QLD vs USLV

QLDAProShares Ultra QQQ

USLVDDirexion Daily Silver Bull 2X ETF

In short

QLD The 2x dial on the Nasdaq-100. QLD aims for twice the index's daily move, half the dose of the 3x crowd, and it has been running that playbook since 2006. The multiple resets every session.

USLV Silver leverage without the futures plumbing: USLV targets 200% of silver's daily move by referencing SLV, the physically backed silver trust, in a 1940 Act fund that trades like any stock and skips the K-1.

Stated mandate

QLD The fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, equal to twice the daily performance of the Nasdaq-100 Index.

USLV The fund seeks daily investment results equal to 200% of Silver's price performance before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• QLD Costs 0.89% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027 (0.96% gross), below the leveraged-bull category median and under Ultra stablemates ROM (0.93%) and DDM (0.95%).
• Hits its stated daily 2x mark with very little drift, one of the tighter implementations among the roughly 100 leveraged bull funds in its group.
• A multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund, so entering and exiting rarely means hunting for the other side of the trade.
• Trading since June 2006, which makes it one of the longest-running leveraged equity funds on the US shelf rather than a recent product-shelf experiment.

• USLV Direxion calls it an industry first: 2X daily leverage aimed at spot silver, referencing the physically backed iShares Silver Trust instead of a futures roll schedule.direxion.com
• A registered 1940 Act fund, so it trades in an ordinary brokerage account and, per Direxion's materials, avoids K-1 paperwork.direxion.com
• The mandate is plain: 200% of silver's price performance, measured day by day, before fees and expenses.

Worth knowing

• QLD The 2x objective covers one day only. Hold longer and daily resets plus compounding can push results away from twice the index's move over that stretch, in either direction.proshares.com
• Magnification runs both ways: a down day in the Nasdaq-100 lands on shareholders at roughly double size, same as an up day.
• Cheap for geared exposure, still well above a plain unleveraged Nasdaq-100 tracker. The waiver is set to lapse September 30, 2027, after which the 0.96% gross rate applies unless renewed.

• USLV The 2X target is a one-day target. Held through a choppy silver tape, compounding can leave results far from twice the period's move.sec.gov
• 1.10% net of a waiver through September 1, 2027 (1.12% gross), above the category median; index-based peers like QLD (0.89% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027) cost less.
• Launched May 2026, so the track record is short, and with a small asset base it is moderately traded rather than a volume giant.

Full QLD profile⁠

Full USLV profile⁠