSE Semiconductor Index's daily move, before fees and expenses, across roughly 40 chip names. No stock picking, no manager discretion.direxion.com
  • A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades very actively, which matters for an instrument designed to be entered and exited inside a single session.
  • Trading since 2010, through several full chip cycles. That is a long run for a 3x product, and one of the stronger setups in its leveraged peer group.

Worth knowing

  • PILL Direxion's fact sheet is blunt: do not expect 3x the index over periods longer than a day. Choppy stretches can grind results down even if the index ends flat.direxion.com
  • Smaller and more thinly traded than category heavyweights like TQQQ and SOXL, so the spread is worth a look before you place an order.
  • Pricier than Direxion's 3x semiconductor sibling SOXL at 0.75% net of a waiver through September 1, 2027, and that fee applies to a position built for days, not years.direxion.com
  • SOXL The 3x target applies to one day only. Daily reset plus compounding means multi-day results can diverge sharply from 3x the index, and choppy markets erode value.direxion.com
  • Semiconductors already swing hard. Tripling the daily move magnifies down days exactly as much as up days, so losses can pile up fast.
  • Roughly 40 stocks in a single US industry. No diversification cushion here, and the index itself has been renamed once (to the NYSE Semiconductor Index in 2023).sec.gov

Full PILL profile⁠

Full SOXL profile⁠

PILL vs SOXL Holdings

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

PILL vs SOXL Cost

Overpaying PILL vs SOXL

$3,880

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • PILL 0.98%

    $18,362

  • SOXL 0.75%

    $14,482

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • PILL 0.98%
  • SOXL 0.75%
  • Overpaying
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$5K$10K$15K$20K051015202530PILL $18,362SOXL $14,482

Year by year

YearPILLSOXLOverpaying
10$1,729$1,336$393
20$6,504$5,078$1,426
30$18,362$14,482$3,880

Expense ratio

  • 0.98%PILL
  • 0.75%SOXL, cheaper
  • Middle half of 3x Leveraged Long funds
  • Median 0.96%

SOXL cheapest of 30 funds

PILL 18th cheapest of 30 funds

PILL vs SOXL Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026
Yield (12M)
PILL 0.39%, better
SOXL 0.12%
Payout (12M)
PILL $0.06
SOXL $0.09
Last payment
PILL $0.00094
SOXL $0.09
Ex-dividend
PILL Sep 22, 2026
SOXL Sep 22, 2026
Paid on
PILL Sep 29, 2026
SOXL Sep 29, 2026
Frequency
PILL Quarterly
SOXL Annual

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

PILLQuarterly · 28 paymentsAll PILL payments⁠
One bar per payment. 28 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Dec 19, 2017 $0.01; Jun 19, 2018 $0.05; Sep 25, 2018 $0.04; Dec 27, 2018 $0.10; Mar 19, 2019 $0.06; Jun 25, 2019 $0.02; Sep 24, 2019 $0.02; Dec 23, 2019 $0.00033; Dec 21, 2021 $0.00007; Mar 22, 2022 $0.0082; Jun 22, 2022 $0.0036; Sep 20, 2022 $0.02; Dec 20, 2022 $0.03; Mar 21, 2023 $0.02; Jun 21, 2023 $0.05; Sep 19, 2023 $0.04; Dec 21, 2023 $0.04; Mar 19, 2024 $0.03; Jun 25, 2024 $0.02; Sep 24, 2024 $0.03; Dec 23, 2024 $0.01; Mar 25, 2025 $0.02; Jun 24, 2025 $0.02; Sep 23, 2025 $0.0099; Dec 23, 2025 $0.03; Mar 24, 2026 $0.01; Jun 23, 2026 $0.02; Sep 22, 2026 $0.00094. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.102017202020232026YTD
SOXLAnnual · 29 paymentsAll SOXL payments⁠
One bar per payment. 29 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Dec 19, 2017 $0.0081; Jun 19, 2018 $0.02; Sep 25, 2018 $0.03; Dec 27, 2018 $0.02; Mar 19, 2019 $0.02; Jun 25, 2019 $0.01; Sep 24, 2019 $0.02; Dec 23, 2019 $0.02; Mar 24, 2020 $0.0053; Jun 23, 2020 $0.0063; Dec 22, 2020 $0.0034; Mar 23, 2021 $0.02; Dec 21, 2021 $0.01; Mar 22, 2022 $0.0072; Jun 22, 2022 $0.02; Sep 20, 2022 $0.04; Dec 20, 2022 $0.04; Mar 21, 2023 $0.03; Jun 21, 2023 $0.04; Sep 19, 2023 $0.03; Dec 21, 2023 $0.06; Mar 19, 2024 $0.04; Jun 25, 2024 $0.15; Sep 24, 2024 $0.06; Dec 23, 2024 $0.08; Mar 25, 2025 $0.06; Jun 24, 2025 $0.07; Sep 23, 2025 $0.01; Sep 22, 2026 $0.09. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$0.102017202020232026YTD

PILL vs SOXL Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

  • PILL
  • SOXL
Oct 29, 2021 to Oct 30, 2026. Worst fall: SOXL −90.5% · Oct 2022. Use the arrow keys to read each point.−100%−75%−50%−25%0%Oct 2021Apr 2024Oct 2026

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years
PILL 61.4%, betterSOXL 137.2%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years
PILL 0.82SOXL 0.90, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years
PILL −82.0%, betterSOXL −90.5%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years
PILL 1.80SOXL 7.64

Popular comparisons

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