SARK vs SVXY

SARKCTradr 1X Short Innovation Daily ETF

SVXYBProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF

In short

SARK The original anti-ARKK trade. Launched in 2021 as the first US ETF built to short another ETF, SARK uses swaps to aim for the inverse of the ARK Innovation ETF's move over a single day, then resets overnight. A trading tool, not a hold.

SVXY Short volatility, half dose. SVXY targets one-half the inverse of a VIX short-term futures index each day, a deliberately de-tuned take on the short-vol trade, and it has run that mandate since 2011.

Stated mandate

SARK The Fund seeks daily inverse exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF for one trading day, using swaps and daily repositioning. It is intended for sophisticated, actively managed trading or hedging strategies.

SVXY SVXY seeks daily results equal to one-half the inverse of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index. Its objective is measured daily, so returns over longer periods can differ from the stated daily target.

Why people hold it

• SARK First of its kind: at launch it was the first US ETF offering short exposure to another ETF, and it still delivers that exposure through swaps rather than a margin account and borrowed shares.sec.govwikipedia.org
• One job, done tightly: daily inverse exposure to the ARK Innovation ETF, and it has stayed close to that one-day target. That lands it in the upper half of a crowded inverse field.
• Costs 0.99% a year, with no waiver propping the number up, which sits near the category median for inverse funds. Index shorts like PSQ and DOG aim at benchmarks; this one aims at a stock picker.

• SVXY The half-strength design is the whole idea: a -0.5x daily target rather than full inverse, so a jump in VIX futures lands with half the force of a one-for-one short.proshares.com
• 0.95% a year sits below the typical leveraged and inverse fund, and among that crowd this is one of the stronger implementations in its peer group.
• Launched in 2011 and actively traded, so it has a long operating history and a working market for getting in and out.

Worth knowing

• SARK The clock resets every session. Hold past a day and the path of ARK Innovation's moves, not just its direction, shapes your result.tradretfs.com
• Exposure comes from swap contracts with financial institutions, so counterparty risk rides alongside market risk.sec.govtradretfs.com
• The target moves. You are positioned against an actively managed portfolio whose holdings ARK can reshuffle, so what you are short today may not be what you are short next quarter.wikipedia.org

• SVXY The objective resets daily. Hold longer and compounding takes over, so results over weeks or months can look nothing like half the inverse of the index.proshares.com
• It is a commodity pool holding VIX futures, not a basket of stocks. Reporting and tax treatment follow different rules than a standard equity ETF.proshares.com
• Pure price vehicle with no distribution stream, and volatility spikes arrive fast, which is exactly what a short-vol position is on the wrong side of.

Full SARK profile⁠

Full SVXY profile⁠