PSQ vs SJB

PSQBProShares Short QQQ

SJBBProShares Short High Yield

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.

SJB One of the few single-ticker ways to take the other side of the junk bond market: SJB aims for the inverse (-1x) of the daily move in the Markit iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index, for 0.95% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027.

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.

SJB The fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse (-1x) of the daily performance of the Markit iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index.

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.

• SJB Short exposure to high yield credit through one ticker in an ordinary brokerage account: no margin account, no bond borrow, no short-sale plumbing.proshares.com
• 0.95% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027, near the category median and level with ProShares stablemates DOG and PSQ (both 0.95% net of waivers to the same date).
• Trading since 2011, so it is a seasoned tool rather than a recent launch, and it stands among the stronger implementations in its inverse-fund peer group.
• The reference point is the liquid high yield benchmark itself, the Markit iBoxx $ Liquid High Yield Index, not a proxy basket of credit-sensitive stocks.proshares.com

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.

• SJB The -1x objective is a one-day objective. Hold longer and daily compounding pushes results away from -1x of the index move, most of all after choppy credit markets.proshares.com
• The 0.95% rate depends on the waiver. The gross expense ratio is 1.05%, which is what applies if the waiver is not extended past September 30, 2027.
• A smaller, moderately traded fund, so spreads and order size deserve attention in a way they would not on a mega-cap index tracker.

Full PSQ profile⁠

Full SJB profile⁠