At a glance
PALU charges 1.08% a year. It has $26.2M in assets; it paid 3.08% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned +134.9% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%).
The short version
Direxion Daily PANW Bull 2X Shares (PALU) aims to return twice the daily move of one stock, cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks (PANW), mostly through swap agreements with banks. It is built for short-term traders: leverage resets every trading day, so results over weeks or months can differ sharply from twice PANW's return. It costs 1.08% a year and fell 62.1% from October 2025 to February 2026.
Price history
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PALU +134.9% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PALU price data to Oct 27, 2026 | +248.2% | +134.9% | — | — | — | +94.4% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, PALU returned +134.9%.
- The deepest fall in its price history was 62.1% (Oct 28, 2025 to Feb 24, 2026), recovered by May 15, 2026.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +248.2% |
| 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 | Before this security existed |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Before this security existed |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.2900 |
What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, the fund held 1 securities; the ten largest made up 15.04% of assets, and 103.9% sat in cash and money-market holdings.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| PALO ALTO NETWORKS INC | 15.04% |
By country
United States 15.04%By asset type
Stocks 15.04%What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $5.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +138.53%, +41.89%, -8.03%.
How it works
PALU tracks no index. It aims to deliver 200% of the daily return of Palo Alto Networks (PANW), before fees and expenses, for one trading day only, measured from one market close to the next. It holds some PANW shares but relies mainly on swap agreements: contracts in which a large bank pays the fund PANW's return on an agreed amount. Together, these aim for exposure equal to twice the fund's net assets.
At each market close, the adviser, Rafferty Asset Management, resets exposure to 2X. After PANW rises, the fund adds exposure; after it falls, the fund cuts back. Because each day's return builds on the last, results over weeks or months will very likely differ from twice PANW's return. The prospectus warns the fund will lose money if PANW ends flat over time, and can lose money even when PANW rises, especially if the stock swings sharply.
As of July 31, 2026, PANW shares made up about 15% of the fund's $26.2 million in net assets. Six derivative positions, mostly PANW swaps, supplied the rest of the exposure; their listed values reflect gains or losses, not exposure size. Most assets sat in cash and high-quality, short-term holdings. The fund is concentrated in one software company and may depend on a few banks to honor its swaps.
What it really costs
- PALU charges 1.08% a year.
- Of that, 0.75% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- The fee includes a 0.4% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $110 in the first year and $1,734 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PALU | $110 | $429 | $770 | $1,734 |
In a retirement portfolio
PALU seeks twice PANW's return for a single trading day, and its prospectus warns that longer-term results will very likely differ from that and that investors could lose all their money.
PALU offers magnified, one-day exposure to a single stock, the opposite of the broad diversification most retirement portfolios rely on. It launched on March 26, 2025, so it has no record in the 2008, 2020 or 2022 downturns and no full calendar year of results. Its deepest drop was 62.1%, from October 28, 2025, to February 24, 2026; it regained that peak on May 15, 2026, 2.6 months after the low. Anyone forced to cash out near the bottom would have kept less than half of the peak value.
Payouts come quarterly, and the yield, based on the 12 months to October 27, 2026, was 3.08%, small next to swings of this size. It costs 1.08% a year: $110 on $10,000 in the first year under the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Active traders seeking twice the one-day move of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) stock who can monitor the position every trading day.
- Traders who understand swaps, daily leverage resets and compounding, and plan to hold briefly, not for months or years.
- People using only money they can afford to lose, since the prospectus warns investors could lose everything they put in.
Look elsewhere if
- Long-term and retirement investors: leverage resets daily, the 1.08% expense ratio adds up, and results over months can differ sharply from twice PANW's return.
- Investors seeking diversification: all exposure rests on a single software company, Palo Alto Networks, magnified twice over each day.
- Income seekers: quarterly payouts yielded 3.08% as of October 27, 2026, small beside a 62.1% drop from October 2025 to February 2026.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
No close alternatives found.
Questions investors ask
Is PALU good for long-term investors?
It isn't built for long-term holding. PALU seeks 200% of PANW's return for a single trading day, and its prospectus says returns over longer periods will very likely differ from 2X. It will lose money if PANW ends flat over time, and can lose money even while PANW rises. Swings are extreme: the price rose 134.9% in the year to October 27, 2026, yet fell 62.1% between October 2025 and February 2026.
How does PALU get 2x exposure to Palo Alto Networks?
Mainly through swap agreements with large global banks, which pay the fund PANW's return on an agreed amount. As of July 31, 2026, PANW shares made up about 15% of the fund's $26.2 million in net assets, alongside six derivative positions, mostly PANW swaps. Most remaining assets sat in cash and short-term, high-quality holdings. At each market close, the adviser resets exposure to 2X. If a bank fails to pay, the fund could lose money.
What's the difference between PALU and owning PANW stock?
The main difference is leverage. A PANW shareholder gets the stock's actual return and pays no expense ratio. PALU aims for twice PANW's daily return, charges 1.08% a year and resets leverage every trading day, so its results over months can differ sharply from twice PANW's. PALU also relies on swaps, adding the risk that a bank fails to pay. Both carry the risks of a single software company, but PALU magnifies them each day.
Does PALU pay dividends?
Yes, it pays distributions quarterly. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it paid $1.90 per share, a yield of 3.08%. That income is small next to the fund's price swings: its volatility, a measure of how widely prices move, was 94.9% over the same year. Payouts from a leveraged single-stock fund can vary widely between periods, so past distributions are a weak guide to future income.
What is PALU's expense ratio?
PALU's expense ratio, the yearly cost taken out of fund assets, is 1.08%, according to its prospectus filed February 26, 2026. That includes a 0.75% management fee and comes after a 0.40% fee waiver. In the SEC's standard example, which assumes $10,000 invested, a 5% annual return and shares cashed out at the end of each period, costs total $110 over one year, $429 over three years, $770 over five and $1,734 over 10 years. Owning PANW shares directly carries no expense ratio.