RETL vs TQQQ

RETLCDirexion Daily Retail Bull 3X Shares

TQQQAProShares UltraPro QQQ

In short

RETL Retail, tripled. RETL aims for 300% of the S&P Retail Select Industry Index's daily move, spread across roughly 80 retailers instead of one or two giants. Trading since 2010, and the math resets every day.

TQQQ The original 3x Nasdaq-100 trade, live since 2010. Leverage resets every day, chasing three times the index's one-day move, and it is one of the most heavily traded names in its corner of the market.

Stated mandate

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

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

Why people hold it

• RETL Retail gets its own trade: 3x daily exposure to the S&P Retail Select Industry Index, spread across roughly 80 retailers rather than a broad consumer basket.
• At 0.96% a year, the fee comes in under the typical leveraged bull fund's.
• The mechanics are spelled out in advance: a stated 300% of one day's index move, reset daily, with no stock picking or manager discretion in the mix.
• Live since 2010, a long run for a leveraged sector fund, and it changes hands actively during the session.

• TQQQ Costs 0.78% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027 (0.94% gross), below the median fee for 3x bull funds and below stablemate UDOW at 0.94% with no waiver.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund and one of the busiest tickers in the leveraged space, which matters when a daily-reset position needs to be entered or exited quickly.
• Delivers its stated 3x daily target with close day-to-day fidelity, one of the stronger implementations among 3x bull funds.proshares.com
• Straightforward plumbing: it rebalances exposure to the Nasdaq-100 each day, raising it as the index rises and cutting it as the index falls.sec.gov

Worth knowing

• RETL The 3x math applies to one day. Hold across many days and compounding can pull results well away from three times the index over that stretch, especially in choppy markets.
• One narrow, cyclical corner of the market at triple speed: swings run far larger than a broad index fund's, in both directions.
• Assets are small by ETF standards, which matters for trading spreads and for a fund's long-term staying power.

• TQQQ The prospectus is blunt: this seeks results for a single day only. Hold longer and compounding takes over, so multi-day results can land far from 3x the index move, especially in choppy tape.sec.gov
• Triple exposure cuts both ways. A rough day for the Nasdaq-100 hits roughly three times as hard here, which is why this scores as one of the riskier structures on our books.
• The fee break is contractual, not permanent. Should the waiver lapse after September 30, 2027, the cost reverts toward the 0.94% gross rate.

Full RETL profile⁠

Full TQQQ profile⁠