SOXS vs TZA

SOXSBDirexion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X ETF

TZABDirexion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X ETF

In short

SOXS The bear half of Direxion's semiconductor pair. SOXS aims for 300% of the inverse of the NYSE Semiconductor Index for one trading day, then resets. A short-term instrument for doubting chips.

TZA Born in the wreckage of 2008, TZA aims to move three times the inverse of the Russell 2000's daily swing. A heavily traded way to press a bearish small-cap view, with a daily reset that makes it a tool for days, not quarters.

Stated mandate

SOXS The fund seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, equal to 300% of the inverse of the NYSE Semiconductor Index's performance.

TZA The Fund seeks daily inverse leveraged investment results equal to negative three times the daily performance of the Russell 2000 Index. Its leverage makes it potentially riskier than nonleveraged alternatives.

Why people hold it

• SOXS Charges 1.00% a year, below the typical fee among leveraged and inverse funds. Cheap is relative here, but it is the cheaper side of a pricey neighborhood.
• One of the most heavily traded inverse funds around, so bearish chip exposure comes without a margin account or borrowing shares.
• Running since 2010, through multiple boom-and-bust chip cycles. Among the longest-tenured -3x sector bear funds on the tape.
• Stands in the upper half of its leveraged and inverse peer group on cost and tradability.

• TZA Fee of 0.99% comes in under the typical leveraged bear fund, and under every other Russell 2000 short ETF on the shelf (RWM, TWM, SRTY).
• Very actively traded, which usually means tight spreads and easy exits when a short-term view changes fast.
• Running since 2008, a long life for a leveraged fund, and it has stayed close to its stated daily target.
• Sits in the upper half of a crowded leveraged bear peer group on our overall read.

Worth knowing

• SOXS The -3x objective is a daily one. Leverage resets each session, so results over a week or a month can diverge sharply from three times the index move, especially in choppy tape.
• Triple leverage on semiconductors, a sector that swings hard on its own. This is one of the most volatile risk profiles in the ETF wrapper.
• A 1.00% expense ratio is many times what a plain index fund charges, and distributions come quarterly rather than monthly.

• TZA The -3x target resets every day. Hold longer and compounding pulls results away from three times the index move over that stretch, up or down.
• Triple leverage cuts both ways: a 1% up day in the Russell 2000 is roughly a 3% down day here, before costs.
• Direxion's own filing flags the fund as potentially riskier than nonleveraged alternatives and built for daily monitoring.

Full SOXS profile⁠

Full TZA profile⁠