PSQ vs SARK

PSQBProShares Short QQQ

SARKCTradr 1X Short Innovation Daily ETF

In short

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.

SARK The original anti-ARKK trade. Launched in 2021 as the first US ETF built to short another ETF, SARK uses swaps to aim for the inverse of the ARK Innovation ETF's move over a single day, then resets overnight. A trading tool, not a hold.

Stated mandate

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.

SARK The Fund seeks daily inverse exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF for one trading day, using swaps and daily repositioning. It is intended for sophisticated, actively managed trading or hedging strategies.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• SARK First of its kind: at launch it was the first US ETF offering short exposure to another ETF, and it still delivers that exposure through swaps rather than a margin account and borrowed shares.sec.govwikipedia.org
• One job, done tightly: daily inverse exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF, and it has stayed close to that one-day target. That lands it in the upper half of a crowded inverse field.
• Costs 0.99% a year, with no waiver propping the number up, which sits near the category median for inverse funds. Index shorts like PSQ and DOG aim at benchmarks; this one aims at a stock picker.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• SARK The clock resets every session. Hold past a day and the path of ARK Innovation's moves, not just its direction, shapes your result.tradretfs.com
• Exposure comes from swap contracts with financial institutions, so counterparty risk rides alongside market risk.sec.govtradretfs.com
• The target moves. You are positioned against an actively managed portfolio whose holdings ARK can reshuffle, so what you are short today may not be what you are short next quarter.wikipedia.org

Full PSQ profile⁠

Full SARK profile⁠