At a glance
MEXX charges 1.23% a year. It has $19.8M in assets; it paid 1.74% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned +25.4% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%); over three years it returned +16.2% a year. At its worst it fell 89.0% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 52.2% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 39 months and 4 months after the lows.
The short version
Direxion Daily MSCI Mexico Bull 3X Shares (MEXX) is a leveraged ETF for short-term traders. It seeks three times the daily return of an MSCI index of Mexican stocks, using the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW) and swap contracts. Exposure resets daily, so returns over longer periods can differ sharply from three times the index. It costs 1.23% a year and lost about 96% of its value from 2017 to 2020.
Price history
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MEXX +25.4% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEXX official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +181.17% | — | +16.79% | — | -8.06% |
| MEXX price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +7.2% | +25.4% | +16.2% | +11.0% | — | -6.7% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, MEXX returned +25.4%.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +11.0%.
- In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 89% and regained its old high 38.7 months after the low.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2024 (-73.1%); its best was 2025 (+181.1%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 95.8% (Jul 26, 2017 to Apr 3, 2020), not yet recovered.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +7.2% | — |
| 2025 | +181.1% | +181.17% |
| 2024 | -73.1% | -73.11% |
| 2023 | +115.4% | +115.14% |
| 2022 | -13.0% | -13.22% |
| 2021 | +52.8% | +53.98% |
| 2020 | -55.5% | -53.82% |
| 2019 | +21.4% | +21.60% |
| 2018 | -52.0% | -52.20% |
| 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 89% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 89%, back to its old high 38.7 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 32% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 52.2%, back to its old high 3.5 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.3000 | |
| 2025 | $0.4000 | -25.9% |
| 2024 | $0.5400 | -7.2% |
| 2023 | $0.5820 | +164.5% |
| 2022 | $0.2200 | +77.4% |
| 2021 | $0.1240 | +675.0% |
| 2020 | $0.0160 | -96.4% |
| 2019 | $0.4500 | -66.7% |
| 2018 | $1.3500 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, most of the fund sat in cash, Treasury bills and money-market holdings (75.39% of net assets), with its exposure coming from 5 swap and futures positions rather than from owning the stocks outright.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| ISHARES MSCI MEXICO ETFINVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND | 44.83% |
By country
United States 44.83%By asset type
Stocks 44.83%What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $1.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +6.18%, -9.73%, +4.56%.
How it works
MEXX's benchmark is an MSCI index of large, mid-size and small companies traded mainly on the Mexican Stock Exchange. The index covers about 99% of the market's free-float value, meaning the shares available to outside investors. No single company can exceed 25% of the index, and companies weighing over 5% can't together exceed 50%. The index rebalances quarterly. As of December 31, 2025, it held 39 stocks, concentrated in consumer staples, financials, materials and industrials.
MEXX generally avoids owning Mexican stocks directly. It uses ETFs that track the index, plus swaps. A swap is a contract in which a bank passes an asset's gains and losses to the fund for a fee. As of July 31, 2026, about 45% of its $19.8 million in net assets sat in the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW). Five swaps on iShares MSCI Mexico supplied the extra exposure, backed by cash. Swaps add counterparty risk: a bank may fail to pay.
At each market close, adviser Rafferty Asset Management resets exposure to three times net assets. It adds after up days and trims after down days. Returns compound daily, each day building on the last, so over longer periods they can differ sharply from three times the index. The prospectus warns that the fund will lose money if the index is flat over time, and can lose even when the index rises.
What it really costs
- MEXX charges 1.23% a year.
- Of that, 0.75% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- The fee includes a 0.03% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $125 in the first year and $1,520 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEXX | $125 | $397 | $689 | $1,520 |
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
Its three-times exposure resets every day, so it is built for short-term bets on Mexican stocks, and longer holding periods have brought losses as deep as 96%.
Launched in 2017, MEXX has no 2008 record. It fell 89% in the 2020 COVID crash (February 19 to March 23) and needed about 39 months to recover. In 2022 it dropped 52% from April to September and recovered by January 2023. Its worst calendar year was 2024, down 73.1%. Its deepest fall, about 96% from July 2017 to April 2020, remained unrecovered as of October 27, 2026. Anyone withdrawing money after a slide like that would lock in most of the loss.
MEXX yielded 1.74% over the year to October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, but it is not an income fund. Costs are high at 1.23% a year. The SEC's standard example puts expenses on $10,000 at $125 in year one and $1,520 over 10 years. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan needs to 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 daily move of an MSCI Mexico index who can monitor and adjust positions every trading day.
- Experienced traders who understand daily compounding and swap risk and can stomach swings like 2024's 73.1% loss and 2025's 181% gain.
- Short-term traders wanting magnified exposure to Mexico's consumer staples, financials, materials and industrial companies without trading on the Mexican Stock Exchange.
Look elsewhere if
- Retirees who may need to withdraw money in a downturn: it fell 89% between February 19 and March 23, 2020.
- Cost-conscious investors: the 1.23% expense ratio means $1,520 in costs over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example.
- Investors wanting long-term Mexico exposure may compare unleveraged funds such as the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (EWW), which MEXX itself holds.
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 MEXX a good long-term investment?
It isn't designed to be one. MEXX seeks three times the index's return for a single trading day. The prospectus warns that longer-term results will very likely differ from that, possibly with losses even when the index rises. Results have swung hard. As of December 31, 2025, it gained 16.79% a year on average over five years but lost 8.06% a year on average since its 2017 launch. Calendar-year returns ranged from a 73.11% loss in 2024 to a 181.17% gain in 2025.
What's the difference between MEXX and EWW?
EWW, the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF, seeks to track the same Mexican stock index without leverage. MEXX holds EWW and adds swaps to seek three times the index's daily move. As of July 31, 2026, EWW made up about 45% of MEXX's net assets. MEXX resets its leverage daily, charges a 1.23% expense ratio and swings far more: it fell about 96% from July 2017 to April 2020. An EWW holder gets the index's own ups and downs, without daily-reset compounding.
Does MEXX pay dividends?
Yes. MEXX pays distributions quarterly, and its yield over the year to October 27, 2026 was 1.74%, or about $0.46 a share. That payout is small next to the fund's price swings. Its volatility, a measure of how widely returns bounce around, was 65% over the same year. The fund aims for three times the index's daily return, not steady income, so it isn't built for investors who rely on regular payouts.
What is MEXX's expense ratio?
MEXX's expense ratio is 1.23% a year, according to its prospectus filed February 26, 2026, including a 0.75% management fee. The SEC's standard example assumes $10,000 invested, a 5% annual return and shares cashed out at the end of each period. On that basis, total costs would be $125 after one year, $397 after three years, $689 after five and $1,520 after ten. Trading costs from daily rebalancing aren't included in that figure.
Can you lose all your money in MEXX?
Yes. The prospectus states plainly that investors could lose all of their money. Because the fund triples the index's daily moves, a severe one-day fall in Mexican stocks could wipe out most or all of its value. MEXX has come close. It fell about 96% from its July 26, 2017 peak to its April 3, 2020 low, and its worst quarter, ending March 31, 2020, was an 83.11% loss. As of October 27, 2026, it still had not regained its 2017 peak.