ProShares UltraShort Financials

ProShares UltraShort Financials (SKF) seeks twice the opposite (-2x) of each day's move in the S&P Financial Select Sector Index, which covers the financial companies in the S&P 500. It uses swaps rather than stocks and is built for short-term trading or hedging. Because the bet resets daily, longer-term results can stray far from -2x: the fund lost about 95% over the 10 years to October 27, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SKF returned -8.2%, 2nd of 3 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was -16.1% and its 10-year -26.6%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash, while stocks fell, it gained 132.9%.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2009 (-76.5%); its best was 2022 (+17.6%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 100% (Nov 20, 2008 to Sep 3, 2026), not yet recovered.

As of Aug 31, 2026, most of the fund sat in cash, Treasury bills and money-market holdings (89.51% of net assets), with its inverse exposure coming from 8 swap and futures positions rather than from owning the stocks outright.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $350K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -7.89%, -11.02%, -2.08%.

SKF's benchmark is the S&P Financial Select Sector Index from S&P Dow Jones Indices: the banks, insurers, capital markets firms, consumer lenders, financial services companies and mortgage real estate investment trusts in the S&P 500. Companies are weighted by market value, so the largest count most. The index is reviewed each September, with weight adjustments in March, June and December. SKF aims for twice the opposite (-2x) of the index's daily return, before fees.

SKF doesn't short the stocks themselves. Instead, ProShare Advisors uses a mathematical approach to pick a mix of swap agreements. These are contracts, mainly with major financial institutions, to swap payments based on the index's moves. Its cash sits in Treasury bills, repurchase agreements (short-term loans backed by government securities) and a money market ETF run by ProShare Advisors. As of August 31, 2026, its reported holdings were cash and repurchase agreements, plus total return swaps.

The fund rebalances daily to keep its exposure at -2x. When the index rises, the fund's assets shrink, so it cuts exposure; when the index falls, it adds exposure. Because of this reset, returns over weeks or months can differ sharply from -2x the index's move, usually for the worse when prices swing up and down. If the index neared a 50% gain in one day, holders could lose everything.

• SKF charges 0.95% a year, versus an average of 0.95% for the similar funds below.
• Of that, 0.75% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• The fee includes a 0.59% waiver from the adviser, which may end.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $97 in the first year and $1,784 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

Its -2x exposure resets every day and has lost close to 100% from its 2008 peak, so it is built for short-term trades, not years of holding.

SKF has surged in panics but kept little of the gains. During the 2008 financial crisis it rose 242.6% from the market's 2007 peak to its 2009 low, despite a 61.1% drop starting November 20, 2008. Its worst calendar year was 2009, at -76.5%. It jumped 132.9% in the 2020 COVID crash yet ended 2020 down 42.34%, and gained 54.4% in the 2022 bear market. Measured from its November 20, 2008 peak, it had lost close to 100% by September 3, 2026, with no recovery.

For someone drawing on savings in a bad year, the gains came in short bursts and faded fast, so results hinged on timing. It yielded 3.78% over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, paid quarterly, and its 0.95% expense ratio matches similar funds. Past results don't predict future ones; a plan should weigh the whole portfolio, not one fund.

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