PSQ vs SMN

PSQBProShares Short QQQ

SMNCProShares UltraShort Materials

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.

SMN The only -2x ETF pointed at the S&P 500's materials sector: chemicals, miners and packagers, flipped and doubled, reset every single day. A trading tool that has been listed since 2007, not a set-and-forget hedge.

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.

SMN The fund targets daily, pre-expense performance equal to negative two times the S&P Materials Select Sector SM 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.

• SMN ProShares bills it as the only -2x materials ETF, so geared inverse exposure to the S&P 500's chemical, mining and packaging names runs through this one ticker.proshares.com
• 0.95% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027. That sits near the category median and level with ProShares stablemates PSQ and DOG, both 0.95% net under waivers to the same date.
• Listed since January 2007, so the daily-reset machinery has run through nearly two decades of commodity cycles. Long life for a geared inverse fund.

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.

• SMN The -2x target applies to a single day. Hold longer and each day's return compounds, so the result can land well away from -2x the index's move over that stretch.proshares.com
• A small fund and thinly traded, which can make the cost of getting in and out matter more than the expense ratio.
• That 0.95% is a capped figure, not the raw cost: the gross ratio is 6.56%, with the waiver running through September 30, 2027.

Full PSQ profile⁠

Full SMN profile⁠