Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares

Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) is a leveraged ETF that aims to return three times the daily move of the Financial Select Sector Index, a basket of S&P 500 financial companies led by JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway. It resets its leverage every day, costs 0.88% a year and swings harder than the 2x ProShares Ultra Financials (UYG). It lost 75.1% in the first quarter of 2020.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, FAS returned +2.5%.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +5.5% and its 10-year +20.6%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 86% and regained its old high 13.2 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2011 (-53.4%); its best was 2013 (+125.9%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 91.6% (Dec 8, 2008 to Mar 6, 2009), recovered by Dec 20, 2013.

As of Jul 31, 2026, most of the fund sat in cash, Treasury bills and money-market holdings (32.82% of net assets), with its exposure coming from 8 swap and futures positions rather than from owning the stocks outright.

• Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $163.7M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -4.23%, +12.19%, +17.92%.

FAS tracks the Financial Select Sector Index from S&P Dow Jones Indices, one of eleven Select Sector Indexes. Every member must be in the S&P 500. The index covers banks, insurers, capital markets firms, consumer finance, financial services and mortgage REITs (real estate investment trusts that hold mortgage loans). Larger companies get bigger weights, with caps on single stocks to meet tax rules. The index had 76 members as of December 31, 2025, and is rebalanced quarterly.

To get three times the exposure, the fund's adviser, Rafferty Asset Management, 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, about 67% of assets were in stocks and about 33% in cash and short-term holdings, with swaps on the index layered on top. If a swap bank fails to pay, the fund loses money.

At each day's close, Rafferty resets the fund's exposure. After an up day it adds exposure, and after a down day it cuts back. This contributed to 66% portfolio turnover. Because each day's return compounds, results over weeks or months will very likely differ from 3x the index. The prospectus warns that the fund will lose money if the index is flat over time, and that it can lose money even when the index rises.

• FAS charges 0.88% a year.
• Of that, 0.75% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.04% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $90 in the first year and $1,128 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its daily leverage reset and its history of drops of 86% and 91.6% make it a tool for short-term traders, not long-term savers.

FAS began trading on November 6, 2008, so it missed most of the 2008 crisis. Its deepest drop came soon after: 91.6% from December 2008 to March 2009, followed by about 57 months to recover. In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 86% in about a month and took 13 months to recover. In the 2022 bear market it fell 64.9% and needed about 24 months to recover. Its worst calendar year was 2011, down 53.4%. Anyone who has to take money out during slumps like these would lock in deep losses.

Its trailing 12-month yield was 9.17% as of October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. But payouts from a leveraged fund can swing widely and are not steady income. It costs 0.88% a year, or $1,128 over 10 years in the SEC's standard $10,000 example. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by leveraged/inverse funds on the same index (financials), same direction.