At a glance
AGQ charges 0.95% a year. It has $1.27B in assets. Over the past year it returned −28.1% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%); over three years it returned +26.6% a year. At its worst it fell 60.5% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 60.3% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 4 months and 21 months after the lows.
The short version
ProShares Ultra Silver (AGQ) is a commodity pool, a fund that holds futures contracts rather than metal. It uses futures and other derivatives to seek twice (2x) the daily performance of a silver benchmark, before fees. Because its leverage resets every day, its long-run results can swing far from 2x silver. It rose 360.7% in 2025, then fell 65.5% in 2026 through October 27. It charges 0.95% a year and sends holders a Schedule K-1 at tax time.
Price history
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AGQ -28.1% over the year to Oct 27, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGQ price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -65.5% | -28.1% | +26.6% | +7.2% | +2.9% | +0.9% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, AGQ returned -28.1%.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +7.2% and its 10-year +2.9%.
- In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 60.5% and regained its old high 4.1 months after the low.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2013 (-64.3%); its best was 2025 (+360.7%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 98.2% (Apr 28, 2011 to Mar 18, 2020), not yet recovered.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -65.5% |
| 2025 | +360.7% |
| 2024 | +23.9% |
| 2023 | -15.1% |
| 2022 | -7.9% |
| 2021 | -32.3% |
| 2020 | +62.0% |
| 2019 | +20.0% |
| 2018 | -22.1% |
| 2017 | +5.5% |
| 2016 | +18.5% |
| 2015 | -28.8% |
| 2014 | -39.6% |
| 2013 | -64.3% |
| 2012 | +5.9% |
| 2011 | -47.5% |
| 2010 | +182.4% |
| 2009 | +78.3% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Before this security existed |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 51.5% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 60.5%, back to its old high 4.1 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 38.4% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 60.3%, back to its old high 20.6 months after the low |
What's inside
The fund holds futures contracts and the cash and Treasury bills backing them, not the commodity itself; its net assets were $1.27B as of Jun 30, 2026 (per its 10-Q). As a commodity pool it files 10-Q and 10-K reports instead of N-PORT holdings reports, so there is no holdings list.
How it works
AGQ is a series of ProShares Trust II, sponsored by ProShare Capital Management LLC. It seeks daily results, before fees and expenses, equal to 2x the daily performance of its benchmark. The benchmark is an index designed to track silver futures contracts. AGQ does not own silver bars. It holds financial instruments whose value comes from the benchmark, such as futures contracts, swap agreements and forward contracts, backed by cash and Treasury bills. The fund's 10-K warns that the index's daily moves can differ in amount, and possibly in direction, from the price of physical silver.
The fund targets 2x for a single day only. Each day it resets its exposure, so returns over longer periods come from daily gains and losses compounded together. In choppy markets that usually leaves holders with less than 2x the benchmark's return, and sometimes with a loss when silver itself rose. The sponsor says the fund suits only knowledgeable investors and that holders may need to monitor or rebalance their positions often.
AGQ is a commodity pool, not an investment company registered under the 1940 Act, so it lacks some of the investor protections that law provides. It is taxed as a partnership. Expiring futures must be rolled into later contracts, and the price gap between contracts can add to or reduce returns. Large firms called authorized participants create and redeem shares in blocks of 50,000, and the shares trade on NYSE Arca.
What it really costs
- AGQ charges 0.95% a year.
Structure and tax notes
- Resets its exposure every day. Over periods longer than a day, compounding means returns can differ sharply from 2× the index — usually worse in choppy markets. Built for short-term trading, not buy-and-hold.
- A commodity pool: it holds futures contracts (and the cash and Treasury bills backing them), not the commodity itself, and it is not a 1940 Act investment company, so it lacks some fund-specific investor protections. It is taxed as a partnership: investors get a Schedule K-1 rather than a 1099 and owe tax on their share of its gains each year, even without selling. Expiring contracts must be rolled into later ones, and the price gap between them adds to or takes from returns, so over time it can drift well away from the spot price of what it tracks. Besides the sponsor's fee, it pays brokerage commissions and other costs.
In a retirement portfolio
It seeks 2x silver's daily move, resets that leverage every day, and has lost as much as 98.2% from a peak, so it is built for short holding periods.
AGQ's history shows how hard leveraged silver can hit. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 60.5% from February 24 to March 18, 2020, and got back to its old level by July 20, about four months later. In the 2022 bear market it dropped 60.3% between March 8 and September 1, 2022, and took about 21 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2013, at -64.3%. Its deepest drop, 98.2%, began on April 28, 2011, and that peak had not been regained as of October 27, 2026. The fund began trading after the 2008 crisis, so it has no record from that period.
A retiree who has to cash out shares in a bad year could lock in losses this large. AGQ pays no distributions, so it provides no income, and it charges 0.95% a year. Past results don't predict the future, and a retirement plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Experienced traders who want twice silver's daily move over a day or a few days and who watch their positions closely.
- Traders who can stomach extreme swings, like a 360.7% gain in 2025 followed by a 65.5% loss in 2026 through October 27.
- Investors who can handle partnership tax reporting, since the fund issues a Schedule K-1 instead of a 1099.
Look elsewhere if
- Retirees who need income: AGQ has no recorded distributions and pays nothing out to holders.
- Long-term holders: daily resets and futures roll costs mean returns can drift far from 2x silver over months or years.
- Anyone who can't absorb deep losses: its 98.2% drop from an April 2011 peak had not recovered as of October 27, 2026.
Close alternatives
Matched by leveraged/inverse funds on the same index (the index could not be identified from the name).
No close alternatives found.
Questions investors ask
Is AGQ good for long-term investing?
AGQ is designed for single-day results, not long holding periods. It seeks 2x silver's daily move, and over longer stretches compounding can produce results very different from 2x. Its largest decline was 98.2%, from April 28, 2011 to March 18, 2020, and it had not regained that peak as of October 27, 2026. The sponsor says the fund suits only knowledgeable investors who understand daily leveraged results and who may monitor their positions actively.
Does AGQ pay dividends?
No. AGQ has no recorded distributions, so it provides no income to holders who rely on payouts. Any return comes from changes in its share price. Because the fund is taxed as a partnership, holders may still owe tax each year on their share of its gains, even if they receive no cash and keep their shares. The fund reports this on a Schedule K-1 rather than a 1099.
Does AGQ hold physical silver?
No. AGQ is a commodity pool. It uses futures contracts and other derivatives, such as swaps and forwards, backed by cash and Treasury bills. Its benchmark is an index designed to track silver futures, and the fund's 10-K warns that the index's daily moves can differ in amount, and possibly in direction, from the price of physical silver. Rolling expiring contracts into later ones also adds to or takes away from returns over time.
What is AGQ's expense ratio?
AGQ's sponsor fee was 0.95% a year for the period ending June 30, 2026. On top of that fee, the fund pays brokerage commissions and other costs. Its net assets were about $1.27 billion as of June 30, 2026. Beyond the stated fee, daily leverage resets and the cost of rolling futures contracts can weigh on long-run returns, so the expense ratio does not capture the full cost of holding the fund.
How is AGQ different from a regular silver ETF?
AGQ seeks twice silver's daily move, while an unleveraged silver fund aims to match silver's price over time. That makes AGQ far more volatile: its one-year volatility was 146.8% as of October 27, 2026, and its biggest one-year drop was 86.9%. Unleveraged funds that hold physical silver don't face daily resets or futures roll costs. Our screen found no matching leveraged peers to compare against AGQ's 0.95% fee.