RWM vs SMN

RWMBProShares Short Russell2000

SMNCProShares UltraShort Materials

In short

RWM Short small caps at one speed: RWM targets the inverse of the Russell 2000's daily move, with no 2x or 3x multiplier on top. Trading since 2007, at 0.95% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027.

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

RWM The fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, that correspond to the inverse of the Russell 2000 Index's daily performance.

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

• RWM Straight -1x, not a multiplier: it tracks the inverse of the Russell 2000's daily move, where stablemate TWM targets -2x on the same index.proshares.com
• ProShares calls it the only -1x ETF tied to the Russell 2000, the index of the 2,000 smallest US names in the Russell 3000.proshares.comproshares.com 2
• Trading since January 2007 and one of the busier funds in the inverse-equity aisle, so entering and exiting is rarely the hard part.
• Fee is 0.95% net of a waiver through September 30, 2027 (1.05% gross), near what this category charges, and it rates among the strongest builds in its peer group.

• 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

• RWM The -1x target resets daily. Hold longer and compounding rules: ProShares says multi-day returns can differ significantly from the target, in amount and even direction.proshares.comproshares.com 2
• Symmetric by design: on days the Russell 2000 climbs, the fund is built to lose roughly as much as the index gains.proshares.com
• Fund documents tell investors to monitor holdings as frequently as daily, which puts this at the hands-on end of the shelf.proshares.com

• 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 RWM profile⁠

Full SMN profile⁠