At a glance
SMCZ charges 1.55% a year. It has $5.5M in assets; it paid 44.11% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, annual. Over the past year it returned −88.7% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%).
The short version
Defiance Daily Target 2X Short SMCI ETF (SMCZ) uses swaps and options to seek twice the opposite of Super Micro Computer's (SMCI) daily stock move, before fees, for one day at a time. It is a leveraged bet against a single company, charges 1.55% a year, and lost 92.3% from its March 31, 2025 launch through October 27, 2026. It is built for short-term traders, not long-term holders.
Price history
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SMCZ -88.7% 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMCZ price data to Oct 27, 2026 | -95.4% | -88.7% | — | — | — | -92.3% |
- Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, SMCZ returned -88.7%.
- The deepest fall in its price history was 99% (Apr 4, 2025 to Oct 7, 2026), not yet recovered.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -95.4% |
| 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
No distribution history is available for this fund.
Distributions through Oct 27, 2026.What's inside
As of Jul 31, 2026, most of the fund sat in cash, Treasury bills and money-market holdings (3.84% of net assets), with its exposure coming from 5 swap and futures positions rather than from owning the stocks outright.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| TREASURY BILL Bonds and notes | 0.05% |
By country
United States 0.05%By asset type
Bonds and notes 0.05%What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jul 31, 2026, investors added a net $4.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -76.97%, +45.08%, -20.05%.
How it works
SMCZ, issued by Tidal Financial Group, tracks no index. It is actively managed to seek -2 times (-200%) the daily percentage change in Super Micro Computer (SMCI) stock, before fees, from one market close to the next. It mainly uses swaps, which are contracts with financial firms that pay the fund when SMCI falls and cost it when SMCI rises. As of July 31, 2026, it held five SMCI swaps, with firms including Cantor, Nomura and Marex. It can also use listed options, especially when swaps are scarce or costly.
Each day the adviser values the swaps and rebalances to bring exposure back to -200%. Because of this daily reset, each day's result builds on the last. As a result, returns over longer periods will very likely differ from -2 times SMCI's move. The prospectus says the fund will lose money if SMCI is flat over time. It can lose money even when SMCI falls, if the stock swings sharply along the way.
It expects to commit 40% to 75% of assets as swap collateral or option premiums. Collateral can sit in US Treasury securities, money market funds, short-term bond ETFs or investment-grade commercial paper. It is non-diversified: all its exposure rests on one stock in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry. If a swap firm fails to pay, the fund can lose money.
What it really costs
- SMCZ charges 1.55% a year.
- Of that, 1.29% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $158 in the first year and $1,845 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SMCZ | $158 | $490 | $845 | $1,845 |
Structure and tax notes
- Resets its exposure every day. Over periods longer than a day, compounding means returns can differ sharply from 2× the index — usually worse in choppy markets. Built for short-term trading, not buy-and-hold.
In a retirement portfolio
The prospectus says it seeks -2 times SMCI's move for a single day only and warns against holding shares unmonitored for longer than one trading day.
SMCZ launched on March 31, 2025. It has no record in the 2008, 2020 or 2022 downturns and has not completed a full calendar year. Its short history is harsh. It was down 95.4% in 2026 through October 27 (year to date). It also fell 99% from its April 4, 2025 peak to its October 7, 2026 low, with no recovery as of October 27, 2026. Anyone forced to cash out in a bad stretch could lock in near-total losses.
It pays distributions once a year. The trailing yield of 44.11% as of October 27, 2026, based on $2.36 per share (split-adjusted), reflects a collapsed share price, not steady income. Costs are high: 1.55% a year, or $158 in the first year on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict the future, 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 a one-day, double-leveraged bet that Super Micro Computer shares will fall, who check their positions at least daily.
- SMCI shareholders wanting a brief hedge, or offsetting bet, against a sharp drop without borrowing shares to short the stock themselves.
- Experienced traders who understand daily-reset compounding and accept a 1.55% expense ratio plus the risk that a swap firm fails to pay.
Look elsewhere if
- Long-term investors: the prospectus warns against holding shares unmonitored beyond one trading day, and SMCZ lost 92.3% from launch through October 27, 2026.
- Income seekers: the 44.11% trailing yield as of October 27, 2026 comes from an annual payout against a collapsed share price, not dependable income.
- Anyone uncomfortable with extreme price swings: one-year volatility was 182.5%, and the fund fell 99% from its April 2025 peak without recovering by October 27, 2026.
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
Can you hold SMCZ long term?
Not as designed. The prospectus says SMCZ seeks -2 times Super Micro Computer's daily move for a single trading day only, and it warns investors not to hold shares unmonitored for longer than that. Because exposure resets daily, the fund will lose money if SMCI is flat over time, and it can lose even when SMCI falls. From its March 31, 2025 launch through October 27, 2026, SMCZ lost 92.3%.
Is SMCZ the same as shorting SMCI stock?
No. Shorting means borrowing shares to bet on a decline, and losses have no ceiling if the price keeps rising. SMCZ instead uses swaps and listed options to seek -2 times SMCI's daily move, resetting each day. So results over weeks or months can differ sharply from a simple short. An SMCZ holder can lose no more than the amount invested. But the fund charges 1.55% a year and adds the risk that a swap firm fails to pay.
What is the SMCZ expense ratio?
SMCZ's expense ratio, the annual fee taken from fund assets, is 1.55% a year, according to its prospectus filed August 26, 2026. That includes a 1.29% management fee. The SEC's standard example assumes $10,000 invested, a 5% annual return and shares redeemed at the end of each period. On that basis, costs would total $158 after one year, $490 after three, $845 after five and $1,845 after ten. That is far higher than typical broad-market index funds charge.
Does SMCZ pay dividends?
Yes, but not in a way income investors can count on. SMCZ pays distributions once a year. As of October 27, 2026, its trailing yield was 44.11%. Trailing yield is the past year's payouts divided by the share price, and here it was based on $2.36 per share (split-adjusted). That eye-catching figure largely reflects a share price that collapsed. The payout has been dwarfed by losses: the fund fell 88.7% over the year to October 27, 2026.
What are the biggest risks of SMCZ?
The biggest risk is a rise in Super Micro Computer stock. With -2 times daily exposure, a sharp one-day jump could wipe out most or all of the fund's value. Daily compounding can erode returns in choppy markets, and all exposure rests on one company. The fund also depends on swap firms paying what they owe. Its prospectus flags SMCI-specific issues too, including late SEC filings, an auditor resignation and past Nasdaq delisting threats. One-year volatility was 182.5% as of October 27, 2026.