At a glance
CURE charges 0.94% a year. It has $171.7M in assets; it paid 0.83% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned +61.4% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%); over three years it returned +27.7% a year. At its worst it fell 43.0% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 50 months after the low. Its ten largest positions make up 41.0% of the fund, out of 60 in all.
The short version
Direxion Daily Healthcare Bull 3x Shares (CURE) is a leveraged ETF. It aims to deliver three times the one-day return of the Health Care Select Sector Index, which tracked 60 healthcare companies from the S&P 500 as of December 31, 2025. Because its exposure resets every day, returns over months or years can differ sharply from three times the index. It charges 0.94% a year, and it fell 52.2% from April 2022 to August 2025.
Price history
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CURE +61.4% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURE official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +22.88% | — | +8.65% | +13.56% | — |
| CURE price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +38.6% | +61.4% | +27.7% | +6.7% | — | +17.1% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, CURE returned +61.4%.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +6.7%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-20.5%); its best was 2021 (+88.3%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 52.2% (Apr 8, 2022 to Aug 7, 2025), recovered by Aug 19, 2026.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +38.6% | — |
| 2025 | +22.6% | +22.88% |
| 2024 | -8.5% | -8.51% |
| 2023 | -9.4% | -9.76% |
| 2022 | -20.5% | -20.37% |
| 2021 | +88.3% | +87.44% |
| 2020 | — | +5.12% |
| 2019 | — | +55.85% |
| 2018 | — | +2.91% |
| 2017 | — | +69.25% |
| 2016 | — | -17.43% |
| 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 | Not in the price data, which starts Jun 2, 2020 |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 39% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 43%, back to its old high 50.1 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.9800 | |
| 2025 | $1.2600 | +16.7% |
| 2024 | $1.0800 | -47.3% |
| 2023 | $2.0500 | +365.9% |
| 2022 | $0.4400 | +1366.7% |
| 2021 | $0.0300 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, most of the fund sat in cash, Treasury bills and money-market holdings (34.49% of net assets), with its exposure coming from 4 swap and futures positions rather than from owning the stocks outright.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| ELI LILLY & COMPANY | 10.41% | |
| JOHNSON & JOHNSON | 7.07% | |
| ABBVIE INC | 5.08% | |
| UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC | 4.31% | |
| MERCK & COMPANY INC | 3.68% | |
| THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC | 2.45% | |
| AMGEN INC | 2.38% | |
| ABBOTT LABORATORIES | 2.11% | |
| GILEAD SCIENCES INC | 1.85% | |
| PFIZER INC | 1.63% | |
| BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB CO | 1.53% | |
| CVS HEALTH CORP | 1.53% | |
| INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC | 1.43% | |
| DANAHER CORP | 1.41% | |
| VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS INC | 1.39% |
By country
United States 67.1%By asset type
Stocks 67.1%What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $12.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +6.29%, +18.95%, +5.39%.
How it works
CURE follows the Health Care Select Sector Index from S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index includes only S&P 500 members from six areas: pharmaceuticals, healthcare equipment and supplies, providers and services, biotechnology, life sciences tools and services, and healthcare technology. Larger companies get bigger weights, but single-stock weights can be capped to meet federal tax rules. The index had 60 constituents as of December 31, 2025, and it is rebalanced quarterly.
To get three times the exposure, the fund combines index stocks with swaps and futures. A swap is a contract in which a bank pays the fund the index's return. As of July 31, 2026, stocks made up 67.1% of net assets, led by Eli Lilly (10.4%), Johnson & Johnson (7.1%) and AbbVie (5.1%). Four swaps on the index made up another 13.3%, and cash and short-term instruments made up 34.5%. If a swap counterparty fails to pay, the fund loses money.
At each day's close, Rafferty Asset Management resets the fund's exposure. It adds exposure after the index rises and cuts it after the index falls. Over longer periods, each day's return compounds on the last. The prospectus warns that the fund will lose money if the index ends flat, and it could lose money even while the index rises.
What it really costs
- CURE charges 0.94% a year.
- Of that, 0.75% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $96 in the first year and $1,155 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CURE | $96 | $300 | $520 | $1,155 |
Structure and tax notes
- Resets its exposure every day. Over periods longer than a day, compounding means returns can differ sharply from 3× the index — usually worse in choppy markets. Built for short-term trading, not buy-and-hold.
In a retirement portfolio
The prospectus says CURE seeks its 3x target for a single trading day only, and its daily reset can lead to deep losses and long recoveries over time.
CURE's price history starts June 2, 2020. However, the prospectus shows that the fund's worst quarter was a 45.81% loss in the quarter ending March 31, 2020, during the COVID crash. In the 2022 bear market it fell 43% between April 8 and June 16, 2022. It kept sliding until it was down 52.2% by August 7, 2025, and it did not regain its April 2022 high until August 19, 2026. Its worst calendar year was 2022, at -20.37%, and it lost money again in 2023 and 2024. Anyone who had to sell during that stretch would have locked in large losses. The fund paid a 0.83% yield over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, in quarterly payments. Its 0.94% expense ratio works out to $96 in the first year in the SEC's standard $10,000 example. Past results don't predict future returns, and any plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Active traders seeking three times the one-day move in large US healthcare stocks such as Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson and AbbVie.
- Traders who watch positions daily and understand that the daily reset makes multi-week returns drift away from three times the index.
- Experienced investors using a small, short-term position to act on a view about the S&P 500 healthcare sector, while accepting swap counterparty risk.
Look elsewhere if
- Buy-and-hold and retirement investors: CURE lost money in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and didn't regain its April 2022 high until August 2026.
- Income seekers: the yield was 0.83% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, which is too small to support regular withdrawals.
- Anyone wanting plain healthcare exposure: an unleveraged healthcare index fund avoids the daily-reset drag, swap counterparty risk and the 0.94% leveraged-fund fee.
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 CURE a good long-term investment?
It isn't built for the long term. The prospectus says CURE seeks three times the Health Care Select Sector Index's return for a single trading day only, and that returns over longer periods will very likely differ from 3x. Through December 31, 2025, it returned an average of 8.65% a year over five years and 13.56% over ten. But it lost money in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and fell 52.2% between April 2022 and August 2025.
Can CURE lose money even if healthcare stocks go up?
Yes. CURE resets to three times the index's exposure every day, so its long-term return is each day's return compounded on the last. In a choppy market, losses on down days shrink the base that later gains build on. The prospectus says the fund will lose money if the index ends flat over time, and it could lose money even while the index rises. Bigger price swings make this effect worse.
Does CURE pay dividends?
Yes, but the payments are small. CURE pays distributions quarterly. Its yield over the 12 months to October 27, 2026 was 0.83%, or about $1.27 per share. Most of the fund's exposure comes from leverage meant to magnify daily price moves, not to produce income. For investors who rely on regular income, a payout this small adds little, and the fund's large price swings can easily outweigh it.
What does CURE actually hold?
As of July 31, 2026, healthcare stocks made up 67.1% of CURE's net assets. The largest were Eli Lilly (10.4%), Johnson & Johnson (7.1%), AbbVie (5.1%), UnitedHealth Group (4.3%) and Merck (3.7%). The fund also held four swaps on the Health Care Select Sector Index and kept about 34.5% in cash and short-term instruments. Together, the stocks and swaps provide the extra exposure needed to target three times the index's daily move. Net assets were about $171.7 million.
What is CURE's expense ratio?
CURE's expense ratio is 0.94% a year, which includes a 0.75% management fee, according to its prospectus filed February 26, 2026. The SEC's standard example assumes $10,000 invested, a 5% annual return and shares sold at the end of each period. On that basis, costs would total $96 after one year, $300 after three, $520 after five and $1,155 after ten. The drag from daily compounding comes on top of these costs and isn't part of the expense ratio.